Food Safety

Hello all! Hope this past weekend of rain didn't bum you out too much, I spent more of my weekend on the couch, lazing around watching TV and reading books. It was nice to relax after a busy week of classes. We made some vegetable lasagna and Morrocan carrot salad in one class- lots of veggies and some excellent flavors. In another class, we had turkey chili and some tortillas which some of our participants made quite excellently. There were also two grocery store tours in which we learned more about how a grocery store is laid out and how to get the best nutritional bang for your buck. Each participant in our classes did a really great job picking out healthy foods that they could make for themselves and their families- it's really great to see the progress they've made!



Food safety is something that needs to be taken seriously in order to prevent food illness. It seems that with the recalls of food items such as ground beef, peanut butter and spinach, that maybe all of our food is at risk of being unsafe. In order to prevent food illness, you should follow the following guidelines:



Clean: Make sure to wash your hands before and after handling food. Wash hands with hot water and soap for at least 20 seconds and dry your hands completely. Whenever you use something to prepare food- such as a knife or cutting board- be sure to wash thoroughly by hand or in the dishwasher after used. Before and after preparing foods, such as raw meat, spray down the counter or other prep area, knives and cutting boards (anything that comes into contact with raw meats) with a disinfecting spray or a spray of 1 tablespoon liquid bleach to 1 gallon water.



Separate: Keep raw meat, poultry, etc. separate from other foods. When you purchase raw meats from the store, keep it wrapped in a separate bag and ask the person at the check out to bag meat separately. At home, designate a meat drawer and keep all raw meats in there. Keep them wrapped in a separate bag to prevent any juices from leaking out of the meat's wrapper. When cooking, be sure not to let the raw meat come into contact with anything that is not going to be cooked. It's a wise idea to have a different cutting board for meats to help cut down on the risk of cross contamination. Never use the same plate for raw and cooked meat. Anything that has touched raw meat should be disinfected and washed before further use.



Cook:

• Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops may be cooked to 145 °F.
• All cuts of pork, 160 °F.
• Ground beef, veal and lamb to 160 °F.
• All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F

When serving, be sure to keep hot foods hot (at 140 degrees F or hotter) and cold foods cold (at 40 degrees F or colder). The danger zone (40 degrees F- 140 degrees F) is where bacteria thrive and can cause food borne illness.




Chill: Soon after purchase, it is essential that any perishable foods be put into the refrigerator or freezer to get that food out of the danger zone. Anything that is frozen and needs to be thawed should be done so safely. It is best to put that food item into the fridge to thaw or to submerge in cold water which is changed every 30 minutes to ensure that the food remains cold while thawing. Any thawed food should not be refrozen.

You can look at the USDA's website for more information on keeping food safe: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Basics_for_Handling_Food_Safely/index.asp

Here is to happy, healthy and safe eating!

Janna