Food Safety Practices for handling food to prevent

Food Safety Practices for handling food to prevent illness

Clean: Wash Hands & Surfaces – Hot soapy water, 20 seconds (happy birthday 2 x), between fingers and under nails. – Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item.

Separate: Don’t Cross. Contaminate – Improper handling of raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs can spread harmful bacteria spread throughout the kitchen. – Use separate cutting boards for produce and meats.

Cook: Cook to the Correct Internal Temperature – Cooking helps kill the harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness. – Use a food thermometer if necessary.

Chill: Refrigerate Promptly – Cold temperatures slow the growth of harmful bacteria. – Refrigerator @ 40 F or below – Freezer @ 0 F or below – Never defrost food at room temperature.

Danger Zone – The range of temperatures where bacteria grow the greatest. – 40 -140 °F – 2 hour time limit!

Sanitation –Keeping free from unclean conditions or germs for the prevention of disease.

Personal Hygiene –Keeping yourself clean.

Contamination –Being infected with bacteria because of contact with unclean people or equipment.

Cross - Contamination – A clean food/surface that comes into contact with an unclean surface/item.

Perishable –Foods that generally require refrigeration; such as eggs, meat, and milk.

Foodborne Illness: –Illness caused by bacteria or other toxins in food, typically with vomiting and diarrhea.

Salmonella – Caused by a bacteria found in animal products such as eggs, meat, dairy and poultry.

E-coli – A serious type of food borne illness caused by a bacteria found in contaminated water and raw or under cooked ground beef.

Virus –A microorganism that cannot grow or reproduce without a living cell.