more than 2 hours
Food Safety
Overview
How times have changed
Why some people face risks
Recognizing foodborne illnesses (food poisoning)
Food safety at home
Special foods and advice
Eating out or take out
What is a food borne illness?
How food becomes unsafe
Time-temperature abuse
Food is not stored at the proper temperature
Food is not cooked or reheated enough to kill pathogens
Cross-contamination
Contaminated ingredients are added to food that is already cooked
Food handler touches contaminated food and then touches ready-to-eat food
Poor personal hygiene
Fail to wash hands correctly after using the restroom
Cough or sneeze on food; working while sick
Poor cleaning and sanitizing
Equipment and utensils not washed, rinsed and sanitized
Food-contact surfaces wiped clean rather than being washed
Foods most likely to become unsafe
Milk dairy products
Meat; beef, pork, lamb
Poultry
Shell eggs
Fish, shellfish, crustaceans
Baked potatoes
Rice, beans, vegetables
Tofu/soy products
Sprouts
Slices fruits and vegetables
Why?
Pathogens grow well on these foods
Time and temperature control are needed to limit pathogen growth
TCS foods; require time and temperature control for safety
Prevention and Food Safety
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”
Preventing growth of dangerous microorganisms in food helps to reduce thousands of illnesses and deaths each year
How Have Times Changed?
Then:
Food used to be produced close to where people live
More people prepared and ate their food at home
The way food is purchased and distributed has changed
Now:
Food in grocery stores come from all over the world
Nearly 50% of money spent on food goes towards “eating out” or “take out”
New and dangerous bacteria and viruses have been discovered over the years
Populations that are more at risk
Some people are more likely to face risks:
Pregnant women
Preschool-age children
People with chronic illnesses and weak immune systems
People with cancer or on chemotherapy
People with HIV/AIDS
Elderly people
Older adults (usually age 65+)
These populations have a higher risk of getting a foodborne illness
Why Some People Face Risks
Everyone’s health is different
Those previously listed affect their ability to fight off disease
Our immune systems weaken with age
Some diseases also weaken our immune systems
Stomach acid decreases with age – stomach acid plays an important role in reducing bacteria in our intestinal tracts, therefore, reducing our risk for illness
Diabetes, cancer treatments, and kidney disease can increase risks for foodborne illness
Recognizing Foodborne Illness
It’s often difficult to recognize foodborne illness
We’re not able to see, smell, or taste the bacteria
Sometimes people think their illness was caused by their last meal
There is a wide range of time between eating food with harmful bacteria and the onset of illness
Harmful bacteria usually takes 1-3 days to cause illness, but you could become sick anytime from 20 min to 6 weeks after eating!
Signs of Foodborne Illness
It’s important to know that foodborne illness is often confused with other types of illness
Some signs may be:
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Stomach cramps
Flu-like symptoms – fever, headache, body aches
By following basic rules of food safety, you can prevent foodborne illness for yourself and others!
Food Safety at Home
Basic Rules:
1.
Clean
2.
3.
4.
Separate
Cook
Chill
Fight BAC!
Fight BAC! Is a national education campaign designed to teach everyone about food safety
Basic Step #1: Clean
Wash hands and surfaces often
Bacteria can be found throughout the kitchen – cutting boards, utensils, sponges, counter tops
Wash hands with warm water and soap before and after handling food, using the bathroom, handling pets, changing diapers, etc.
Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot water and soap after preparing each food
Diluting bleach with water can be used as an effective sanitizer
Basic Step #1: Clean, continued
Replace worn down cutting boards on a regular basis
Especially boards that are plastic , non-porous, or have hard-to-clean grooves
Consider using paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces
If you use cloth towels, be sure to wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine to kill bacteria
Always rinse raw produce in water; if necessary, use a small vegetable brush to remove dirt
Basic Step #2: Separate,
Don’t Cross-contaminate!
Cross-contaminate is the scientific word for how bacteria can be spread from one food product to another
Be extra careful with raw meat, poultry, and seafood
Keep these foods and their juices away from foods that aren’t going to be cooked
Use a different color-coded cutting board for raw meats, and separate one for non-meat foods
Avoid putting clean food on an unwashed plate that held raw food
Basic Step #3: Cook to Proper
Temperatures
Foods are safely cooked when they are heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria in food
Use a clean food thermometer to measure internal temperatures of cooked foods – this ensures that your foods are cooked all the way through!
When cooking in a microwave, make sure there are not cold spots in food where bacteria can survive
Internal Cooking Temperatures
Food
Ground meats: beef, veal, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey
Raw beef, veal, pork
Poultry (turkey, chicken)
Eggs
Leftovers
Fish
Internal Temperature
160°F
145°F
165°F
160°F
165°F
Until meat flakes with a fork
Step #4: Chill
Refrigerate foods quickly – bacteria in food can double every 20 minutes at room temperature
Make sure your home refrigerator is set to 40°F or below; freezer 0°F or below
Refrigerate or freeze perishables or prepared food and leftovers within 2 hours
Don’t thaw foods at room temperature
Marinate foods in the refrigerator
Don’t pack your refrigerator too full. Cold air needs to circulate and keep food safe!
How Long Can Food Last in the Refrigerator?
The maximum amount of time a food can last in the refrigerator is up to 7 days
But remember, different foods will have different guidelines
Visit www.fightbac.org
for more specific information on storage information
Fresh Produce
All produced purchased pre-cut or peeled should be refrigerated for safety as well as quality
Produce cut or peeled at home should be refrigerated within two hours
Any cut or peeled produce that is left at room temperature for more than 2 hours should be thrown away
Re-heating Ready-to-eat
Foods
Even some refrigerated, pre-cooked foods can become re-contaminated with bacteria after they have been processed and packaged
These foods include: hot dogs, lunch meats, col cuts, other deli-style meat and poultry products that are kept refrigerated
Reheat these foods until they’re steaming hot!
Be Safe When Eating Out or
Ordering “Take-Out”
Keep in mind that hot or cold ready-prepared meals are perishable and can cause illness when mishandled
When you go out to eat, look at how clean things are before you sit down; if it’s not up to your standards, you might want to eat somewhere else
Always order your food cooked to a safe internal temperature, especially for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs
Proper handling is essential to ensure the food is safe!
The “2-hour rule”
Harmful bacteria can multiply in the “temperature danger zone” or “TDZ” – between 40 and 140°F
Discard any perishable foods left at room temperature longer than 2 hours (this also applies to cold and hot foods that are purchased at the store)
If you are not eating within 2 hours, and you want to keep your food hot and temperature safe, you can keep it in your oven at 140-200°
But remember: your food will taste better if you don’t keep it in the oven for too long!
Restaurant Leftovers
Care must be taken when handling leftovers
If you will not be arriving home within 2 hours of being served, it is safer to leave the leftovers at the restaurant
Remember that keeping leftovers in your car can make bacteria grow rapidly
Questions/Comments
Remember…
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
If you’d like to know more about food safety, visit the following websites:
www.foodsafety.gov
www.fightback.org
www.fsis.usda.gov
