6 Food Safety
Ashley Luzarraga; Kaztenny Rios Amaya; and Cynthia Rodriguez Urquidez
Food Safety
Contaminated foods cause foodborne illnesses or food poisoning; it can cause several symptoms such as stomach cramps, fever, nausea, vomiting, or even death. There is often no way to see, smell, or taste harmful bacteria like Salmonella, which brings me to the importance of food handling safety. Cleanliness plays a key factor in food safety and separating food to prevent cross-contamination, cooking foods at the correct temperatures, and putting away food by letting it chill and refrigerate promptly. The following listed are basics for food handling safety.
Basics For Food Handling Safety
Shopping
- Purchase refrigerated or frozen items after selecting your non-perishables.
- Don’t buy food past “Sell-By,” “Use-By,” or other expiration dates.
- Don’t buy food with mold, major bruises, cuts, food packages with holes, tears, or openings.
- Frozen foods should be solid, with no signs of thawing. Refrigerated foods should feel cold to the touch.
- Ensure if safety seals are loose or tampered with. Damaged lids on jars indicate the vacuum is lost, and the product may be contaminated.
- Avoid buying cans that are deeply dented, bulging, or rusting, indicating that bacteria can enter the can.
- Put fresh fruits and veggies on top of other foods.
- Buy milk, dairy, deli products toward the end.
- Ensure proper refrigeration of fresh fish, the flesh should be shiny/firm, not separating from the bone, and the odor is fresh and mild rather than overly “fishy.”
- Ensure packaged seafood is well-packed in ice and that packages are sealed tightly and free of dents and tears. Avoid packages containing ice crystals, and this may indicate the seafood has previously thawed.
- Choose packaged chicken that looks pink, not gray.
- Check for the Safe Food Handling label on bacon packages and fresh sausage, and this label indicates the meat has undergone safe processing, including handling and cooking tips.
- Place raw meat, poultry, and seafood in plastic bags before placing them in your cart, preventing them from leaking/dripping onto other foods.
Storage
Hot foods are kept hot and cold foods are kept cold to prevent the growth of the microorganisms that can spoil your food or make you ill. Follow the following:
- Groceries must be stored immediately after grocery shopping.
- The temperature of refrigerated food can go up 8-10°F on a typical trip home from the store.
- Perishable foods must be refrigerated within 2 hours and only 1 hour if it is over 90°F outside.
- Keep perishable foods out of the trunk in summer; instead, place them in the air-conditioned car.
- The refrigerator should be at 40 °F or below and the freezer at 0 °F or below.
- Fresh poultry, fish, ground meats, and variety meats must be cooked or frozen within 2 days; other beef, veal, lamb, or pork within 3-5 days.
- Perishable food like meat and poultry should be wrapped securely to prevent meat juices f