January 15th, 2008
Food Safety FAQs
Questions about food safety? Get your answers here.
1. What is a safe temperature for holding hot foods?
When you put the food you have prepared out to be served make sure that you keep the food at least 140 degrees.
2. What is a safe temperature for holding cold foods?
40 degrees is the highest temperature that cold foods can be held. Bacteria grows best between 40 degrees and 140 degrees, this is called the food danger zone. Foods that need to be cooled should be cooled quickly in a shallow pan so that it does not stay in the food danger zone for more than 2 hours.
3. What happens if food is kept at the wrong temperature?
If food is kept between 40 and 140 bacteria can grow rapidly and cause someone who eats the food to become sick.
4. Why is it important to wash my hands before preparing food and often while I am cooking?
Our hands carry bacteria that we can transfer to the foods we are preparing. We can also transfer bacteria from one food to another during the preparation process if we don’t wash our hands frequently. For example, raw chicken can carry salmonella bacteria. If we are working with chicken and then make a salad without stopping ot clean our hands the salmonella can get into the salad and someone could get very sick. Always wash your hands, and often!
5. What is cross contamination?
Cross contamination is when bacteria from one food gets transferred to another, as in the example above. It is important to make sure that meat juices do not come in contact with anything else. Some chefs use color coded cutting boards so that they can keep the various foods separate.
6. How should I thaw frozen food?
Frozen food should never sit on a counter at room temperature. Thaw it slowly in the refrigerator, or in a microwave.
7. Can I eat fruit and vegetables without washing?
It is not safe to eat fruits and vegetables without washing, even organic ones. Some farmers use pesticides that are harmful, some use fertilizers that could make you sick. Even in the store, someone may have touched the produce and transferred bacteria to it. Always wash everything!
8. Why Can’t I Eat Raw Cookie Dough?
Even though it is hard not to taste the raw dough, please don’t. Raw eggs, in the dough, can carry salmonella and it can make you very sick. Eggs should always be thoroughly cooked before eating, no runny yolks, batter tasting, or dough eating!
Tags: food-safety:-frequently-asked-questions, important-food-safety-rules
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