Good time to review Home Food Safety

As the world turns its attention to supporting our overall health and wellbeing, now is a good time to review the rules for home food safety. From shopping to prepping to presenting our meals, of course, you start with washing your hands!  

COVID-19 is not a Foodborne Illness. 

Coronavirus is a respiratory virus – it is not considered to be a foodborne illness by the CDC or the FDA – but similar actions to prevent foodborne illness can be taken to minimize the risk of contracting coronavirus.

Let’s put our superpowers from Home Economics lessons to the test!!!

Just remember these 4 words for Basic Food Safety ….. Clean, Separate, Cook, & Chill.

Make sure your hands, utensils, surfaces, and dishes are CLEAN!

Separate raw foods from cooked, especially raw meats from raw produce! You may be cooking the chicken to kill any salmonella on board, but what about the cutting board you placed it on? Please do not use that to chop up vegetables for the salad!!! In fact, I use color-coded plastic cutting boards ( really inexpensive to buy and they come in a color-coded batch) to use red for meats, green for fresh veggies.

Cook to proper temperatures. Use a meat thermometer to make sure chicken is cooked to an internal temp of 170F, pork to 145F and if you’re re-heating leftovers make sure they’re at least 165F.

Chill to proper temperatures such as 40F or lower.  Does your refrigerator have a fever???? 

The fridge should be 40F or lower to keep foods safely chilled. 

Here are more food facts for food safety from the Food Marketing Institute.

1. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water.

https://www.fightbac.org/featured/

https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science.html

2. Ensure touchpoints are regularly cleaned and sanitized, such as countertops, tables.

https://www.fightbac.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PFSE-7696-Fact-Sheets-Clean_FINAL.pdf

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/home/cleaning-disinfection.html

3. Scrub and rinse produce under running water (warm or cold) to help remove germs or contaminants from the surface. 

http://www.saferecipeguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SafeRecipe-Styleguide-Print.pdf

I love the SAFE RECIPE GUIDE in the link above!!!!!!

Let’s remember that cooking and dining together is good for our physical, emotional and spiritual health.