Font Size
A
A
A

Food Poisoning (cont.)

Prevention

Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential to avoiding food-borne illness. Bacteria cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted, which may be on any food.

Follow the CDC food safety guidelines to keep contaminants away.

  • Safe shopping

    • Buy cold foods last during your shopping trip. Get them home fast.


    • Never choose torn or leaking packages.


    • Do not buy foods past their "sell-by" or expiration dates.


    • Keep raw meat and poultry separate from other foods.

  • Safe storage of foods

    • Keep it safe; refrigerate.


    • Unload perishable foods first and immediately refrigerate them. Place raw meat, poultry, or fish in the coldest section of your refrigerator.


    • Check the temperature of your appliances. To slow bacterial growth, the refrigerator should be at 40°F, the freezer at 0°F.


    • Cook or freeze fresh poultry, fish, ground meats, and variety meats within two days.

  • Safe food preparation

    • Keep everything clean!


    • Wash hands before and after handling raw meat and poultry.


    • Sanitize cutting boards often in a solution of one teaspoon chlorine bleach in one quart of water.


    • Do not cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food. After cutting raw meats, wash hands, cutting board, knife, and counter tops with hot, soapy water.


    • Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator. Discard any uncooked/unused marinade.

  • Thawing food safely

    • Refrigerator: Allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing juices do not drip on other foods.


    • Cold water: For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag and submerge in cold tap water.


    • Microwave: Cook meat and poultry immediately after microwave thawing.
  • Safe cooking

    • Use a meat thermometer.


    • Cook ground meats to 160°F; ground poultry to 165°F. Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts and chops may be cooked to 145°F; all cuts of fresh pork, 160°F. Whole poultry should reach 180°F in the thigh; breasts 170°F.


    • Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.


    • Never leave food out more than two hours (or more than one hour in temperatures above 90°F).


    • Bacteria that cause food poisoning grow rapidly at room temperature.


    • Use cooked leftovers within four days.



Next: Outlook »

Printer-Friendly Format  |  Email to a Friend

Weight Loss Wisdom

Get tips, recipes and inspiration.

Are You Depressed? Take the Quiz


Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine

Food Poisoning »

Food poisoning is defined as an illness caused by the consumption of food or water contaminated with bacteria and/or their toxins, parasites, viruses, or chemicals.

Read More on eMedicine »

Medical Dictionary