Whether anyone is pregnant or not, these tips are some valuable pieces of advice for the health and well being of your family and friends--particularly if you are bringing food to pot luck community feasts.
The article is long, so I didn't put the whole thing on the Practical Celebration Recipes and Preps webpage. I, however, DID want to highlight several key points of food safety. I likewise advise anyone to go to pregnancy.org and read through their whole article at least once.
What I mostly clipped was redundancy and comments about "sneaky bacteria." Bacteria are not "sneaky" that implies some sort of planning and cognitive skills on the part of the microbes. Bacteria are persistent. Bacteria persistently attempt to propagate in food sources. That is what illness-causing bacteria does. Like the shark in Jaws, bacteria doesn't know how to do anything else.
I also edited out a few colorful phrases containing the words "gross," "yuck," and "nasty." I assume every adult knows when something--like bacteria that could make a family member or friend seriously ill--should be classified as "yuck."
Above copyright December 2011 Myth Woodling.
Below copyright of the quotes are retained by the orginal copyright holder(s).
Food Safety Tips to Keep You Healthy Over the Holidays Clean < snip >
Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and running warm or cool water. Rubs your hands together to lather up. Scrub the backs of your hands, in-between your fingers, and under your nails!< snip >Wash surfaces and utensils after each use. You can use paper towels or clean cloths to wipe up kitchen surfaces or spills. You'll want to 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 item. This might seem like overkill, but better safe than sorry! When you're all done cooking, as an extra precaution, you can create a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water to sanitize washed surfaces and utensils. There are greener solutions, too that you can use if you have allergies to bleach, or simply don't like bleach. < snip >
Wash your fruits and veggies but don't wash meat, poultry, or eggs! Even if you peel fruits and veggies you should always wash them because bacteria (and chemicals) can spread from the outside to the inside as you cut or peel them.< snip >
Use separate cutting boards and plates for produce and for meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. Here is how you stop cross-contamination:
Keep it Separated< snip >
- Use one cutting board for fresh produce and another for raw meat, poultry or seafood;
- You can consider using specially designated plates and utensils for cooked and raw foods;
- Always thoroughly wash your plates, utensils and cutting boards as we suggested above;
- If your cutting board is wearing out, or has developed hard-to-clean grooves, it might be time to invest in a new one.< snip >
< snip >keep ready-to-eat foods separate from raw foods such as meat, poultry, seafood and eggs...< snip >Keep your raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs products separate from all other foods when you're grocery shopping. It's always a good idea to try to keep your raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from the other food items in your shopping cart. This way, you don't risk bacteria frolicking at your expense. When you checkout, have the staff put the raw items in your designated bags or plastic bags. This will keep any chance of their juices from dripping onto your other food items. < snip >
Separate your meat, poultry, seafood and eggs from your other food in fridge.< snip >Just like you did at the grocery, store your raw products in special containers or sealed plastic bags to stop their juices from dripping or leaking on your other food items. If you're not going to use the raw items right away, freeze them instead. As for eggs, you really want to keep and store them in their original packaging, and in the main part of your frig - not in the door where the temperature might vary too much.< snip >
Cook That Food and Keep it Hot! < snip >
Here's a scary fact for you: bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply quickest in the "danger zone" between 40? and 140? Fahrenheit. There are a lot of folks (and it could be you!) that think they can tell when their food is "done" by checking its color and texture. You want to be 100% sure...< snip >
Arm yourself with a food thermometer. Cooked food is safe only after it's been heated to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria. Color and texture alone will not tell you if your food is done. < snip >Clean your food thermometer with hot, soapy water after each use.< snip >
Keep your delicious and yummy food hot after cooking (at 140?F or above to be safe). It is possible for bacteria to grow as your food cools down. < snip >This is where food poisoning comes into play. You can keep your food above or at the safe temperature of 140?F by using a heat source like a chafing dish, warming tray, or slow cooker. < snip >
Microwave your food thoroughly (to 165?F). < snip >
Chill
< snip >Did you know that illness-causing bacteria can grow in and on your perishable food items within two hours unless you refrigerate them? < snip >The solution is simple. By refrigerating foods promptly and properly, you can help keep your family safe from food poisoning at home. < snip >
Refrigerate your perishable foods within two hours. Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Make sure your fridge and freezer are cooled to the right temperature. Your fridge should be between 40?F and 32?F, and your freezer should be 0?F or below. Pack your refrigerator carefully. To chill your food items properly, the cold air needs to be allowed to circulate freely in your fridge. < snip >
Never thaw or marinate foods on the counter. Lots of folks are surprised and even miffed at this tip. But since bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature, thawing or marinating foods on the counter is one of the riskiest things you can do when preparing food for your family. < snip >
With the new mantra of "Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill," you can't go wrong. < snip >
- Thaw in the refrigerator. This is the safest way to thaw meat, poultry, and seafood. Take the food out of the freezer and place it on a plate or pan that can catch any juices that may leak.
- Thaw in cold water. For faster thawing, you can put the frozen package in a watertight plastic bag and submerge it in cold water. Change the water every 30 minutes. It's important to note, that if you thaw using this method, cook the food immediately.
- Thaw in the microwave. Faster thawing can also be accomplished in the microwave. Simply follow instructions in your owner’s manual for thawing. As with thawing in cold water, food thawed in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
- Cook without thawing. If you don’t have enough time to thaw food, just remember, it is safe to cook foods from a frozen state—but your cooking time will be approximately 50% longer than fully thawed meat or poultry.
- To marinate food safely, always marinate it in the refrigerator. < snip > Know when to throw food out. This idea should be a no-brainer. If it stinks, it's not good. Right? Well, not exactly. You can't always tell the item is "past due" just by looking or smelling it. < snip >Throw food out before harmful bacteria grow and hurt you or your family.< snip >
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