USDA Safe Handling Instructions

In order to prevent the spread of illness from food, you must properly handle food when storing, preparing and cooking it. Since you can't easily detect the bacteria that causes illness on food, it is important to follow food safety rules, created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to ensure harmful bacteria cannot develop. Bacteria and viruses are everywhere in the environment, and with 325,000 hospitalizations per year due to food-borne illness, food safety considerations are critical.

Instructions

• 1

  Refrigerate perishable foods within two hours in temperatures less than 90 degrees and within one hour in temperatures at 90 degrees and above, the USDA recommends. Ensure that your refrigerator temperature is at 40 degrees or below and that your freezer temperature is at 0 degrees or below.

• 2

  Cook or freeze fresh meat to avoid potential bacterial contamination. Fish, ground meats and poultry should be frozen or cooked within two days of refrigeration. Other beef, pork, veal and lamb should be frozen or cooked within three to five days of refrigeration. Meats should be well wrapped so that juices do not get onto other food.

• 3

  Store most canned fruits on the shelf for 12 to 18 months. Store most canned meats and vegetables on the shelf for two to five years. Make sure that cans remain in good condition and are stored in a cool, dry place. Throw away cans that are misshapen, leaking or rusted.

USDA Safe Food Preparation Instructions

• 4

  Wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food. Anti-bacterial agents in hand soaps need at least this much time to kill germs.

• 5

  Store all raw meat away from other food to avoid cross-contamination. Keep marinating meat in a covered dish. Wash all utensils, countertops, cutting boards and any other items that come into contact with raw meat.

• 6

  Thaw frozen meats in the refrigerator, kept separate from other foods to avoid cross-contamination. Thaw meat quickly by putting it in a plastic bag and submerging it in cold water for 30-minute intervals. Change the water during these intervals and cook the meat immediately once it is thawed.

USDA Safe Cooking and Serving Instructions

• 7

  Cook beef, lamb steaks and roasts to 145 degrees. Cook ground beef, veal and cuts of lamb other than steaks to 160 degrees. Cook pork and poultry to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees.

• 8

  Keep hot foods at 140 degrees or higher, and cold foods at 40 degrees or lower, when serving. Keep perishable food out for no longer than two hours in temperatures below 90 degrees and no longer than one hour in temperatures 90 degrees and above.

• 9

  Throw away food left out more than two hours in temperatures below 90 degrees and one hour in temperatures 90 degrees and above. Refrigerate or freeze leftover food immediately after eating and use leftovers within four days to avoid spoiling.