Safe Food

Cross-contamination is how bacteria can spread. It occurs when juice from raw meats or germs from unclean objects touch cooked or ready-to-eat foods in life. By following a few simple steps as you shop, store, cook, and transport foods, and you can greatly reduce your risk of food poisoning.

Step 1: Shop Safe

  • Wrap raw meat, poultry, and seafood in plastic bags from the produce department to prevent the juice from leaking onto other foods, and choose packaging that is well sealed and not leaking air.
  • Separate fresh or frozen, raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from produce and ready-to-eat foods in your shopping cart. Load meat, seafood, poultry, and eggs into the top basket of your shopping cart to keep the juice from leaking onto other foods and stop it from being broken.
  • To transport groceries, place meat, poultry, and seafood in plastic bags to prevent the juice from leaking in the bag.
  • Pack meats, seafood, poultry, and eggs in a different shopping bag or tote than other food in the bag. While you're at it, pack frozen and refrigerated food separately from room temperature food. This helps keep cold foods chilled until you get home and it simplifies unpacking too
  • Place the groceries in the back seat instead of the trunk of a vehicle.

Step 2: Store Safe

  • When storing foods in refrigerate or freeze groceries within two hours.
  • Prevent juice from meat, poultry, and kinds of seafood from leaking onto other foods by storing them on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator in individual plastic bags or in their own containers.
  • Keep eggs in their original disposable carton on the shelves and instead of in the refrigerator door.
  • Store fruits and vegetables in individual plastic bags for the produce drawer. This will keep them safe from yeast, mold, and microbes that may lurk in the drawer.
  • If you normally wash produce when you get home from the supermarket, make sure to store it in fresh, and clean bags instead of the original ones.
  • Store reusable totes in a clean, dry location and wash frequently with hot, soapy water or in the washing machine and avoid leaving reusable totes in the trunk of a vehicle.

Step 3: Cook Safe

  • Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds before preparing any kind of food. And wash them again before, during, and after handling raw meats and foods.
  • Be aware of the tools used during cooking-never use the same knife for raw meat, poultry, or seafood to chop produce or ready-to-eat foods, and also use one utensil to taste and another to prepare food.
  • Investing in two different cutting boards, one for produce and the other one for raw meat, poultry and seafood can go a long way in preventing cross-contamination in your kitchen. Since grooves from old cutting boards can harbor bacteria, replace cutting boards as soon as they become worn.
  • Place any unused or washed produce into clean storage containers, not back into the original once.
  • Marinate the raw meat, chicken, or fish in the refrigerator, not on the counter. If you want to brush marinade on cooked meat, so set a small amount of the marinade aside before you add it to the raw meat. Then later, when you brush it on using a fresh, clean brush. Toss leftover marinades from grilled meat, chicken, or fish — they can be swimming with bacteria.
  • Wash plates between uses or use separate plates: one for holding raw meat, poultry, and seafood and another for cooked foods.
  • Stirring spoons, serving forks, slicing knives, and plates used to hold raw food can be coated with bacteria. Be sure to replace or wash soiled utensils and plates as soon as they come into contact with raw food, and always serve cooked food on a clean plate-to-be safe.
  • Keep dishcloths, counters and other surfaces clean.

Step 4: Transport Safe

  • Lunch boxes and bento boxes can be harbor bacteria too. Keep them clean by washing them with warm, soapy water after each time use.
  • Keep foods at the proper temperature by using thermal containers and cold packs in.

Play it safe—to reduce the risk for food poisoning, separate meat, poultry, fish, and eggs from other foods. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 85% of all foodborne illnesses could be prevented if people handled food properly