Food Poisoning, Part IV

Following some simple steps at home can help protect you and your loved ones from food poisoning. Joining us on this edition of House Call is a medical professional from WVU Medicine United Hospital Center with some great tips to keep you and your family safe.

1). What is an easy way to remember the steps to foods safety?

To prevent food poisoning, you want to remember to simply clean, separate, cook, and chill. It’s that simple.

2). Let’s examine each step, by starting with clean. What should we do?

Germs that cause food poisoning can survive in many places and spread around your kitchen. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm or cold water before, during, and after preparing food and before eating. Always wash hands after handling uncooked meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, flour, or eggs. Wash your utensils, cutting boards, and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item. Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water.

3). How can you prevent cross-contamination?

The key to preventing cross-contamination is to separate. Remember…

• Raw meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, and eggs can spread germs to ready-to-eat food, unless you separate these items.
• When grocery shopping, keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and their juices away from other foods.
• Keep raw or marinating meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from all other foods in the refrigerator. Store raw meat, poultry, and seafood in sealed containers or wrap them securely so the juices don’t leak onto other foods.
• Use one cutting board or plate for raw meat, poultry, and seafood and a separate cutting board or plate for produce, bread, and other foods that won’t be cooked.
• Raw chicken is ready to cook and doesn’t need to be washed first. Washing these foods can spread germs to other foods, the sink, and the counter and make you sick. If you choose to wash chicken, do so as safely as possible.

This content was originally posted on the WDTV News website here.

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