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Despite the progress in improving food quality and safety,
any raw agricultural product can be contaminated. Bacteria can survive despite controls with processing, or food can be
contaminated during preparation, storage, cooking and serving. It comes down to each adult and child to learn how to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
A good example of practicing food safety - with the increased recommendations for eating more fruits & veggies (F&V) the following was created:
Six Steps to Safer F&V (PDF):
1. Check
- That F&V are not damaged nor bruised.
- That fresh cut fruits and vegetables like packaged
salads and precut melons are refrigerated at the store
before buying. Do not buy fresh cut items that are not
refrigerated.
2. Clean
- Wash your hands with warm water and soap for 20-seconds before and after touching F&V.
- Before and after food preparation wash surfaces with hot water and soap. (cutting surfaces, utensils etc.)
- Rinse under running tap water F&V before removing the skins.
- If package says "washed ready to eat", you may not need
to wash items.
- In the refrigerator, keep fresh F&V separate from raw meat, poultry & fish.
- Wash with hot water and soap cutting/preparation surfaces and utensils after preparing meats; especially when switching to preparing F&V.
3. Separate
- When shopping, separate in your cart and in bags when checking out fresh F&V from household chemicals and raw meat, poultry, and fish.
- Store in your refrigerator fresh F&V from raw meat, poultry and fish.
- Do not use the same cutting board without cleaning with hot water and soap before and after preparing fresh F&V and raw meat, poultry and fish.
4. Cook
- Cook or throw away F&V that touched raw meats/poultry/fish.
5. Chill
- TWO-HOUR RULE: Refrigerate all cut-up, peeled or cooked F&V within two hours.
6. Throw away
- Discard all cut-up, peeled or cooked F&V if not refrigerated in two hours.
- Remove bruised or damaged areas of F&V before eating or cooking.
- Throw away all F&V that will not be cooked if they touched raw meats/poultry/fish.
For more information on foodborne illness:
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodborneinfections
_g.htm#mostcommon
www.fightbac.org/
REMEMBER - if in doubt, discard it!
Consumers can FIGHT BAC! (PDF)
4 basic principles to keep food safe
from harmful bacteria:
CLEAN: Wash hands and surfaces often!
SEPARATE: Don't cross-contaminate!
COOK: Cook to proper temperature!
CHILL: Refrigerate promptly!
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