Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill

When food companies are called to task for selling or distributing unsafe products that are contaminated with foodborne pathogens, sometimes they try to hide behind the unpersuasive excuse  “…it must have been  the customer that didn’t handle the product properly!” Diverting attention from themselves by pointing the finger at the consumer is a rather sad attempt at avoiding responsibility. Imagine a playground bully doling out a black eye, then claiming it’s the other kid’s fault for not blocking the punch. Unfortunately, even though the food-poisoned consumer isn’t to blame for the presence of pathogens in his food, his innocence doesn’t change the fact that he still got sick. What can consumers do to minimize the risk of illness? Here are some basic self-defense tips we can use to protect ourselves from foodborne illness when our food suppliers won’t.

Salmonella, or salmonellosis, is the most common foodborne illness in the United States. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service advises us to “Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill” to prevent food poisoning from Salmonella and other pathogens.

Clean:

• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly (with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds), including before and after handling food.
• Clean all utensils and surfaces that come into contact with food (countertops, plates, etc.), especially between preparation of different types of food.

Separate:

• Avoid cross-contamination by separating raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery cart and refrigerator.
• Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a different one for raw animal products.
• Do not reuse a plate that held raw animal products before washing it, and thoroughly wash with hot soapy water all utensils and surfaces that come into contact with raw animal products.

Cook:

• Use a clean food thermometer to measure the internal temperature of meats or any dish containing animal products. Appropriate “done” temperatures for various types of food can be found here.

Chill:

• Refrigerate foods at 40°F or below, and freeze foods at 0°F or below.
• Do not leave foods out at room temperature for long periods of time; refrigerate within 2 hours (or 1 hour if temp is above 90°F).
• Marinate food in the refrigerator.
• Thaw food in the refrigerator, cold water, or microwave, and then cook to a safe internal temperature before returning thawed food to the refrigerator. Do not thaw foods at room temperature.

Another rule of thumb to prevent foodborne illness is to avoid expired foods, unpasteurized milk, and raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs — including unpasteurized eggs in homemade cookie dough, eggnog, casseroles, and Caesar dressing.

While we can take some steps to reduce the spread of foodborne pathogens,   that has to be in tandem with regulatory agencies, the tort system and legislative efforts designed to pressure food suppliers to keep contaminated foods out of our kitchens in the first place.