Consumers should always follow basic safe food handling rules to protect themselves and ensure that the foods they eat are safe. They include:
CLEAN: Wash hands and surfaces often. Keep everything clean while preparing meals. Wash hands and kitchen surfaces often with soap and water. Wash cutting boards, dishes, and utensils after preparing each food item and before going on to the next item. Paper towels are recommended for cleaning up kitchen surfaces.
SEPARATE: Don’t cross-contaminate. Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods when shopping at the grocery store and storing
them in your refrigerator. Use one cutting board for raw meat, poultry, and seafood and a separate one for other food. Never place cooked food on a
plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood unless the plate has been thoroughly cleaned.
COOK: Cook to safe temperatures. Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry, and egg dishes are cooked to safe temperatures. Do not second-guess the internal temperature of cooked foods—follow the recommended temperatures in the chart below. Keep hot food hot,140 ºF or above. When reheating, leftovers should be thoroughly heated to 165 ºF; sauces and soup should be brought to a rolling boil.
