Food Safety

Food-borne bacteria (BAC) can cause illness, even though you can't see, smell, or feel it. You have the power to Fight BAC!®. Anyone can get sick from food-borne illness, but some are at higher risk, including pregnant women, young children, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems.

Listeria is a common bacterium that can be found in many foods and can make people sick, especially pregnant women. Listeriosis in pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, premature delivery, or serious illness in the baby.

Symptoms of listeriosis may not appear for weeks and can include fever, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea, and upset stomach, similar to flu symptoms. Later symptoms may include a stiff neck, headache, convulsions, or loss of balance.

If you suspect you have listeriosis, contact your doctor, nurse, or health clinic for treatment. To protect yourself and your baby:

• Avoid eating hot dogs, luncheon meats, bologna, or deli meats unless they are reheated until steaming hot.
• Avoid refrigerated pâté, meat spreads from a meat counter, or smoked seafood from the refrigerated section of the store. Canned tuna and salmon are safe if refrigerated after opening.
• Do not consume raw (unpasteurized) milk or foods made from it.
• Avoid soft cheeses such as Feta, queso blanco, queso fresco, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined cheeses, and Panela unless they are made with pasteurized milk. Look for the label "MADE WITH PASTEURIZED MILK."
• Follow the 4 rules to fight bacteria–Fight BAC!®:

4 Rule to Fight Bacteria:

1. Clean

Wash hands and surfaces often. Bacteria can be spread throughout the kitchen and get onto hands, cutting boards, utensils, counter tops and food.

To Fight BAC!®, always:

• Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers and handling pets.
• Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food.
• Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
• Rinse fresh vegetables and fruit under running tap water, even those with skins and rinds that are not eaten.
• Rub firm-skin fruits and vegetables under running tap water or scrub with a clean vegetable brush while rinsing with running tap water.

2. Separate

Don’t cross-contaminate. Cross-contamination is how bacteria can be spread. When handling raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs, keep these foods and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods. Always start with a clean scene—wash hands with warm water and soap, and wash cutting boards, dishes, countertops and utensils with hot water and soap.

• Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs from other foods in your grocery shopping cart, grocery bags and in your refrigerator.
• Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry and seafood.
• Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, seafood or eggs.

3. Cook

Cook to safe temperatures. Food is safely cooked when it reaches a high enough internal temperature, as measured by a food thermometer, to kill the harmful bacteria that cause illness.

Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures Chart

• Use a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature of cooked foods. Make sure that meat, poultry, egg dishes, casseroles and other foods are cooked to the internal temperature shown in the chart above.
• Cook ground meat or ground poultry until it reaches a safe internal temperature. Color is not a reliable indicator of doneness.
• Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. Only use recipes in which eggs are cooked or heated thoroughly.
• When cooking in a microwave oven, cover food, stir ½ way through, and rotate for even cooking. Food is done when it reaches a safe internal temperature as measured with a food thermometer.
• Bring sauces, soups and gravy to a boil when reheating.

4. Chill

Refrigerate promptly. Refrigerate foods quickly because cold temperatures slow the growth of harmful bacteria. Do not over-stuff the refrigerator. Cold air must circulate to help keep food safe. 

Keeping a constant refrigerator temperature of 40°F or below is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Use an appliance thermometer to be sure the temperature is consistently 40°F or below. The freezer temperature should be 0°F or below.

• Refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs and other perishable foods (foods that can easily spoil) as soon as you get them home from the store.
• Never let raw meat, poultry, eggs, cooked food or cut fresh fruits or vegetables sit at room temperature more than two hours before putting them in the refrigerator or freezer (one hour when the air temperature is above 90°F).
• Never defrost food at room temperature. Food must be kept at a safe temperature during thawing. There are three safe ways to defrost food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
• Always thaw meat on the bottom shelf in an opened container so juices don’t drip into other foods or other parts of the refrigerator 
• Always marinate food in the refrigerator.
• Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quicker cooling in the refrigerator.
• Use or discard refrigerated food on a regular basis. 
• Use this Cold Food Storage Chart to know how long to safely store foods in the refrigerator or freezer.

For information on choking prevention, read here!

For information on safe formula and bottle preparation, read here! 

Resources

• Call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline:  1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854)
• FDA (Food & Drug Administration) Food Information Line:  1-888-SAFEFOOD (1-888-723-3366)
• For more Food Safety Information: http://www.fightbac.org/