Safe Kitchen Tips

Ninety-five percent of food-borne illness is probably preventable. Here are some tips on what you can do:

At the Store

Don’t let juice from raw meat, poultry, or fish drip on to your hands or any fresh foods in your grocery cart.

Raw juices may contain bacteria.Shop for cold and frozen products last. Use a cooler for the ride home, especially during the summer or if you’re running other errands.
Avoid unpasteurized milk and juice, and egg nog or other foods made with raw eggs.

In the Kitchen

Always wash your hands in hot, soapy water before preparing and after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
Cook all meat and poultry—or casseroles that contain meat or poultry—at a minimum oven temperature of 325°F.
Cook meats thoroughly, but don’t overcook them.

Heat kills bacteria, but too much heat causes meat, poultry, and fish to form possibly carcinogenic compounds.

Use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, but don’t insert it until the outside is seared or it could carry bacteria to the interior.

The USDA says to cook your meat at least to these internal temperatures: beef, lamb, or veal roasts, steaks, and chops—145°F; ground beef, pork, lamb, or veal and fresh pork—160°F; ground chicken or turkey or stuffing—165°F; poultry—180°F.
Keep your refrigerator at no more than 40°F and your freezer at 0°F.
Don’t store raw fish in your refrigerator for more than 24 hours. Raw poultry or ground beef will keep for one to two days and raw red meat for three to five.
Thaw frozen food in the fridge or in a microwave, not at room temperature.
Never put cooked food on the plate used when it was raw.
To keep bacteria from growing, put your sponge or scouring pad in the dishwasher every time you run it