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Is the Food in Your Kitchen Safe?
from:Kitchen safety is about more than just preventing fires and burns and being careful with sharp knives. One of the most important aspects of kitchen safety is ensuring that the food we serve is safe. In this article, we’ll discuss some basic safe food practices and how you can keep yourself and your family safe.
Safe Food Storage Tips
How you store your food is an important step in keeping the food you will cook for your family safe. The temperature at which you store your food in the refrigerator and freezer is crucial to slow the growth of bacteria. You should check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer with a thermometer at least once a year to make sure they are working properly.
Leftover should be refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking but if you forget, experts advise you should throw the food out instead of refrigerating it later. Remember, too, that the temperature in your kitchen rises when you are cooking so food left out in a hot kitchen doesn’t stand much of a chance. Make sure you date any leftovers you do refrigerate; even if you know when you put them away, someone else might not be aware so it is always best to date any leftovers in your refrigerator. Most experts agree that most leftovers can safely last in the refrigerator for about 3 days but should be thrown away within 5 days.
Safe Cleaning Practices
Cutting boards are a staple of most kitchens but they can harbor a massive amount of bacteria if not properly sanitized. The first step is to use the right type of cutting board, especially when cutting raw meat. Although either wood or plastic is acceptable, choose only a smooth wood cutting board, such as one made of maple. Quality plastic cutting boards are non-porous and work well too. You just want to make sure that there are no cracks or crevices in which bacteria can hide.
Ideally, you should have one cutting board for raw meat and another one for vegetables and other foods. Even if you do, however, you will still need to sanitize your cutting boards after each use. Use hot water and a scrub brush, even if you can’t see anything on the board, the scrub brush can help to loosen tiny food particles that can contain bacteria. Then you will still want to sanitize by running the cutting boards through your dishwasher. Properly sanitizing your cutting boards is one of the most important food safety practices and will help keep your family healthy and safe.
Counters where food is prepared should also be sanitized. Hand washing, too, is crucial during the food preparation and cooking process, especially when handling raw meat. This can get old fast but it is imperative that you wash your hands properly before and after handling food, especially any type of raw meat, fish, or poultry. Don’t just rinse them off but thoroughly wash your hands with soap and warm water for a minimum of 20 seconds. Practicing safe food handling, storage, and cooking practices on a regular basis will help keep you and your family safe and healthy.
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