How NOT to Kill Someone With Your Food

Not The Hospital!!!

We hear about it every summer. Family members getting ill after eating that lovely potato salad that waited around on the picnic table while the fam played a game of touch football. Whether you have mayo in it or not, you're asking for trouble if you dive into a bowl of food that has been sitting out and not kept properly cold or hot. Let's discuss how NOT to kill ourselves and others with our food!

Watch That Clock & Your Temp!

The most important aspects of food prep and safety, whether at home or in a commercial kitchen, are TIME and TEMPERATURE. Watch out for the danger zone, 41 degrees F to 135 degrees F, where dangerous bacteria can more than double in twenty minutes. Here is a basic list to keep and review so you and your peeps are safe from foodborne illness and can enjoy your culinary creations.

Keep your hands clean (or gloved if handling raw meat) while preparing food. Wash often and always between different kinds of preparations.

Do not cross-contaminate. Keep your surfaces clean and never prepare a sandwich where you filleted a raw fish without cleaning first! Ewww! Keep these spaces separate or well sanitized between different types of food prep, especially raw and ready to eat food.

Make sure that any cleanser that you have to sanitize is used properly so that you do not have chemical contamination. People get poisoned every day too.

When heating a frozen meal or reheating leftovers, the food should be heated up to 165 degrees F for safety.

Place raw eggs, meat and seafood below any produce or ready-to-eat items in the refrigerator. Nothing worse than some yummy raw chicken juice on your leftover lasagna. Mmmmm! Better yet, if you take the plant-based approach, you won't even have to worry about animal juices on your food! Yay!

Make sure that when you are cooking meats, seafood and even baked goods, like a loaf of banana bread, that the temperatures reach high enough. You can view the proper temperatures here.

When shopping for ingredients, make sure to inspect dates, color, packaging (torn boxes and dented cans), and that they are being properly held, cold enough or hot enough. Even grocers equipment breaks down and problems occur because of human error.

If you must thaw something from the freezer, give yourself enough time to let it thaw in the fridge. If an absolute, last-minute emergency, you can sometimes thaw items in the sink under continuous cold running water, adding ice as needed.

Plenty of other tips for food safety exist and I will probably share more over time, but you should use your common sense and never forget... When in Doubt, Throw It Out!!

This post is important and if you never read another thing, remember that making wise choices with food preparation and service can save lives. The FDA warns about the "Big 5" foodborne pathogens which are Norovirus (Norwalk virus), The Hepatitis A virus, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella spp and Escherichia coli (E.coli). These and others can be avoided with proper hygiene and correct food preparation. Simple once you get used to the rules! So go out there and create glorious noms and share with family and friends knowing you have worked hard to keep everyone out of the hospital!

Peace, Love, Kindness & Good Grub,

Monique

p.s. Wash Your Hands!

#foodsafety #foodbornillness #cooking #kitchensafety #propertemperatures