Food is fairly safe. Although the last thing I want to do is scare anyone off cooking and enjoying eating, food safety and food handling is important.
I keep stressing a few things because when food isn’t safe, that can mean a trip to the ER or Urgent Care Clinic. I don’t want that! What we rarely think about is that there is an element of risk in just about everything we do, even driving to work or the store can result in that trip to the ER if we forget or ignore those safety guidelines.
Meat and eggs need to be cooked to be safe. The temperature depends of what meat, whether it is a solid chunk or ground and how it was processed. Ground meat should always be cooked through until there is no pink. Chicken should always be cooked through to 165°F or no pink in the thickest part. Pork should be cooked through to 160°F and can have a trace of pink in the center. Beef, if it is a steak can be pink or red in the center, if it is ground, nope! no pink! Eggs should be either cooked or pasteurized. Egg whites from those “milk cartons” can be used raw in things like the centers of chocolate covered mint candies.
Fish should be cooked until it changes color and flakes easily. There are a few “raw” fish dishes, such as ceviche and raw fish dishes such as sushi and sashimi. To be safe, only get sushi grade fish. It has been frozen to kill off any nasties the fish might be harboring. Then the fish might be cooked in an acid. Yes, the acid does the same function as heat to change the fish from the raw state. Sushi can use lightly cooked fish, if one is wary of fish that is actually raw.
I keep food that needs to be cooked to be eaten safety away from food that is safe to eat raw. I have read horror stories about cross contamination when people don’t think, then drink apple juice that has E. coli or lettuce with salmonella.
So, keep meat, fish and eggs away from produce. Whether in the grocery cart, in bags or in the fridge. Don’t put safe food, cooked meat, produce and such on a cutting board or in a mixing bowl that had raw meat or eggs in it. Use two, wash between, even flip it over if you are that pressed for time. Just be aware.
Keep hot food hot, keep cold food cold, food can be in the danger zone for a few hours when, say, cooling from cooking in the fridge or getting from store to home. Get in the habit of checking at every point. Check all the bags are in the house on the table or counter to be unloaded. Put meat, eggs, dairy and other perishables in the fridge or freezer as you get stuff out of bags. Check that all the bags are empty. Try to get food to safe temperature in under two hours. I think at a food handlers class they said the legal requirement is four hours, but it’s been a few years and sooner is better for safety.
Use a clean spoon or fork each time when tasting dishes. Use a serving utensils to dish food out of the serving dish on to plates. This keeps bacteria from our mouths from getting into the dish we are making, which can cause it to spoil faster.
If you see mold or you are in doubt about how long that has been in the fridge, throw it out. If you see bubbles in jars that shouldn’t have any bubbles, like pickles, throw it out. If you see food past its expiration date, throw it out. If you are in any doubt, it is better to be safe and throw it out, than risk that those sneaky little microbes have gotten to the food.
Do whatever it takes to get into that habit of awareness. Post It Notes, Alarms, Check Lists, if it works for you, use it. Stay safe, have fun cooking and enjoy eating.
A Timid Goddess in the Kitchen 