We've all been to a restaurant and asked ourselves, "How safe is the food coming out of that kitchen?" Now ask the same question about the food prepared in your home kitchen. Follow the steps below to practice food safety at home.
Instructions
1. Check dates on every item of food that you are going to buy at the grocery store. Try to pick items that have an extended expiration date to get the longest shelf life from that particular food.
2. Store food properly in the freezer. Re-wrap meats in freezer paper before placing in your home freezer. The meat will be better protected from freezer burn.
3. All meat products that are stored in the refrigerator should be kept on the bottom shelf. If there should be any leaking from fresh meats, you would not have anything dripping on any food stored below it.
4. Wash your hands thoroughly and often when handling food. Soap hands and forearms and sing "Happy Birthday to You" twice. That is the amount of time that should be spent washing hands.
5. Use different cutting boards for each food group. Avoid cross contamination, which is the number one cause of food borne illnesses, by setting food in it's own place on the work station and not laying it anywhere near another food product.
6. Cook meats to internal temperature of 165 degrees to kill all bacteria that may have formed anywhere along the food prep process.
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