Food Safety and Information Bulletin

Food Safety and Information Bulletin

With the rise in food borne illnesses it seems the public may not know the proper ways to purchase, handle and store food. When shopping it is a good idea to select all of your dried and non-perishable food before choosing your frozen and refrigerated foods. Meat and poultry should never be torn or leaking, the air can cause the food to spoil.

When preparing food make sure to wash hands before handling food. Make sure not to cross-contaminate, keep raw meats away from other foods, and wash surfaces and knives after cutting meats on/with them. These surfaces can be sanitized with one tablespoon of bleach with one gallon of water.

Storing food is the biggest part of food safety; always refrigerate food within two hours and regularly check the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer. Poultry, fish, and ground meats should be cooked or frozen within two days, all other meats three to five days.

Leaving food at room temperature too long can cause bacteria to grow. An example of this bacterium is staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, enteritidis, and e-coli. These bacteria grow faster between the 40 – 140 degree temperature ranges.

These guidelines are only a few of the recommendations and there are many more to take a look at and research. There are some very good sources on the internet to find more information about food safety but you have to be careful about the credibility of these sites. Websites like www.fsis.usda.gov is probably the best source because the USDA is what governs the safety board. When looking at other sites it is recommended to verify these by looking at other sites to see if they contradict or support each other.

Non-credible sources can give false information, and misinform the public about the proper safety precautions when coming to safely handling food. This could lead to more food-borne illnesses.

Works Cited

Basics for Handling Food Safety. (2006, September 8). Retrieved September 29,...