Handling and Storing Food Safely

I. Keep Your Hands Clean

The most important thing that we can do to protect ourselves is to wash our hands regularly. By frequently washing your hands, you wash away germs that you may have picked up from other people, or from contaminated surfaces, or from animals. Once our hands pick up germs from other sources, we can easily infect ourselves when we touch our eyes, nose, or mouth or infect others through contaminating food or food preparation surfaces.

Remember that, in addition to colds, some pretty serious diseases, including hepatitis A, meningitis, and infectious diarrhea, can easily be prevented if we make a habit of washing our hands often. It is especially important to wash our hands both before and after preparing or handling food, before eating, after using the bathroom, or after playing with our pets. If someone is sick in your home, washing your hands more frequently will help to protect you from becoming sick as well.

Believe it or not, there is actually a right and wrong way to wash your hands. Experts recommend that hands be washed in a combination of soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. First, thoroughly wet your hands, then apply liquid or clean bar soap. Next, rub your hands vigorously together for several seconds and scrub all surfaces. Rinse well and dry. Keep in mind that it's the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps to dislodge and remove the germs.

II. Keep Surface Areas Clean, Too

Bacteria are everywhere in the environment and can grow quickly and easily if we don't observe proper cleaning and sanitation procedures.

There is a difference between cleaning and disinfecting. Cleaning generally means that dirt is being removed, while the term disinfecting means that germs are being removed. While surfaces may look clean, many infectious germs can be lurking. Under certain conditions, some germs can live on surfaces for hours and even for days.

Tips for Keeping a Clean Kitchen

Kitchens can be one of the most dangerous places in the home because of the infectious bacteria that can be found on raw foods. We can also spread germs to other people through the handling and food preparation process if we are not careful. In addition to washing our hands before we begin preparing food, we should make sure to wash our hands after handling any raw food product to make sure we do not transfer any bacteria from the raw food to foods we plan to handle next.

Cleaning and Disinfecting Surfaces

It is important that we use care when cleaning and sanitizing surfaces in our homes. Some cleaning products can adversely affect our ability to breath or cause a severe skin reaction in some individuals. Protect yourself and observe the following tips:

III. Don't Cross-Contaminate

Improper handling of raw meat, poultry, or seafood can create an inviting environment that is perfect for cross-contamination. If we're not careful when handling these foods, bacteria can quickly spread between food products and throughout your kitchen.

Tips to Avoid Cross-Contamination

IV: Storing Food Safely

Bacteria grow most rapidly between the temperatures of 40 °F and 140 °F, so it is very important to keep foods out of this temperature range. Cold temperatures keep many harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying, so make sure to promptly refrigerate unused or leftover foods!

Four Golden Rules to Remember

The USDA and the FDA recommend that consumers use the following guidelines to ensure food products are stored at the proper temperatures.

Additional Food Storage Tips

If not properly handled, stored, and prepared, food products can harbor many different organisms that can cause foodborne illnesses. Below are some general tips that consumers should keep in mind when preparing and storing food.

For further tips on refrigerating and freezing food products, check out our Cold Storage Chart.