With all the diseases in the world today, food safety should be utmost in everyone's mind when handling or cooking food. The way food is handled before it is cooked is just as important as the cooking itself and how it is handled afterwards. There are many things that one has to be mindful of, such as making sure the food is thoroughly washed. This applies to home use as well as restaurants and fast food outlets. Some foods, such as eggs, dairy products and meat spoil quickly and must be kept refrigerated. There are bacteria in these foods that can cause food poisoning. You can become very ill and deaths have been reported from Salmonella food poisoning if proper food safety measures are not followed. Before you begin any food preparation, food safety involves washing your hands with soap and water. All surfaces that you will be laying the food on should also be washed as bacteria can live on any surface, even the kitchen countertop. Sponges should never be used for cleaning as they attract and keep small pieces of dirt in the pores. When you are cleaning the surfaces you should use a mild bleach to make sure you kill all the germs. You should clean out your refrigerator on a regular basis and throw out food that has been there for some time. The proper temperature of a refrigerator is 41 degrees to ensure the safety of the food inside. When cooking meat you should thaw the meat in the refrigerator. This helps with food safety because the meat is not being thawed at a fast pace. Thaw the meat on the lowest rack to make sure that none of the juices leak on to other foods and spoil them. If you need the food in a hurry, use the defrost feature of the microwave. When you are buying groceries, always check the best before date on the packaging. Many stores put foods, such as meats on sale just prior to this date. If you will not be using the food before the date, then you shouldn't buy it. Foods in the freezer that have been there for a long time or have a hole in the packaging will most likely have freezer burn. These should be thrown out as they are not safe to eat. When cooking food, one food safety rule is to cook all seafood to 145 degrees. Raw seafood should never be eaten. Eggs should be cooked until the whites are firm and the yolks begin to get hard. When serving cold food refrigerate it until you are ready to serve it. Likewise, hot food should be kept hot until you are ready to serve it.
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