Bacteria Busters Digital Project
Allison Garcia
Clean
Illness-causing bacteria can survive in many places around your kitchen, including your hands, utensils, and cutting boards. Unless you wash your hands, utensils, and surfaces the right way, you could spread bacteria to your food, and your family. Always wash fruits and vegetables because bacteria could still spread from the out the inside and outside of the fruit and vegetable.
Cook
Bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply quickest in the “Danger Zone” between 40˚ and 140˚ Fahrenheit. Cooked food is safe only after it’s been heated to a high enough temperature to kill bacteria. Color and texture won’t tell you whether your food is done. Instead, use a food thermometer to be sure. Keep your food above the safe temperature of 140˚F by using a heat source like a chafing dish, warming tray, or slow cooker. Make sure harmful bacteria have been killed in your foods, it’s important to microwave them to 165˚ or higher.
Chill
Ilness-causing bacteria can grow in perishable foods within two hours unless you refrigerate them. Refrigerating foods promptly and properly, you can help keep your family safe from food poisoning at home, cold temperatures slow the growth of illness causing bacteria. Bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature, thawing or marinating foods on the counter is one of the riskiest things you can do when preparing food for your family.
Separate
After you’ve cleaned your hands and surfaces thoroughly, raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can still spread illness-causing bacteria to ready-to-eat foods, unless you keep them separated. Use separate cutting boards and plates for produce and for meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. Keep meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from all other foods at the grocery. Bacteria can spread inside your fridge if the juices of raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs drip onto ready-to-eat foods so keep them separated.