Taking Proper Food and Safety Precautions to Keep Your Home Safer

There are three different areas that require proper food and safety care: food and safety in the kitchen, food and safety while shopping and food and safety through storage and preparation.

Food and Safety Guidelines in the Kitchen

Cleanliness and common sense are two keys of food and safety to keeping your home safe from food poisoning or other food related illnesses.

Every surface in your kitchen should be cleaned before and after use.  Your best option is to use an antibacterial spray.  This is the best way to kill germs that could stay and reproduce on your counters and stovetops.

Keep your hands washed.  Always use warm water and soap when you’re going to be preparing food.  Wash your hands after you’ve handled products like meat and eggs.

Ensure all fruits and vegetables are thoroughly washed before you consume them.

Use different cutting boards for meats and fruits and vegetables.  Toss out your cutting board when it’s difficult to clean and has too many cuts in it.

Food and Safety Guidelines While Shopping

You might not think it’s possible but you can practice food and safety guidelines while shopping, too.  The following guidelines are very useful to keep your food as fresh as possible.

Pick up perishables last so they stay in the cool climate as long as possible.

Have a cooler in your car to transport perishables (this is especially wise during hotter months).

Check canned items for dents, bottled items for tampering or other damage and eggs for cracks.  Don’t purchase damaged goods.

Put your meats in plastic.  This keeps your meats from dripping their juices on your other foods.

Food and Safety Guidelines for Preparation and Storage

Perishables need to be put in the freezer or fridge immediately.  Write the date on the plastic bags of when meats were purchased. (Side tip: Transfer tomatoes and mushrooms into a brown paper bag so they’ll keep fresh longer.)

Use the middle shelf to store your eggs.  Never store them on a door because the door is the warmest part of a fridge.

When thawing meat don’t ever leave it on the counter to thaw.  Instead, put it in the fridge one or two days before you need it so it can properly thaw.  (Side note: Using the microwave to thaw chicken and fish will work well but beef can get very tough.)

Cook meats all the way through.  A little pink may “taste” better to you but that pink is a field of germs.

Refrigerate leftovers within an hour after they are finished cooking.  

Taking the right food and safety actions can help prevent various kinds of illnesses caused by foods that aren’t properly maintained.  How you treat your kitchen, how you do your shopping and how you store and prepare your foods plays a major role in proper food and safety practices.