4 basic steps to food safety
Every year millions of people get sick from foodborne illnesses that can make you feel like you have the flu. Foodborne illnesses can also cause serious health problems, even death. Follow these four steps to help keep you and your family safe.
1. Clean
Always wash food, hands, counters, and kitchen utensils.
- Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Do this before and after handling food.
- Wash your cutting boards, plates, forks, spoons, knives, and countertops in hot, soapy water. Do this after working with each food.
- Rinse fruits and vegetables.
- No wash meat, poultry, fish, or eggs. If water splashes out of the sink during the washing process, it can spread bacteria.
- Clean the lids of canned goods before opening.
2. separate (keep apart)
Keep raw food to themselves. Germs can spread from one food to another.
- Keep raw meat, poultry, shellfish, and eggs away from other foods. Do this in your shopping cart, bags, and refrigerator.
- Do not reuse used marinades on raw foods unless you boil them first.
- Use a special cutting board or plate for raw foods only.
3. cook
Food needs to heat up and stay hot. The heat kills germs.
- Cook at safe temperatures:
- Beef, Pork, Lamb 145 °F
- Fish 145°F
- Ground Beef, Pork, Lamb 160 °F
- Turkey, Chicken, Duck 165 °F
- Use a food thermometer to make sure the food is done. You can’t always tell by looking.
4. Relax
Put the food in the refrigerator right away.
- 2-Hour Rule: Place food in the refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours of cooking or store-bought. Do this within 1 hour if it is 90 degrees or higher outside.
- Never defrost food by simply taking it out of the fridge. Defrost food:
- In the fridge
- under cold water
- in the microwave
- Marinate food in the fridge.
Do you think you have a foodborne illness?
Call your doctor and get medical attention right away.
- Save the package, can, or box of food. Then report the problem.
- Call USDA at 1-888-674-6854 if you think the illness was caused by meat, poultry, or eggs.
- Call the FDA at 1-866-300-4374 for all other foods.
- Call your local health department if you think you got sick from food you ate at a restaurant or other food vendor.
Who is at risk?
Anyone can get sick from eating spoiled food. Some people are more prone to getting sick from foodborne illness.
- Pregnant women
- Older adults
- People with certain health conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and kidney disease.
Some foods are riskier for these people. Talk to your doctor or other health care provider about which foods are safe for you.
