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September is Food Safety Month

BY ANGIE MONK, WOOD COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT
Posted 9/7/16

September is National Food Safety Awareness Month. The four core practices for proper food safety are:

Clean

Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after …

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September is Food Safety Month

Posted

September is National Food Safety Awareness Month. The four core practices for proper food safety are:

Clean

Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food.

Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food.

Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels wash them often.

Separate

Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs from other foods in your grocery shopping cart, grocery bags and in your refrigerator.

Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry and seafood.

Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, seafood or eggs.

Cook

Use a food thermometer which measures the internal temperature of cooked meat, poultry and egg dishes, to make sure that the food is cooked to a safe internal temperature.

• Roasts & Steaks - 145° minimum

• All Poultry - 165° minimum

• Ground Meat - 160° minimum

• Fish - 145° minimum

Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm, not runny. Don’t use recipes in which eggs remain raw or only partially cooked.

Make sure there are no cold spots in food (where bacteria can survive) when cooking in a microwave oven.

Bring sauces, soups and gravy to a boil when reheating. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to 165°.

Chill

Do not over-stuff the refrigerator. Cold air must circulate to help keep food safe. Keeping a constant refrigerator temperature of 40°F or below is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Use an appliance thermometer to be sure the temperature is consistently 40°F or below. The freezer temperature should be 0°F or below.

Never let raw meat, poultry, eggs, cooked food or cut fresh fruits or vegetables sit at room temperature more than two hours.

Never defrost food at room temperature. There are three safe ways to defrost food:

• in the refrigerator

• in cold water

• and in the microwave.

Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quicker cooling in the refrigerator.