Health and Wellness Review

Six tips for avoiding food poisoning at home

The U.S. is lucky to have a food supply that, overall, is very safe. However, bacteria are ever-present, and accidents happen. While you’re not in control of how your food is handled before you buy it, here are six ways you can help protect yourself and your family from food poisoning.

Keep it clean. Wash your hands, wash your utensils, and wash your surfaces! Cross-contamination is a very real threat that’s very easy to prevent. Make sure you use warm water and soap. As always, be especially careful when handling raw meat.

Keep it cold. It’s important to freeze or refrigerate your groceries or cooked food within two hours. Meat that will not be eaten in the next few days should be frozen. And when you’re defrosting meat, don’t just leave it on the counter all day long. Bacteria thrive at room temperature. Thaw your food in the refrigerator, microwave, or cold water.

Isolate raw meat. Whether it’s poultry or seafood, beef or pork, lamb or llama, keep raw meat away from other foods. This starts at the grocery store: keep the meat away from your other groceries, and wrap it in a plastic bag if the container is leaking. Same thing in your fridge: don’t let that meat juice drip on your vegetables! Finally, when you’re cooking, keep the raw meat on its own plate and cutting board, and wash them right away.

Cook it enough. Food thermometers aren’t very expensive, and they’re the only way to tell for sure if your meat (or egg dish) is adequately cooked. It’s important to reach an internal temperature of at least 140-180 degrees Fahrenheit in order to kill any bacteria that might be present.

Serve food promptly. Beware of buffets, especially in hot weather! Food should be consumed within two hours, more quickly when it’s warm out. If the food will need to sit for longer than two hours, use ice baths or warming trays to keep it cool or warm.

Don’t be afraid to toss it out. You're not starving to death – you can afford to throw away any iffy food. This includes food that's sat out for more than two hours, meat that has been in the refrigerator for more than a few days, anything that might have touched raw meat, anything that smells funny, and anything else you're just not sure of. Better to toss it than get violently ill!

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