When preparing food in your home, it’s important to follow and practice safe food handling to remove hidden bacteria that can cause foodborne illness, such as norovirus (also known as the stomach flu). Follow these four easy steps – Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill – to help prevent harmful bacteria from making you and your loved ones sick.
Step 1: Clean
Wash hands and food preparation surfaces often. Bacteria, viruses and parasites can be spread throughout the kitchen and get onto hands, cutting boards, utensils, countertops, and food.
- Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food.
- Wash surfaces that come in contact with food. Use hot, soapy water and rinse with clear water.
- To sanitize surfaces, use unscented bleach or chlorine products. Follow the directions on the label.
- Change dishcloths daily or after contact with raw meat, poultry or fish. Consider using paper towels and throw them out after use.
- Clean can-opener blade(s) often to remove food particles that can grow bacteria.
- Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water, even those with skin or rind that won’t be eaten.
Step 2: Separate
Don’t cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, and fish away from ready-to-eat foods.
- Separate raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs from other foods in your grocery cart, grocery bags and in the refrigerator.
- Use one cutting board for raw meat, poultry and fish, and another for fresh produce and ready-to-eat foods.
- Store raw meat, poultry and fish on a plate or on a low shelf in the refrigerator so juices do not drip on ready-to-eat foods.
- Never place cooked food on a plate that has/had raw meat, poultry or fish on it.
- Wash canvas and cloth reusable grocery bags in the washing machine with hot, soapy water.
Step 3: Cook
Food is safely cooked when heated for a long enough time, and to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness.
- Never thaw food at room temperature. The refrigerator is the safest place to thaw food. Make sure meat juices do not drip on other foods. For faster thawing, put food in a strainer under cold, running water (allow the sink to drain).
- Food can be thawed in the microwave but must be cooked immediately after thawing.
- Refrigerate foods while they are marinating. Do not reuse marinade to baste food while cooking.
- Never rinse meat or poultry.
- Use a clean food thermometer to check cooking temperatures. Do not rely on how food looks to be sure it is fully cooked.
- Place the thermometer in the thickest part of the food. When checking meat or poultry, make sure the thermometer does not touch bones or fat.
- Cook beef, veal, lamb, steak, and roast to 145°F; all cuts of pork to 160°F; ground beef, veal or lamb to 160°F; egg dishes to 160°F; whole, pieces, ground or stuffed poultry to 165°F; and reheat leftovers to 165°F.
- Cook fish until it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
- Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. Do not use recipes in which eggs remain raw or are only partially cooked.
- Do not eat raw dough or batter: Dough and batter made with flour or eggs can contain harmful germs, such as E. coli and Salmonella. Do not taste or eat raw dough or batter that is meant to be baked or cooked.
- When cooking in a microwave oven cover the food, stir, and rotate once or twice during cooking to avoid cold spots where bacteria can survive. Use a food thermometer to make sure foods have reached a safe internal temperature.
- Keep hot foods at 140°F or above.
Step 4: Chill
At room temperature, bacteria in food can double every 20 minutes. The more bacteria, the greater the chance of getting sick. Refrigerate foods quickly to keep most harmful bacteria from multiplying.
- Check the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer with an appliance thermometer. The refrigerator should be at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F or below. Do not over-stuff the refrigerator.
- Refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs and other perishables as soon as you get home from the store.
- Keep cold foods at 40°F or below.
- Foods are no longer safe to eat when they have been in the temperature danger zone of 40°F to 140°F for more than two hours, or 1 hour when the temperature is 90°F.
- Refrigerate leftover foods right away. Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quicker cooling in the refrigerator.
- Dispose of any leftovers that have been in the refrigerator for more than four days.
For more information on food safety, visit the Oakland County Health Division website. Follow along with them for more safety tips and health news on Facebook and X.
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