Is Your Food Safe?

Food Safety: Shopping and Kitchen Basics

Did you know that home cooking causes more food-borne illness than restaurant food? The culprits are usually raw meat and eggs, but produce and canned foods can cause problems, too.

• Shop smart. Never let juices from raw meat touch other groceries. Avoid canned goods with dents, cracks or bulging lids.

• Wash up. Wash all produce before you slice it.

• Thoroughly clean any surfaces touched by meat.

• Cook thoroughly. Red meat should reach at least 145 degrees F (rare); ground beef should reach 165 degrees F; poultry, 180 degrees F. Cook eggs until the whites aren't runny and yolks begin to firm up.

• Use separate utensils for cooking and serving.

• Respect leftovers. Use them within three to five days. Reheat sauces, soups and gravy to a boil.

• Clean up. Do the dishes right away. Wash dishtowels and dishcloths in hot water and bleach. Clean surfaces with one tablespoon bleach in one gallon of water.

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"In the Know" is " In the Safe"

Be careful with produce

Treat fruits and vegetables with care, just as you would with animal-based foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises. Fruits and vegetables often are imported from nations without rigid safety standards; fresh manure used to fertilize vegetables can contaminate them. Alfalfa sprouts and other sprouts usually eaten raw are sprouted in conditions that are ideal not only for the sprouts,

but also for microbes. Unpasteurized fruit juice can be contaminated if there are pathogens in or on the fruit used to make the juice.

Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables in running tap water to remove visible dirt and grime. Don't skip fruit with inedible rinds; bacteria on rinds can spread to the flesh of the fruit when you slice them. Avoid leaving cut produce at room temperature for many hours.

Handle susceptible foods carefully

Bacteria need moisture, protein and carbohydrates to grow, the USDA says. Potato salad and macaroni salad offer ideal conditions, so keep these dishes well chilled. Never let a starchy salad touch raw meat or utensils used on raw meats. Avoid cross-contaminating foods by washing hands, utensils and cutting boards after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry and before they touch another food.

Keep foods cold

Refrigerate leftovers promptly if they are not going to be eaten within four hours. Keep in mind that refrigeration doesn't kill bacteria, but it stops or slows them from growing. The bacterium Listeria is an exception in that it grows well in the cold. Left long enough, food can still go bad in the fridge-meats from bacteria and fruits, vegetables and breads from molds.

Understand "sell-by" and "use-by" dates

"Sell by" applies to stores, which can keep things colder in the back room before display than you do in your refrigerator. Even if the sell-by date on raw poultry is a week away, you've only got two or three days to use it once you bring it home, Ms. Conley says. The "use-by" date refers to an unopened package.

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Know Safe Cooking Temperatures 

Cook meat well to prevent bacterial contamination. The following are guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

• Beef, veal, and lamb steaks and roasts -145°F for medium rare, 160°F for medium, and 170°F for well done

• Ground pork and ground beef - 160°F

• Ground poultry - 165°F

• Poultry breasts - 170°F

• Whole poultry (take measurement in the thigh) - 180°F

• Fin fish - 145°F or until the flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork

• Shrimp, lobster and crabs - the meat should be pearly and opaque

• Clams, oysters and mussels - until the shells are open

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Source: Staywell Communications