Contamination Precautions for Food Handling

Food-borne illnesses can be deadly, especially to people with weak or compromised immune systems such as young children and the elderly. Even a person in perfect health can be seriously affected by ingesting certain strains of E. coli or salmonella poisoning. When handling and preparing food, it is essential to take precautions that will prevent the spread or growth of food-borne pathogens.

Wash Hands

• Clean everything you use to prepare your food. This includes washing your hands in hot water with antibacterial soap for at least 20 seconds. Do so twice before preparing food and twice after using the restroom. Wash your hands at least once between touching any raw poultry, meat, eggs and any other food. There are trace amounts of fecal matter on most human hands, which could contaminate food at any time, so never touch food before washing your hands thoroughly. Wear single-use food preparation gloves for additional safety.

Food-Preparation Area

• It is imperative that you keep a clean food-preparation area. Wash all kitchen tools, utensils and food preparation surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after every use. Wash cutting boards and utensils between uses if they have been touched by raw meat, fish or poultry. Sanitize your cutting boards and countertops after preparing raw animal products using a dissolution of 1 tbsp. of unscented chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Use paper towels or clean cloths to wipe up spills. Discard the cloths or towels immediately and use new ones to dry hands. It is safest to have cutting boards that you use exclusively for raw meat, poultry and seafood and one that is never used for those foods.

Raw Food Preparation

• Always store raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food and in covered containers. These should only come in contact with other food once cooked to prevent the spread of pathogens typically found on raw animal products. Store and prepare raw food in such a way that the juices do not drip onto any other food. Raw food and its juices can even contaminate cooked foods. Always wash food with a nontoxic food wash before preparing it. Even fresh fruits and vegetables can become contaminated if grown with manure, or if during factory washing or transport they came into contact with manure or sewage. Due to careless sanitation in animal slaughter, healthy animals can become contaminated with pathogens by coming into contact with intestinal contents.

Don't Prepare Food if You are Sick

• If you suspect you are sick or are showing symptoms of an illness, do not prepare food for other people. You increase the risk of contaminating the food and spreading your illness to others. If you have, or are recovering from, a food-borne pathogen, you may need to be cleared by public health officials before returning to work in a food-service facility.

Serving Food

• Never use the plates or serving dishes you used to marinate or prepare raw food to serve cooked food or remove it from the grill or cooking apparatus. Wash dishes thoroughly in hot, soapy water before reuse. Bacteria may already be on the plate even if you wiped it off with a paper towel first. The same rules apply for utensils: Never serve food with the same fork you used to turn raw meat on the grill.