During this time of year, families are brought together to join in many different celebrations and of course it ALWAYS involves food no matter which culture! It is important to know how to keep food safe during the holidays to maintain health and prevent food borne illnesses. From our SNAP-Ed Team and CCE Madison County, we want to ensure that you can be at optimal health with food safety standards.
First and foremost, always wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food. Next, avoid cross contamination of foods especially raw meats. If you have the ability to use two cutting boards keep one for raw meat only and then one can be used to chop fruits and vegetables. If you only have one cutting board always chop the fresh fruits and vegetables first, then cut the raw meat to avoid cross contamination. After you are done cutting, make sure the cutting boards are washed with hot water and soap to remove as much bacteria as possible. The third step is to always cook foods to their proper internal temperatures. Please take a look at the chart below to see the proper temperatures. Lastly, after food has been cooked, it needs to be put into shall containers for quick cooling and put in the refrigerator within two hours, after two hours it is in the “danger zone”. From all our SNAP-Ed Team, we hope you enjoy your holidays and can spend time with your families. Here are some resources to help you practice food safety:
Food Safety Sheet: https://tinyurl.com/3hz5mx58
Safer Food Choices: https://tinyurl.com/py5afw8b
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