Food Safety guidelines, when followed properly, can help prevent foodborne illnesses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommend following the food safety guidelines is: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill.
Adequate food safety practices lead to less foodborne illness, and fewer food recalls. Keep your kitchen and workspaces clean, separating raw and ready-to-eat foods, cooking foods to proper temperatures, and chilling leftovers to reduce the risk of bacteria growth?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that every year, about 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases. That’s why it is important to know the best food safety practices to reduce your chances of getting sick.
- Following The Food Safety Guidelines is
- 10 Dangerous Food Safety Mistakes
- Which Is a Correct Food Safety Practice?
- Restaurant Food Storage Guidelines
- How Cold Does a Salad Bar or Refrigerator Have To Be To Keep Food Safe?
- Where Should a Food Handler Check the Temperature of Food
- Final Words – Following The Food Safety Guidelines is
Following The Food Safety Guidelines is
We all know that food safety is important, but it can be hard to remember all the rules after trying to do it for years.
Following the food safety guidelines is essential if you want to create tasty meals that are safe for your guests.
- Clean – Wash your hands and surfaces often with hot, soapy water
- Separate – Don’t cross-contaminate
- Cook – Cook to the right temperature and check if it is done.
- Chill – Chill food as soon as possible after cooking.
Clean
Wash your hands with soap and warm water before and after handling food. Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, countertops, sinks, and sponges, often hot, soapy water. Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods to avoid cross-contamination.
Before eating or cooking, ensure you wash produce thoroughly with clean running water (which can remove as much as 90 percent of bacteria). Don’t trust that the “clean” label on pre-cut fruits and veggies means they’re safe — it means they’ve been washed with chlorinated water.
Use a disposable towel to open the door when entering or to exit a restroom, and use hand sanitizer to ensure you don’t spread germs to yourself or others.
Separate
Cross-contamination can occur when you use the same knife, cutting board, or surface to prepare different foods. It’s important to follow these rules to prevent foodborne illness:
Separate raw meats from vegetables and cooked foods. Raw meat juices can spread bacteria that may cause illness.
Prevent ingredients from raw fish, shellfish or eggs from contaminating other foods by preparing them away from other foods. Cook these ingredients thoroughly before placing them on a plate or in a bowl used for different foods.
Serve cooked foods immediately after cooking and cooling. Cooling leftovers helps maintain their quality and freshness while ensuring that bacteria won’t grow.
Wash, rinse and sanitize surfaces, equipment and utensils after they touch raw meat or poultry. Bacteria from the raw meat can get onto the surfaces and contaminate other foods. Wash your hands with soap and water between handling different types of food.
Please don’t use the same cutting board for meat and ready-to-eat food without washing it first. This includes bread, fruits, vegetables or other ready-to-eat foods that have been cut on a board previously used for raw meats.
Cook
There are many ways to test for doneness, such as pulling the food apart with your fingers, checking for “crustiness”, or listening to the sizzle. One way is to use an instant-read thermometer, which measures temperature as close as possible to the food’s surface.
Cooking times and temperatures should be listed on the food package, but if not, you should check a reliable source such as a cookbook or by goggling the recipe and brand of the food you’re cooking.
The FDA and USDA recommend that meat and poultry be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160°F (71°C). The internal temperature will continue to rise about 5°F (3°C) after removing it from heat. This means that food continues to cook even after being removed from the heat source.
You can lower this temperature by cooking in a slow cooker or by marinating your meat beforehand so it soaks up some flavors.
It’s also important to note that cook times vary based on altitude, so if you live above 3000 feet above sea level, adjust accordingly.
Chill
Food safety experts advise against eating meat, poultry or eggs that have been left out at room temperature for more than two hours. If you are not eating the food shortly after cooking, make sure it is stored in a refrigerator or freezer.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that cooked food be kept hot at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or higher and cold food at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
10 Dangerous Food Safety Mistakes
Food safety is very important in the home. Learn how to protect yourself and your family from food poisoning by avoiding ten common food safety mistakes.
Food poisoning is the most common cause of sickness and diarrhea globally and is responsible for nearly 1.8 million deaths each year. It’s estimated that 50% of all food-related illnesses stem from home preparation and storage.
Are you making any of these 10 dangerous food safety mistakes?
- You’re handling raw meat and seafood incorrectly
- Your kitchen isn’t clean enough
- You’re not cooking to the right temperature
- cross-contaminating foods
- You’re not storing foods properly
- You don’t have a thermometer
- You’ve got food safety equipment or processes wrong
- You’re not cleaning up properly after preparing food
- Your fridge isn’t cold enough
- You’ve got hygiene wrong
Which Is a Correct Food Safety Practice?
There’s an old saying that people get sick from the food they eat, not from the germs they get. This is because most foodborne illness comes from mistakes in handling or preparation.
The four basic rules of food safety are Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. Each practice has a specific purpose: to make sure you don’t cross-contaminate any foods with bacteria, viruses, or parasites.
Restaurant Food Storage Guidelines
Food storage guidelines are very important for restaurants to follow. When food is not stored correctly, bacteria can grow; causing foodborne illnesses that hurt the restaurant’s reputation and cause loss of their business.
What is Food Storage?
Food storage refers to just that — storing food in a way that keeps it fresh and tastes good. It means putting the proper nutrition into the right containers at the appropriate time and holding each of those foods in ways that prevent contamination or deterioration.
Many of these things are so common sense they go without saying, but it’s amazing how often people forget some of them, especially when they’re busy with other tasks.
To ensure your restaurant follows all of the necessary guidelines, read on!
Food Storage Guidelines
- Keep perishable foods below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Always use the proper food handling techniques when handling hot foods.
- Keep cold foods below 41 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Use clean towels to clean and sanitize all surfaces in your kitchen before and after handling food products.
- Wash any fruit or vegetables you are serving raw to ensure that they are completely clean and free of any bacteria before serving them to customers.
- Keep all perishables in glass containers with tight seals to avoid the spread of bacteria.
- Never put cooked meat on the same plate that it was cooked on; always place the cooked meat on a clean plate or tray to not contaminate other foods or create cross-contamination between different foods in your restaurant kitchen area.
- Always wash your hands thoroughly before handling food products, so you do not spread bacteria to any food products you handle during the cooking process or clean up after the cooking process is complete for that day.
How Cold Does a Salad Bar or Refrigerator Have To Be To Keep Food Safe?
If you’re serving food at this time of year, you may be wondering how cold your refrigerator needs to be to keep food safe.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that perishable foods such as meats, poultry and seafood should never be left out of refrigeration for more than two hours at a time, and those foods should not sit out any longer than that even if they’re on display in a deli case.
So what about the salad bar? The Food and Drug Administration says perishable foods like fruits and vegetables can be kept on a display cooler (also known as a salad bar) for up to four hours — but only if the food is served “in good condition” and is eaten within two hours or less.
The FDA also recommends keeping the salad bar below 41 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning it’s important to make sure the unit is plugged back in if it’s had to be moved or unplugged at any point during service.
Where Should a Food Handler Check the Temperature of Food
Checking the temperature of food is an important part of the food safety process. Food handlers should check the internal temperature of cooked food to ensure that it has reached a safe temperature.
Food handlers should check refrigerated items for temperatures between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The acceptable range for frozen food is 0 degrees to 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
The internal temperature of food can be checked using several methods, including visual inspection, thermometers, and time and temperature indicators.
Final Words – Following The Food Safety Guidelines is
Be sure to follow FDA food safety guidelines for optimum meal preparation. Using these tips to prepare your meat before cooking will ensure its flavor, extend its shelf life, and make it safer to eat. Happy grilling!
