4 Tasty Ways to Keep Food Safe
The food that we put in our bodies is an important part of living a happy, healthy life. It’s also the fuel that keeps us going and makes it easier for us to do the things we love. But food safety should always be on our minds when preparing food because not following these guidelines can have serious consequences! In this blog post, you’ll find four tasty ways to keep food safe so that your stomach stays full of good food and never gets sick or contaminated with bad bacteria.
How To Keep Our Food Safe
If food is left out for too long, it can become dangerous to eat. Keeping food safe means that food needs to be handled correctly and stored properly so bacteria don’t have a chance to form on the food we are eating. Here are four ways you can keep your food safe:
Wash all meat, fruits, and vegetables before eating them, even if you're going to peel/cut them.
Wash all of your fruits and vegetables under cold water in a colander, scrubbing them gently using your fingers or a soft brush; then rinse thoroughly under running water even if you will peel or cut them. For example: If you are going to eat a grapefruit that has been peeled, wash the outside until there is no trace of wax (which can transfer bacteria) left on the skin. Pat dry with clean paper towels or let stand on the towel for a while until it’s no longer wet to the touch.
When cooking meat, always use a separate cutting board for raw meats as it’s more difficult to kill germs from food poisoning organisms such as Salmonella and E Coli using just soap/water. It also helps keep any juices from running onto other foods like cooked poultry which may not be fully cooked yet so cross-contamination could occur.
If you are going to be store cooked food for more than two hours, keep a separate pot and lid in the refrigerator so that they can be used solely for this purpose. This prevents any cross-contamination from occurring if someone leaves an uncooked item like raw meat next to the already prepped items (ie: rice or vegetables).
Lastly, wash your hands with soap and hot water before handling any foods – especially those which will not withstand being washed such as eggs or deli meats! Remember to always use cold running water when washing dishes/utensils too as warm water is better for bacteria growth because of its environmental temperature being comparable to human’s body temperature (which facilitates bacterial reproduction).
Store food in airtight containers
Use a dedicated plastic container for raw meat, poultry, and seafood to avoid cross-contamination with other foods.
Keep cooked food separate from uncooked food in the refrigerator or on your countertop: Cooked meats can contaminate vegetables that are meant to be eaten raw like lettuce and tomatoes.
When preparing produce like potatoes, carrots, celery, etc., cut them into smaller pieces so they will cool down faster in the fridge after boiling or steaming; this way bacteria doesn’t have time to grow as quickly before it is refrigerated.
Use a food rack for food storage with a wire rack and some plastic wrap.
There are several ways to do this, but I’ll share with you the way that has been working for me:
Lay your food on a plastic wrapping and cover each of them completely so they’re tightly wrapped in it from top to bottom. Then fold the edges over one another and use some tape if needed! The pieces will be compacted together in an area where there’s no space left between them at all – which is perfect because then food items won’t touch or get contaminated by anything else!
If you don’t have a food rack, you can make DIY a food rack of your own! Check here the step-by-step procedure on how to build a DIY food rack.
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Cut the food rack open and weld each side of the food rack together so that they’re exactly identical: this way, you can set your food on one side or the other depending on what type of food needs to be stored in which section!
If you don’t have welding equipment, there are many ways to create an alternative DIY food storage system – like a rolling cart with different levels for different types of food items. And as long as you keep them covered at all times (also use tight wrapping plastic) then these should work just fine too!
The important thing is keeping everything separate from top-to-bottom and not letting anything touch any other item (especially raw chicken and food items containing raw eggs): this reduces the risk of food contamination and food-borne illnesses!
Keep your fridge at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below
Plug it in and turn it on. This is the simplest way to keep your fridge at a safe temperature, as long as you remember to unplug it when not using it.
A common misconception about fridges is that they should be kept running all day so food doesn’t spoil. In reality, this will just make everything inside go bad faster because cold air needs time to circulate; also, keeping the door open constantly can let bacteria grow due to increased humidity levels.
A good rule of thumb is if something has been in there longer than two weeks throw it out right away! It’s better to have a fridge that’s too cold than one that is not at a safe temperature.
Throw away any expired food and drinks
In order to reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses, throw away any expired food. This includes anything that has been expired for over two hours. If you’re unsure if your expired foods are still safe to eat, contact someone who works in a kitchen or grocery store and ask them how long they can keep it before throwing it out.
There are many different ways to tell if your food has expired, some include: smelling it, looking at the texture or color change on the surface (usually green or brown), and tasting it.
Most beverages with an expiration date will change in texture, color, and flavor if they have been expired for more than two hours.”
The 4 tips we’ve shared are just a few of the many ways to keep food safe. We hope that these simple steps will help you avoid worrying about how to deal with food safety, and instead enjoy cooking delicious meals for your family!
You can find all the information you need about food safety on our blog. To read more, click here!