| With all the diseases in the world today, food safety | | | | temperature of a refrigerator is 41 degrees to |
| should be utmost in everyone's mind when handling | | | | ensure the safety of the food inside. |
| or cooking food. The way food is handled before it is | | | | When cooking meat you should thaw the meat in the |
| cooked is just as important as the cooking itself and | | | | refrigerator. This helps with food safety because the |
| how it is handled afterwards. There are many things | | | | meat is not being thawed at a fast pace. Thaw the |
| that one has to be mindful of, such as making sure | | | | meat on the lowest rack to make sure that none of |
| the food is thoroughly washed. This applies to home | | | | the juices leak on to other foods and spoil them. If |
| use as well as restaurants and fast food outlets. | | | | you need the food in a hurry, use the defrost |
| Some foods, such as eggs, dairy products and meat | | | | feature of the microwave. When you are buying |
| spoil quickly and must be kept refrigerated. There are | | | | groceries, always check the best before date on the |
| bacteria in these foods that can cause food | | | | packaging. Many stores put foods, such as meats on |
| poisoning. You can become very ill and deaths have | | | | sale just prior to this date. If you will not be using the |
| been reported from Salmonella food poisoning if | | | | food before the date, then you shouldn't buy it. |
| proper food safety measures are not followed. | | | | Foods in the freezer that have been there for a long |
| Before you begin any food preparation, food safety | | | | time or have a hole in the packaging will most likely |
| involves washing your hands with soap and water. All | | | | have freezer burn. These should be thrown out as |
| surfaces that you will be laying the food on should | | | | they are not safe to eat. |
| also be washed as bacteria can live on any surface, | | | | When cooking food, one food safety rule is to cook |
| even the kitchen countertop. Sponges should never | | | | all seafood to 145 degrees. Raw seafood should |
| be used for cleaning as they attract and keep small | | | | never be eaten. Eggs should be cooked until the |
| pieces of dirt in the pores. When you are cleaning the | | | | whites are firm and the yolks begin to get hard. |
| surfaces you should use a mild bleach to make sure | | | | When serving cold food refrigerate it until you are |
| you kill all the germs. You should clean out your | | | | ready to serve it. Likewise, hot food should be kept |
| refrigerator on a regular basis and throw out food | | | | hot until you are ready to serve it. |
| that has been there for some time. The proper | | | | |