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Food
Purchasing,
Preparation and Storage
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Purchasing At the Grocery Store
 | Pay attention to "sell by" and "use
by" dates on perishable products. If the "sell by" date has expired, do
not buy the product. The "use by" date applies to use at home after
purchase. It's important to note that these dates refer to quality of food
(taste, texture, smell, appearance) and are not a guarantee of an
uncontaminated product, particularly after the original package seal is
opened.
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| Be sure that packaging/storage is as
it should be: refrigerated foods should be kept cold; frozen foods should
be frozen solid; there should be no holes or tears in the packaging.
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| When possible, put raw poultry, meat or fish in
separate plastic bags before setting in your cart with other unprotected
foods. Occasionally, packaging on these products may allow leakage.
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| Select perishable food products, including meat, last
before checking out, and place them in the coolest spot in your car for
the trip home. If food will be held in the car for longer than thirty
minutes, store it in a cooler immediately after purchase to keep it cold. |
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Home Storage
| Place perishable foods immediately
into the refrigerator or freezer upon returning home from the grocery
store. |
| Place meat, fish and poultry in the
coldest part of the refrigerator (on a low shelf at the back). Use beef
steaks, roasts and deli meats and poultry within 3 to 4 days. Ground meat,
ground poultry and fish should be used within 1 to 2 days. |
| Place uncooked meat, fish and poultry
products in separate plastic bags and set on a plate on the lowest shelf
of the refrigerator so raw juices do not drip onto other foods.
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| Using a refrigerator thermometer,
check the refrigerator's temperature to ensure that it is cooling at 35
degrees F to 40 degrees F, and the freezer is at or below 0 degrees F.
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| Space items in the refrigerator and
freezer so that air can circulate freely around them. |
| Keep the interior of the
refrigerator/freezer clean. Pack perishables in coolers when cleaning or
defrosting your refrigerator/freezer. |
Freezing and Defrosting
| To preserve food quality, traditional
plastic wraps are not suitable for long-term freezing. Rewrap or overwrap
meat with freezer storage bags, protective moisture or vapor-proof freezer
or foil wrap for freezer storage. Wrap raw meat, fish and poultry
carefully to protect other foods from juices that may leak. |
| To thaw meat, fish and poultry safely,
take it out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator. Place in
a plastic bag or in a pan or dish to prevent juices from dripping onto
other foods. A one-inch steak will thaw in 12 to 14 hours. Allow 4 to 7
hours per pound to thaw a large roast and 3 to 5 hours per pound for a
small roast. A one-inch thick package of ground beef will defrost in 24
hours. For quick thawing, use the microwave oven according to
manufacturer's directions and then cook defrosted food immediately.
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| Never defrost meat, poultry or fish
on the kitchen counter or in warm water.
Bacteria multiply rapidly at temperatures 40 degrees - 140 degrees F. |
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Food Preparation
| Keep everything that touches food
clean - hands, utensils, bowls, countertops. Wash hands with warm, soapy
water prior to preparing any food, and after handling raw meat, poultry
and fish. Use separate platters, cutting boards, trays and utensils for
cooked and uncooked meat, poultry and fish. |
| Keep juices from raw meat, poultry and
fish from coming into contact with other foods, cooked or raw. Always wash
contact surfaces and utensils with warm, soapy water immediately after
preparing these products. |
| When using a cutting board, it is best
to use separate boards for each food type. Never use the same cutting
board for raw meat or poultry that is used for cooked and ready-to-eat
foods. Wash food preparation surfaces thoroughly with warm, soapy water
and then sanitize the surface after each use. To sanitize cutting
surfaces, wash with a solution of 2 to 3 teaspoons of household bleach in
one quart of warm water. Rinse with plain hot water. |
| Never eat raw seafood, meat, poultry,
eggs (or foods containing raw eggs such as homemade salad dressing,
mayonnaise, ice cream or cookie dough). Never drink unpasteurized milk or
other unpasteurized dairy products. |
| Direct sneezes and coughs away from
food; cover mouth and nose with tissue when sneezing or coughing; wash
hands after sneezing or coughing. |
| Thoroughly wash all produce with
clean, drinkable water; use a brush if necessary. |
| When marinating meat, seafood or
poultry, use a covered, non-metallic container and place it in the
refrigerator. Ingredients in marinades such as wine, vinegar and lemon
juice are acidic and will cause a chemical reaction with some metals. When
this happens the metal will leach into the food being marinated.
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| Avoid mixing dark colored sauces (such
as teriyaki, Worcestershire or soy sauces) in with ground meat or poultry
as they make it more difficult to judge doneness. Instead, brush sauces on
the cooked surface of the patty about midway through the cooking cycle. Be
careful not to recontaminate fully cooked meat or poultry by adding sauce
with a brush which was used on raw or undercooked foods. |
| Do not use marinade which has been in
contact with raw meat, fish or poultry as a sauce for the cooked food
without first bringing the marinade to a boil for at least one minute. |
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Leftovers
| Freeze or refrigerate leftovers
immediately. For more rapid cooling, use small shallow containers (less
than two inches deep) to freeze and refrigerate leftovers. Cut large
portions into smaller portions to speed cooling time. Leftover meat, fish
and poultry should be wrapped securely before refrigeration, eaten within
3 to 4 days, and reheated to 160 degrees F or until steaming hot at time
of consumption. |
| Sauces and gravies should be reheated
to a rolling boil for at least one minute before serving. |
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AWAY-FROM-HOME SITUATIONS
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Day Care
| Make sure that day care center
employees practice appropriate sanitation and food handling. Parents and
other care providers should teach children to wash hands with warm, soapy
water after going to the bathroom and before touching or eating food. It
is critical for child care providers and parents to remember to wash hands
with warm soapy water after every diaper change or check. |
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Leisure/Picnic
| Do not use your cooler to chill room
temperature foods. Pack chilled foods (below 40 degrees F) in a cooler
with ice or ice packs. This is particularly important if you do not plan
to eat for several hours. When finished serving cold foods, promptly
return them to the cooler. If you are taking meat, poultry or fish to
grill while picnicking, pack these items carefully to avoid leakage onto
other foods. Take along moistened towelettes to wash up with after
handling the uncooked meat, poultry or fish, or use a bottle filled with
clean water and soap to wash hands and surfaces. |
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Resources
National Cattlemen's Beef Association
Consumer Information Department
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
Mon. - Fri., 10am - 4pm ET
(800) 535-4555
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
Foodborne Illness Line
24-hour recorded information
(404) 332-4597
This document has been reviewed by:
Mildred Cody, PhD, RD on behalf of The
American Dietetic Association
Michael Doyle, PhD, Department of Food
Safety and Quality Enhancement, University of Georgia
Alan Harris, MD, Department of Infectious
Diseases, Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center
Betsy Hornick, MS, RD, The American Dietetic
Association
John Marcello, RS, The National Restaurant
Association Education Foundation
Michael Pariza, PhD, Department of Food
Microbiology and Toxicology, University of Wisconsin
Morris Potter, DVM, MS, Division of
Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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