Food Safety in the Kitchen

Food safety in the kitchen: what does that mean? Food borne illness occurs when foods are not handled properly or the environment that food was cooked in was not properly sanitized. Some types of foods are more likely than others to grow germs that can make us sick. Foods that contain proteins and that are moist have the most potential for being hazardous. Germs grow easily at room temperature in these foods.

There are a few simple rules to follow while cooking in your kitchen to prevent food borne illness. First always wash your hands before and during food preparation. Hands are one way germs travel from place to place. You should use warm water and soap and a nail brush too. You should lather for 20 seconds, or about the amount of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” to yourself. You should rinse thoroughly, and then dry with a paper towel as a cloth towel might harbor germs. If you prefer cloth, make sure you wash them frequently in hot water. You should always wash your hands prior to touching utensils you use to make your food (like cutting boards, knives, pots and pans) and before touching food that will not be cooked. Always wash your hands after sneezing, coughing, smoking, or working with raw meats of any kind.

An important issue to be aware of is cross contamination. It occurs when germs from raw or unclean foods gets onto foods that will not be cooked or reheated before eating. Always store raw proteins on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. This ensures that the juices won’t drop on foods that won’t be cooked. Never store foods that won’t be cooked in the same container as raw proteins. Use hard cutting boards that do not have holes or splits. After working with raw proteins and melons, wash you hands before touching any food that will be eaten without being cooked. Remember that the outside skin of fruits and veggies can harbor germs, and so these items should be washed thoroughly before being cut or peeled. Wash, rinse and sanitize your cutting boards and all utensils every time you finish cutting raw proteins or fruits and veggies. Household bleach is a good sanitizer. Use 1 tsp. or one capful of bleach per gallon of water.

How you heat, reheat, and cool your food can have a direct impact on your food safety. Germs grow quickly and toxins can form if foods are not handled properly. Food should never sit out at room temperature for more than two hours. Foods such as melons, meats, dairy, fish, etc. should never be eaten if they have been sitting out for more than four hours. It is best to just throw it out if this has occurred. To cool items safely, large pieces of meat or poultry should be cut into pieces of four inches or less. Thick soups or sauces should be chilled in shallow pans no more than two inches deep, and should not be covered until the temperature has cooled to 41 degrees or below.

Reheating food needs to be done as quickly as possible so it does not stay too long in the “danger zone” (42 degrees to 145 degrees for fish, shellfish, beef, pork, and lamb; 155 for ground beef; 165 for poultry). Reheat all foods to 165 degrees or above, and use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature.

These are some simple rules to follow to help ensure that you, your family and friends will be safe from food borne illness in your home kitchen.