Bacteria Busters
By Hannah Annas
Food borne illness
Food that is not properly prepared or stored can cause many illnesses. These illnesses are called food borne illnesses. Food borne illness can range from the severity of a cold to very deadly. Certain precautions can be taken to prevent them. These include; cleaning, cooking, chilling, and separating.
Cleaning
Cleaning can prevent many food borne illnesses
By cleaning all of the surfaces in the area where you prepare food, washing food properly, and cleaning the containers you store the food in you can prevent many food borne illnesses.
Cleaning surfaces
Products like bleach and lysol can be used to disinfect areas where you will be preparing food.
Cleaning food
You should wash ALL food before preparing and or eating it. You should wash vegetables with warm water and a soft cloth to remove dirt and germs.
Washing your hands
Use disinfecting soap and warm water to wash your hands before you handle any type of food.
Cooking
By cooking food you can kill many germs that cause food borne illness
When cooked at at least 165 degrees all germs on food will be killed.
Safe cooking temperatures
Ground Meat & Meat Mixtures
165˚F
Poultry
165˚F
Seafood
145˚F
Chilling
Chilling food can stop the growth of bacteria that causes food borne illness
Bacteria grows faster in warmer temperatures so you should keep food refrigerated properly.
Refrigerator
Your fridge should be kept at less than 40˚F.
Time
Food should not be left unrefrigerated for more than two hours.
Temperatures
The temperature can be learned with a thermometer.
Separating
Separating food can prevent food borne illness
By finding the proper containers to store different food in and labeling them you can prevent food borne illness.
Preparation
When preparing food you should have separate areas for uncooked food.
Buying food
When buying food you should make sure there are no holes in the packages, this could mean the food has went through cross-contamination.
Storage
You should store food in tight containers to prevent leaks and you should also be sure to store different types of food in different containers.