WW-05711 Revised 1998

A Quick Consumer Guide to Safe Food Handling

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
adapted by William Schafer

This publication tells you what to do at each step in food handling—from shopping through storing leftovers—to avoid food poisoning.

Never had poisoning? Actually, it's called foodborne illness. Perhaps you have, but thought you were sick with the flu. Some seven million Americans will suffer from foodborne illness this year.

Why? Because at the right temperature, bacteria you can't see, smell or taste can multiply to the millions in a few short hours. In large numbers, they cause illness.

It doesn't have to happen, though. Some 85 percent of cases could be avoided if people just handled food properly. So here's what to do . . .

Buy cold food last and get it home fast.

ü	When you're out, grocery shop last. Take food straight home to the refrigerator. Never leave food in a hot car!
ü	Don't buy anything you won't use before the use-by date.
ü	Don't buy food in poor condition. Make sure refrigerated food is cold to the touch. Frozen food should be rock-solid. Canned goods should be free of dents, cracks or bulging lids which can indicate a serious food poisoning threat.

Refrigerate food to keep it safe.

Check the temperature of your refrigerator with an appliance thermometer you can buy at a variety or hardware store. To keep bacteria in check, the refrigerator should run at 40° F; the freezer unit at 0° F. Generally, keep your refrigerator as cold as possible without freezing your milk or lettuce.

ü	Freeze fresh meat, poultry or fish immediately if you can't use it within a few days.
ü	Put packages of raw meat, poultry or fish on a plate before refrigerating so their juices won't drip on other food. Raw juices often contain bacteria.

Keep food preparation areas and tools clean.
Thaw food in the refrigerator.

ü	Wash hands in hot soapy water before preparing food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers and handling pets.
ü	Bacteria can live in kitchen towels, sponges and cloths. Wash and replace them often.
ü	Keep raw meat, poultry and fish and their juices away from other food. For instance, wash your hands, cutting board and knife in hot soapy water after cutting up the chicken and before dicing salad ingredients.
ü	Use plastic cutting boards rather than wooden ones where bacteria can hide in grooves. Replace plastic cutting boards when they become badly grooved.
ü	Thaw food in the microwave or refrigerator, NOT on the kitchen counter. The danger? Bacteria can grow in the outer layers of the food before the inside thaws. Marinate in the refrigerator too.

Cook food thoroughly.

It takes thorough cooking to kill harmful bacteria. You're taking chances when you eat meat, poultry, fish or eggs that are raw or only partly cooked. Rare and medium rare steak and roast beef are also undercooked from the safety standpoint. Some ground beef may turn prematurely brown before a safe internal temperature of 160°F has been reached. Color of meat is no longer considered a reliable indicator of ground beef safety.

ü	Cook red meat, including hamburger, to 160° F. Cook poultry to 180° F. Use a meat thermometer to check that it's cooked all the way through. If available, use an "instant-read" thermometer to check patty temperatures. They are designed for use toward the end of the cooking time and register a temperature in about 15 seconds. The meat thermometer should penetrate the thickest part of the hamburger.
ü	To check visually, red meat ( except hamburger) is done when it's brown or gray inside. Poultry juices run clear. Fish flakes with a fork.
ü	Salmonella, a bacteria that causes food poisoning, can grow inside fresh, unbroken eggs. So cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm, not runny. Scramble eggs to a firm texture. Don't use recipes in which eggs remain raw or only partially cooked.
ü	When you cook ahead, divide large portions of food into small, shallow containers for refrigeration. This ensures safe, rapid cooling.

Microwave safely.

A great timesaver, the microwave has one food safety disadvantage. It sometimes leaves cold spots in food. Bacteria can survive in these spots. So . . .

ü	Cover food with a lid or plastic wrap so steam can aid thorough cooking. Vent wrap and make sure it doesn't touch the food.
ü	Stir and rotate your food for even cooking. No turntable? Rotate the dish by hand once or twice during cooking.
ü	Observe the standing time called for in a recipe or package directions. During the standing time, food finishes cooking.
ü	Use the oven temperature probe or a meat thermometer to check that food is done. Insert it at several spots.

Never leave food out for more than 2 hours.

ü	Use clean dishes and utensils to serve food, not those used in preparation. Serve grilled food on a clean plate too, not one that held raw meat, poultry or fish.
ü	Never leave perishable food out of the refrigerator over 2 hours! Bacteria that can cause food poisoning grow quickly at warm temperatures.
ü	Pack lunches in insulated carriers with a cold pack. Caution children never to leave lunches in direct sun or on a warm radiator.
ü	Carry picnic food in a cooler with a cold pack. When possible, put the cooler in the shade. Keep the lid on as much as you can.
ü	Party time? Keep cold party food on ice or serve it throughout the gathering from platters from the refrigerator. Likewise, divide hot party food into smaller serving platters. Keep platters refrigerated until time to warm them up for serving.

Put leftovers in small containers so they cool quickly.

ü	Divide large amounts of leftovers into small, shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator. Don't pack the refrigerator—cool air must circulate to keep food safe.
ü	With poultry or other stuffed meats remove stuffing and refrigerate it in separate containers.

Reheating leftovers.

ü	Bring sauces, soups and gravy to a boil. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to 165° F.
ü	Microwave leftovers using a lid or vented plastic wrap for thorough heating.

Kept it too long? When in doubt, throw it out.

Safe refrigerator and freezer storage time-limits are given for many common foods in the "Cold Storage" table. But what about something you totally forgot about and may have kept too long?

ü	Danger—never taste food that looks or smells strange to see if you can still use it. Just discard it.
ü	Is it moldy? The mold you see is only the tip of the iceberg. The poisons molds can form are found under the surface of the food. So, while you can sometimes save hard cheese and salamis and firm fruits and vegetables by cutting the mold out—remove a large area around it—most moldy food should be discarded.

Power's out.

Your freezer

Without power, a full upright or chest freezer will keep everything frozen for about 2 days. A half-full freezer will keep food frozen 1 day.

If power will be coming back on fairly soon, you can make the food last longer by keeping the door shut as much as possible.

If power will be off for an extended period, take food to friends' freezers, locate a commercial freezer or use dry ice.

Your refrigerator-freezer combination

Without power, the refrigerator section will keep food cool 4-6 hours depending on the kitchen temperature.

A full, well-functioning freezer unit should keep food frozen for 2 days. A half-full freezer unit should keep things frozen about 1 day.

Block ice can keep food on the refrigerator shelves cooler. Dry ice can be added to the freezer unit. You can't touch dry ice and you shouldn't breathe the fumes, so follow handling directions carefully.

What to do about thawed food

Food still containing ice crystals or that feels refrigerator-cold can be refrozen.

Discard any thawed food that has risen to room temperature and remained there 2 hours or more. Immediately discard anything with a strange color or odor.

Is it food poisoning?

If you or a family member develop nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever or cramps, you could have food poisoning. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell since, depending on the illness, symptoms can appear anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 weeks later. Most often, though, people get sick within 4 to 48 hours after eating bad food.

In more serious cases, food poisoning victims may have nervous system problems like paralysis, double vision or trouble swallowing or breathing.

If symptoms are severe or the victim is very young, old, pregnant or already ill, call a doctor or go to the hospital right away.

When to report foodborne illness

You or your physician should report serious cases of foodborne illness to the local health department.

Report any food poisoning incidents if the food involved came from a restaurant or commercial outlet.

Give a detailed but short account of the incident. If the food is a commercial product, have it in hand so you can describe it.

If you're asked to keep the food refrigerated so officials can examine it later, follow directions carefully.

For more information on food handling, call USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline, 1-800-535-4555, 10-4 weekdays EST.

Cold Storage

These SHORT but safe time limits will help keep refrigerated food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. These time limits will keep frozen food at top quality.

Product Refrigerator
(40°F) Freezer
(0°F)

Eggs

Fresh, in shell 3 weeks Don't freeze

Raw yolks, whites 2-4 days 1 year

Hardcooked 1 week Don't freeze well

Liquid pasteurized eggs or egg substitute — opened
Liquid pasteurized eggs or egg substitute — unopened 3 days
10 days Don't freeze
1 year

Mayonnaise

Commercial, refrigerate after opening 2 months Don't freeze

TV Dinners, Frozen Casseroles

Keep frozen until ready to serve 3-4 months

Deli & Vacuum-Packed Products
Store-made or homemade egg, chicken, tuna, ham, macaroni salads 3-5 days These products
don't freeze well

Pre-stuffed pork & lamb chops, chicken breasts stuffed with dressing 1 day

Store-cooked convenience meals 1-2 days

Commercial brand vacuum-packed dinners with USDA seal 2 weeks, unopened

Soups and Stews

Vegetable or meat-added 3-4 days 2-3 months

Hamburger, Ground & Stew Meats

Hamburger and stew meats 1-2 days 3-4 months

Ground turkey, veal, pork, lamb and mixtures of them 1-2 days 3-4 months

Hotdogs and Lunch Meats

Hotdogs — opened package
Hotdogs — unopened package 1 week
2 weeks In freezer wrap,
1-2 months

Lunch meats — opened
Lunch meats — unopened 3-5 days
2 weeks

Bacon and Sausage

Bacon 7 days 1 month

Sausage, raw from pork, beef, turkey 1-2 days 1-2 months

Smoked breakfast links, patties 7 days 1-2 months

Hard sausage — pepperoni, jerky sticks 2-3 weeks 1-2 months

Ham, Corned Beef

Corned beef — in pouch with pickling juices 5-7 days Drained, wrapped
1 month

Ham, canned — label says keep refrigerated 6-9 months Don't freeze

Ham, fully cooked — whole 7 days 1-2 months

Ham, fully cooked — half 3-5 days 1-2 months

Ham, fully cooked — slices 3-4 days 1-2 months

Fresh Meat

Steaks, beef 3-5 days 6-12 months

Chops, pork 3-5 days 4-6 months

Chops, lamb 3-5 days 6-9 months

Roasts, beef 3-5 days 6-12 months

Roasts, lamb 3-5 days 6-9 months

Roasts, pork and veal 3-5 days 4-6 months

Variety meats — tongue, brain, kidneys, liver, heart, chitterlings 1-2 days 3-4 months

Meat Leftovers

Cooked meat and meat dishes 3-4 days 2-3 months

Gravy and meat broth 1-2 days 2-3 months

Fresh Poultry

Chicken or turkey, whole 1-2 days 1 year

Chicken or turkey pieces 1-2 days 9 months

Giblets 1-2 days 3-4 months

Cooked Poultry, Leftover

Fried chicken 3-4 days 4 months

Cooked poultry dishes 3-4 days 4-6 months

Pieces, plain 3-4 days 4 months

Pieces covered with broth, gravy 1-2 days 6 months

Chicken nuggets, patties 2 days 1-3 months

Cooking Temperatures

Product	Visual Checks	Degrees Farenheit
Eggs & Egg Dishes
Eggs	cook until yolk & white are firm	160
Egg dishes	cook until yolk & white are firm	160
Ground Meat & Meat Mixtures
Turkey, chicken	no longer pink	170
Veal, beef, lamb, pork	no longer pink	160
* Hamburger or ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160° F. Current research has shown that some ground beef may turn prematurely brown before a safe internal temperature of 160°F has been reached. Persons serving high risk individuals (ill, immuno-compromised, young children, and older adults) are especially advised to use a thermometer to measure internal temperature to prevent E-coli 0157:H7 contamination.
Fresh Beef
Rare (some bacterial risk)	red center	140
Medium	pale pink center	160
Well done	gray or brown throughout	170
Fresh Veal
Medium	pale pink center	160
Well done	not pink	170
Fresh Lamb
Medium	pale pink center	160
Well done	not pink	170
Fresh Pork
Medium	pale pink center	160
Well done	not pink	170
Poultry
Chicken, whole	juices run clear, leg moves easily, tender	180
Turkey, whole	juices run clear, leg moves easily, tender	180
Poultry breasts, roasts	clear juice, fork tender	170
Poultry thighs, wings	cook until juices run clear
Stuffing (cooked alone or in a bird)	steaming hot	165
Duck and goose	juices run clear, leg moves easily, tender	180
Ham
Fresh (raw)		160
Pre-cooked (to reheat)		140

William Schafer is a food technologist with the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

How this booklet was developed. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service asked food scientist to analyze consumer handling of food in the home using a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) approach. This booklet, the result of that effort, guides you past those critical points in everyday food handling where experts say making the "wrong" move could lead to foodborne illness. Home and Garden Bulletin No. 248, September 1990, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. Adapted by college of Human Ecology, University of Minnesota Extension Service.

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