Cross-Contamination & Food Storage

Raw meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood can contaminate other food with harmful germs. It is
important to keep raw foods and their juices away from cooked food, ready-to-eat food, and produce. Follow these tips to prevent cross-contamination when handling, preparing, and storing food.

Wash your hands after handling raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
Use separate cutting boards, dishes, and utensils for raw meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood.
Never use the same cutting boards, dishes, or utensils for both raw foods and cooked foods.
Wash, rinse, and sanitize cutting surfaces, utensils, and knives after cutting raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
Store raw meat, fish, and poultry in leakproof containers on the lower shelves of the refrigerator.
Never let blood or juice from raw meat, fish, or poultry drip onto other foods in the refrigerator.
Use dishes, utensils, and cutting boards that are in good condition. Cracked wooden spoons or chipped dishes are good places for germs to grow and should be discarded.
Never place cooked food back on the same plate or cutting board that previously held raw food.
If you use marinade for raw food as a sauce for cooked food, boil it first.
Always use clean dishes to serve food.

Store Foods Safely

Freeze any raw meat, poultry, and seafood that you will not use within 2 days.
Keep eggs in their original carton and store them in the main compartment of them refrigerator.
Never store cooked food, ready-to-eat foods or fresh produce in the same container as raw meat, fish, or poultry.
Don’t store perishables, such as eggs, in the refrigerator door. Because the door is opened frequently, its temperature is generally higher than the rest of the refrigerator and may not be safe.
In your grocery cart, keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs away from other foods.
Never store food on the floor, soiled surfaces, or near rust.
Store cleaning supplies and chemicals below and away from food.
Do not store food in galvanized cans or containers with metal coatings because some foods can “pull off” the metal which can cause poisoning.
Check canned and jarred foods for proper meals. If the food looks or smells bad, or if the can is damaged, throw it away.

Cook and Maintain Food at Proper Temperatures

Cooking hazardous foods at a high temperature kills harmful germs and makes the food safe to eat. These foods can become dangerous again if they stay at room temperature for too long. Bacteria grow fast and can double in number in as little as 20 minutes. You must cook food and keep it at safe temperatures to avoid foodborne illness.

The Danger Zone 41°F – 135°F (5°C – 57.2°C)

Never leave raw meat, poultry, eggs, or fish at room temperature; store them in the refrigerator or freezer. To make meat, poultry, eggs, and fish safe to eat, heat them to their minimum cooking temperature. Serve food as soon as possible after cooking.

Never leave food out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours. If the temperature is above 90°F, do not leave food out for more than 1 hour.

Keep hot food hot: Store PHFs at or above 135°F. Place cooked food in chafing dishes, preheated steam tables, warming trays, and/or slow cookers.

Keep cold food cold: Store PHFs at or below 41°F. Place food in refrigerators or containers on ice.

Food Thermometers

Using a food thermometer is the only reliable way to check the temperature of food. When cooking, use a thermometer to make sure the food reaches a safe minimum internal temperature. For both hot and cold foods, use a thermometer to make sure they stay at safe holding temperatures.

Digital food thermometers reach and display internal temperatures within 2 to 5 seconds. The thin metal probe of the thermometer can check the temperature of both thin and thick foods. Wash, rinse, and sanitize the thermometer before use and after using on raw animal foods to prevent cross-contamination.

Use an alcohol swab or sanitizer when checking the temperature of different ready-to-eat foods. The correct way to measure the internal temperature depends on the type of food:

Always insert the thermometer in the thickest part of the food, away from bone, fat, or gristle.
For foods with irregular shapes like chickens and roasts, also check the temperature in several places.
For foods cooked in a microwave, stir to help the food cook evenly, and check in several places.
For thin foods such as hamburger patties, make sure the thermometer probe does not touch the pan or cooking surface.
For mixed dishes like casseroles and quiches, also check the temperature in several places.

Safe Booking Temperature

Food is safely cooked when the internal temperature is high enough to kill the germs that can make you sick. Most harmful germs are destroyed between 140 °F and 165 °F. Different foods have different minimum safe temperatures. Always cook raw meat and poultry to their safe minimum internal temperature.

When you think the food is done, use a food thermometer to check the temperature. Look at the minimum cooking temperatures chart to be sure the foods have reached their safe temperature. Some foods require rest time after cooking. Remove these foods from the heat source and let them sit for the specified time.

Minimum Cooking Temperatures (with required durations)

165°F (73.9°C) for 15 seconds	Poultry (chicken and turkey) Stuffed pasta, fish, meat, poultry, ratites (emu, ostrich) Stuffing or casseroles containing fish, meat, poultry, or ratites All raw animal foods cooked in a microwave
155°F (68.3°C) for 15 seconds	Ground, chopped, restructured, or combined fish or meat, such as hamburger and sausage Ratites (emu, ostrich) Mechanically tenderized or injected meats Unpasteurized eggs cooked for hot holding (pasteurized eggs have no required cooking temperature)
145°F (62.8°C) for 15 seconds	Unpasteurized eggs cooked for immediate consumption (pasteurized eggs have no required cooking temperature) Fish or meat, including pork, that is not stuffed or comminuted (not including roasts, or as otherwise mentioned in the above cooking temperatures) Game animals that are inspected by the USDA
145°F (62.8°C) (surface)	Whole-muscle, intact beef steaks (as labeled by the processor) that have not been scored or tenderized must be cooked to have a color change on the surface
135°F (57.2°C)	Plant foods that will be hot held

Reheating Food

As soon as food cools below 135 °F, bacteria can start to grow. Reheat food to 165 °F within 2 hours to kill any new harmful germs. Follow these guidelines to safely reheat food.

Only reheat food that has been safely prepared and refrigerated promptly.
If the food has been in the danger zone for more than two hours, throw it away.
If leftovers have been in the refrigerator for more than 3 days, throw them away.
Use the burner on a stove, microwave, oven, or double boiler.
In the microwave oven, cover the food, stir, and rotate so it heats evenly.
Use a food thermometer to check the temperature of reheated food.

Be careful when serving reheated food from then microwave to prevent burns. These foods can be very hot in some places or even get hotter after they come out.

Thawing Frozen Food

Never thaw food at room temperature, on a counter, or in warm water. These methods let harmful bacteria grow quickly to high, possibly unsafe numbers. The inside of the food may be at a safe temperature, but the outside could be perfect for bacterial growth. There are 3 safe ways to thaw foods. Plan ahead to allow enough time to do it right!

Thaw food inside the refrigerator. It may take longer, but this is the best and safest way.
Thaw the food under cool, running water – never under warm or hot water.
Use the microwave and follow the manufacturer’s defrosting instructions.

Have any of the safe food handling guidelines surprised you? Is there anything you will do differently now that you know them?

Chill and Store Foods Properly

One of the most common causes of foodborne illness is improper cooling of cooked and leftover foods. Bacteria can grow in any food even after it is safely cooked. Cooling and storing foods properly is very important to reducing foodborne illness.

Cooling Foods

To keep foods safe, refrigerate them as soon as possible after cooking. Bacteria can grow quickly in cooling food. To cool food to a safe temperature quickly use the shallow pan method.

Divide the food into small portions (less than 2 inches thick) in separate small uncovered containers.
Place the containers directly into the refrigerator or freezer. Do not overpack the refrigerator or stack containers. Air must be able to circulate freely in order to chill foods effectively.
Use a thermometer to check that the food is below 41°F / 5°C and then cover, wrap, or seal the containers.
Label and date refrigerated or frozen foods.

Special consideration for cold salads

Potato, pasta, macaroni, egg, and chicken salads have to be cold enough to prevent bacteria from growing. When making these foods, cook all ingredients to safe temperatures and then chill to below 41°F / 5°C. Then mix the ingredients quickly and serve.

Storing Cold Food

Even in the refrigerator, food can become unsafe to eat. Spoiled food can smell or taste bad, or have harmful bacteria. Regularly throw out food that has been in the refrigerator too long. Throw away foods that are past their expiration date. Leftovers can stay in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Frozen food loses moisture (water) over time. Your refrigerator should be set to a temperature that keeps foods at 41°F / 5°C or below and your freezer should be set to a temperature that maintains food in a solid, frozen state. Use an appliance thermometer to be sure.

Refreezing Previously Frozen Leftovers

Sometimes there are leftover leftovers. It is safe to refreeze any food remaining after reheating previously frozen leftovers to the safe temperature of 165°F / 73.95°C as measured with a food thermometer.

If a large container of leftovers was frozen and only a portion of it is needed, it is safe to thaw the leftovers in the refrigerator, remove the needed portion and refreeze the remainder of the thawed leftovers without reheating it.