Don’t “poison” your dinner guests with a food-borne illness. Be safe in the kitchen with simple food safety tips.
“Food poisoning,” aka a food-borne illness, can be life-threatening. The CDC estimates about 128,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized annually, and many die just from eating food!
Do you know how to be safe?
Test yourself.
Yes or No?
1. Is it safe to dethaw meat in the microwave and refreeze it?
2. Is it safe for frozen food to be thawed at room temperature?
3. Is it okay to eat food from dented cans?
Answers:
1. No, if you dethaw meat or poultry in the microwave or under cold running water, you should not refreeze it. Only if meat was dethawed in the fridge is it safe to refreeze.
2. No, do not dethaw foods at room temperature. Use the microwave, place it under cold running water, or dethaw it in the fridge (remove any vacuum seals).
3. If cans have dents on the seam or lid, definitely throw them out. Dents may cause the inner seal to be compromised and may allow bacteria to enter and grow. Also, never eat food that came from bulging or rusted cans.
Common ways to get sick from food
Here are other things that you should NOT do:
- Food was prepped or touched by dirty hands or surfaces
- Food came from a container that squirted liquid when opened
- Food requiring refrigeration was transported or left out more than 2 hours (1 hour if 90o F or hotter)
- Food was microwaved and had cold spots from uneven heating (should stir and heat thoroughly)
- Marinade previously used with raw animal foods was reused (should boil first)
- Plates, cutting boards, or utensils used for raw animal foods was also used for other foods without washing between uses
- Raw animal products (drips from juices) mixed with other foods in the fridge
Safe Food Handling- What you SHOULD be doing
Here are a few basic food safety skills and keep your food safe.
Keep it CLEAN!
Hand washing:
- Soap up and lather for at least 20 seconds
- Turn off the faucet with a paper towel (not your hands); otherwise, you will re-contaminate your hands
- Wash hands after touching raw animal products or uncooked eggs
- Rewash hands if you have touched your face or trash, coughed, sneezed, or gone to the toilet
Surfaces
Wash cutting boards, dishes, and utensils thoroughly with soapy hot water. Scrub those that have touched raw animal products well to prevent bacteria from growing.
Wipe down surfaces used to prep food, especially those that came into contact with raw meats, poultry, and fish.
Add 1 Tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water to sanitize surfaces (higher concentrations should be followed with a water rinse).
Prep
No need to wash raw meats, poultry, or eggs (this tends to spread more germs than it prevents) because thoroughly cooking them will kill bacteria.
Raw meats, poultry, and fish should be kept separately from other foods by:
- prepping plant-based foods first before handling raw animal products if possible
- prepping in a different location (on a separate counter) if possible
- using different cutting boards, utensils, plates
- changing plate and utensils when handling raw and cooked animal products
Storage – Temps and Refrigeration
Refrigerated foods -keep below 40oF. Above this temperature, bacteria grow quickly. A refrigerator thermometer is a must-have.
Frozen foods– keep below 0oF.
In general, any hot foods sitting out that drop below 135oF is considered a bacteria party waiting to happen. Reheat above 165oF before eating or throw out.
Refrigerators can take time to cool foods. Placing hot foods in the fridge can heat the fridge along with the stored food. To cool down food for refrigeration:
- place the dish in a cold water bath
- or separate the food into smaller portions to cool off
Store leftovers in the smallest container possible and squeeze out air from plastic bags to limit air space before refrigerating foods.
Thaw frozen foods only by these 3 methods (do NOT thaw at room temperature or in warm water):
- in the refrigerator (remove any vacuum-sealed plastic, especially from fish)
- in the microwave
- under cold running water
Cut fruit and veggies should be refrigerated within 2 hours.
Refrigerated foods need to be in the fridge within 2 hours of purchase or when sitting out at room temp (1 hour if 90oF or hotter outside).
Cooking
Use a thermometer, not just your eyes, to check if food is cooked to the proper temperature. Stick the thermometer in the thickest part of foods, avoiding any bone or fat.
Safe Cooking Temps of Foods
| Food | Minimum Temperature (oF) |
| Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb – steaks, chops, roasts | 145 |
| Fish & shellfish | 145 |
| Uncooked ham (including smoked) | 145 |
| Fully cooked ham | 165 (unless USDA inspected then 140) |
| Eggs | 160 |
| All ground meats, all poultry, and reheated foods | 165 |
Food Safety Temps – in picture form
Expiration dates
What do food expiration dates mean?
Manufacturers often test their product’s shelf-life in a laboratory. To prevent illness while at the same time maintaining food quality, they set an expiration date to inform consumers of when they should have eaten these items.
“Use by date” = throw out after this date
“Best if used by date” = quality will drop, but it is generally safe to consume the product soon after this date
NOTE – these dates are often for unopened packages. Once you open the container, the expiration date will usually be sooner. (See below)
Open containers
Once a food package is opened, the amount of time it is safe to eat will depend upon many factors, including temperature, moisture content, humidity, preservatives, food matrix, and other variables.
Always check the packaging for information on how many days the food should be consumed by and/or check out the USDA’s Food Keeper app for more information.
In general, foods should be cooked/eaten by:
| Food | Consume by |
| Most prepared foods and leftovers | 3 – 4 days |
| Eggs | |
| Whole eggs in fridge | 3 – 5 weeks (check dates on package) |
| Egg substitutes in fridge | ~3 days after opening |
| Hard-boiled in fridge | 1 week |
| Dairy | |
| Milk | ~ 1 week (use by date on package) |
| Cheese, sliced, hard (cheddar, Swiss..) | 3 – 4 weeks |
| Cheese, soft (feta, brie..) | 1 – 2 weeks |
| Cottage, Ricotta cheese | 1 week after opening |
| Almond, coconut, rice, or soy milk | 7 – 10 days after opening in fridge |
| Meat, Poultry, Seafood | |
| Raw poultry | 1 –2 days |
| Cooked poultry/dishes | 2 – 4 days |
| Raw whole meats, steaks/roasts | 3 – 5 days |
| Raw ground meats | 1—2 days |
| Lunch meats, cooked ready to eat | ~3 – 5 days after opening |
| Raw fish | 1 –2 days |
| Most shellfish | 1 – 3 days |
| Plant-based Foods | |
| Refried beans | 2 – 3 days |
| Cooked rice or pasta | 3 – 5 days in fridge |
| Bagged leafy greens (spinach, lettuce..) | 2 days in fridge |
| Cut fruit | 2 – 4 days in fridge |
| Fresh squeezed OJ | 2 –3 days in fridge |
| Commercial OJ | 7 – 10 days in fridge after opening |
| Fresh apple, carrot, lemon juice | 3 – 6 days in fridge |
| Fruit juice, drinks, punch in cartons | 8 – 12 days in fridge after opening |
| Coconut water | 1 – 2 days in fridge after opening |
| Sauces and Dressings | |
| Salsa (picante/taco sauces) | 1 month in fridge after opening |
| Tomato sauces (marinara…) | 4 days in fridge after opening |
| Commercial salad dressings | 3 – 4 weeks in fridge after opening |
| Infant Formula | |
| Infant formula prepared | 1 day in fridge, 1 hour at room temp |
| Formula liquid concentrate/ ready to feed | 2 days in fridge |
| Bread and Tortillas | |
| Bread | 3 – 5 days in pantry |
| Tortillas, flour | 3 months in fridge after opening |
| Tortillas, corn | 25 – 45 days in pantry, 60 – 90 days in fridge |
Food recalls
Check periodically for FDA recalls on food products to ensure you are not consuming foods that may have been contaminated, lack safety measures (e.g., unsanitary plant conditions), or for improper labeling.
The USDA’s app, FoodKeeper, also provides recall alerts as a notification option.
Food safety is critical for everyone who eats!
Don’t let your plate become a petri dish for a bacteria party! Food safety is quite simple:
- Clean
- Separate
- Cook well
- Store properly
Keep a happy belly and happy dinner guests with these simple steps!