Safe at the Plate
How you handle food matters. With enough warmth, moisture, and nutrients, one bacterium that divides every half hour can produce 17 million progeny in 12 hours.
Putting food in the refrigerator or freezer stops most bacteria from growing. Exceptions: Listeria (typically found in lunchmeats, hot dogs, and unpasteurized soft cheeses) and Yersinia enterocolitica (typically found in undercooked pork and unpasteurized milk) grow at refrigerator temperatures.
Rules for Leftovers
2 Hours------------2 Inches-------------4 Days
2 Hours from oven to refrigerator. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within 2 hours of cooking. Otherwise, throw them away.
2 Inches thick to cool it quick. Store food at a shallow depth-—about 2 inches---to speed chilling. That way food will be exposed to a temperature range that is conducive to bacterial growth for a minimal amount of time.
4 Days in the refrigerator---otherwise freeze it. Use leftovers from the refrigerator within 4 days. Exception: use stuffing and gravy within 2 days. Reheat solid leftovers to 165 degrees F and liquid leftovers to a rolling boil. Toss what you don’t finish. Don’t reheat a second time.
Rules for Shopping
- Buy fresh-cut produce like half a watermelon or bagged salad greens only if refrigerated or surrounded by ice.
- Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your shopping cart and in your refrigerator.
- Store perishable fresh fruits and vegetables (like strawberries, lettuce, mushrooms, herbs) or cut or peeled produce in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 40 degrees or below.
- Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing any food. Wash all utensils, cabinet tops and faucet handles that came in contact with raw meat.
- Wash fruits and vegetables under running water just before eating, cutting or cooking, even if you plan to peel them. Use a mild soap or a produce wash.
- Scrub firm produce like melons and cucumbers with a clean produce brush to the extent you can without damaging the food. Let them air dry before cutting.
- Discard the outer leaves of heads of leafy vegetables like cabbage and lettuce.
- Don’t eat sprouts unless they are thoroughly cooked.
- Cooking any food to 160 degrees F will kill any E Coli 0157:H7.
- Drink only pasteurized milk, juice or cider.
- Don’t eat raw food products that are intended for cooking or baking (like raw cookie dough or uncooked eggs.)
- Use a meat thermometer when cooking ground beef and chicken. Cooking until the interior temperature is 165 degrees is much better than using the color of the meat as an indicator of doneness.
- For more information on handling produce safely: www.cfsan.fda.gov.
Cece L. Davis, RD, CSSD, LD
Nutrition Consultants of Tulsa, LLC
www.nutritiontulsa.com