The Core Four guidelines to ensure food safety
- col-kate-shumaker
- September 4, 2024
- 291
I think we’ve all had what we’ve called the 24-hour “flu.” Perhaps you didn’t feel so great and blamed it on “something you ate.” A friend of mine also refers to this as “GI nasty.” Very often what seems like a mystery illness may be foodborne illness such as food poisoning.
September is National Food Safety Education Month, an opportunity to learn more about a few food-safety habits that can help reduce your risk of getting a foodborne illness. The Partnership for Food Safety Education (https://www.fightbac.org/) has a plethora of amazing resources including an awesome video depicting why you should not wash raw poultry at https://www.fightbac.org/poultry/.
To make it easy to remember, the partnership has streamlined food-safety guidelines into four simple steps called the Core Four. Let’s check them out.
Clean
—Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers and handling pets.
—Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food.
—Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels, wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
—Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water including those with skins and rinds that are not eaten.
—Rub firm-skinned fruits and vegetables under running tap water or scrub with a clean vegetable brush while rinsing with running tap water.
Separate
—Cross-contamination is how bacteria can be spread. Improper handling of raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs can create an inviting environment for cross-contamination. As a result harmful bacteria can spread to food and throughout the kitchen, leading to a foodborne illness.
—Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs from other foods in your grocery shopping cart, grocery bags and in your refrigerator.
—Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry and seafood.
—Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, seafood or eggs.
Cook
—Food is safely cooked when it reaches a high enough internal temperature to kill the harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness.
—Use a food thermometer, which measures the internal temperature of cooked meat, poultry and egg dishes, to make sure the food is cooked to a safe internal temperature.
—Cook roasts and steaks to a minimum of 145 F. All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 F as measured with a food thermometer.
—Cook ground meat, where bacteria can spread during grinding, to at least 160 F. Remember color is not a reliable indicator of doneness.
—Cook eggs and dishes containing eggs until the internal temperature reaches 160 F on a food thermometer.
—Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm, not runny. Don’t use recipes in which eggs remain raw or only partially cooked.
—Cook fish to 145 F or until the flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork.
—Make sure there are no cold spots in food (where bacteria can survive) when cooking in a microwave oven. For best results, cover food, stir and rotate for even cooking.
—Bring sauces, soups and gravy to a boil when reheating. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to 165 F.
Chill
—Refrigerate foods quickly because cold temperatures slow the growth of harmful bacteria. Do not over-stuff the refrigerator. Cold air must circulate to help keep food safe. Keeping a constant refrigerator temperature of 40 F or below is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Use an appliance thermometer to be sure the temperature is consistently 40 F or below. The freezer temperature should be 0 F or below.
—Refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs and other perishables as soon as you get them home from the store.
—Never let raw meat, poultry, eggs, cooked food, or cut fresh fruits or vegetables sit at room temperature more than two hours before putting them in the refrigerator or freezer (one hour when the temperature is above 90 F).
—Never thaw food at room temperature. Food must be kept at a safe temperature during thawing. There are three safe ways to thaw food: in the refrigerator, in cold water and in the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
—Always marinate food in the refrigerator.
—Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quicker cooling in the refrigerator.
—Use or discard refrigerated food on a regular basis.
Kate Shumaker is an OSU Extension family and consumer sciences educator and may be called at 330-674-3015. Like and follow on Facebook @OSUEXTHolmes or visit at https://holmes.osu.edu.