Last Updated on December 20, 2020
2. Wash your kitchen utensils and surfaces
Washing your kitchen tools thoroughly is as important as washing your hands. Knives, forks, cutting boards, your kitchen countertop… anything that touches your raw food must be properly cleaned. You don’t need antibacterial cleaning products for this. Hot water and soap will get the job done, so there’s no excuse to skip this important step!
3. Cook your food properly
Pork, chicken, and sausages are some of the foods that should always be cooked all the way through at high temperatures to ensure that all dangerous bacteria are properly eliminated. Undercooked food accounts for a large percentage of food poisoning cases. For reference, pork should be cooked to at least 145 ºF and chicken to 165 ºF.
4. Store your raw foods away from other foods
To prevent cross-contamination, you must keep raw food (meat, fish, and vegetables) separated from other foods. Most fridges have separate containers for this exact purpose, so use them properly and keep them clean. Additional tip: when at the supermarket, always keep meat, fish, and poultry separated from the other items in your shopping cart. To make sure you do so, it’s a good idea to pick that type of food right before checking out.
5. Keep your fridge at an ideal temperature
Speaking of fridges, make sure you keep yours below 41 ºF all the time. By maintaining such a cold environment, it will be extremely difficult for germs to grow and multiply. Oh, and by the way, don’t leave your leftovers in the fridge for more than two days.
6. Know how to defrost your food
Many people don’t know it, but the safest way to defrost food is by putting it in the fridge. Doing it at room temperature allows germs to multiply very quickly. Alternatively, you can use the defrost setting on your microwave – if you opt for this technique, you must cook the food right away.
7. Look at the “use-by” date
Please respect the use-by date. After all, it is printed there for a reason. A lot of people like to gamble and eat expired food anyway. Although, in most cases, it turns out okay (which is not surprising given the number of preservatives used in packaged food), the risk of food poisoning is considerably high. If, for some reason, you are not sure the food in front of you is safe to eat, play safe, and throw it away.
