| | | | Review the Proper Food Handling Guide | | When preparing meals, it is always important to follow some basic guidelines for keeping you and your kitchen a safe and healthy place. This is especially true when handling raw meats in tandem with other ingredients, as cross-contamination can lead to the spread of dangerous bacteria. Make sure your raw poultry, meat or fish is always kept separate from produce and ready-to-eat foods. This is important, even when at the grocery store, as raw meats should be bagged separately from all other foods. When you arrive home, make sure the meat is kept on the bottom most shelf of your refrigerator. This can prevent the raw meats from leaking onto other foods.
It's not just meats that need to be immediately refrigerated. All food items requiring refrigeration should be stored as soon as you arrive home to prevent and minimize bacteria reproduction and spreading. Your refrigerator should always be at a temperature of 36–38 degrees F. If this temperature exceeds 40 degrees F for over two hours, any perishable food should be thrown out. The "breeding ground" for bacteria is 40–140 degrees F. Never rely on taste, as foodborne bacterium can cause illness without ever affecting a food's scent or flavor. Keep your refrigerator clean by giving it a bi-weekly wipe down with hot soapy water and use the tried-and-true baking soda method to absorb odors. Boxes of baking soda should be replaced every 2–3 months.
As you begin your preparations, wash your counters or cooking space with hot soapy water. Rinse, and follow with a disinfectant. You should also re-wash the counter once more before moving onto another food.
When using a cutting board, there are a few important rules you need to follow, depending on the type of cutting board you are using. Many food safety experts recommend having a separate cutting board for meat, fish and poultry, although most people do not typically adhere to this rule. If you have a plastic cutting board, make sure it is washed in a dishwasher or sanitized in one tablespoon of bleach mixed with one quart of cool water. Wooden and bamboo cutting boards can also be cleaned this way and if you prefer, you can use distilled grain vinegar in place of bleach. If you notice your wooden cutting board is taking on stains while in use, make sure and rub the stains with coarse sea salt and let it sit, with the salt still applied, for 24 hours. The following day, scrub with hot soapy water and rinse. As a general rule for all cutting boards, make sure you discard them when they have excessive cuts or wear & tear.
The most important part of food handling is keeping your hands clean. Before any sort of food preparation or cooking, remove any rings or bracelets. Make sure to wash your hands in warm soapy water for a minimum of 20 seconds, scrubbing your fingernails and lathering up to your elbow. Repeat this process in between handling different types of food (i.e., beef and vegetables), after using the restroom, touching your face or hair, handling garbage, coughing, sneezing and touching a pet or other person. |
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