Food Safety

Knowing how to handle meat and food the right way can help you "keep it safe" when it comes to buying, preparing, and safely serving it to your family. Here are some important tips to remember:

AT THE STORE

Always buy your cold meat and food last. Take food home and refrigerate fast.
Buy meat and food before the "use-by" date on the package.
Make sure that meat and perishable foods are cold and that frozen foods and meat are solid when you buy them.
Don't buy packages that are torn, cracked, dented, or bulging.
Take perishable foods home and refrigerate right away. Never leave food in a hot car.
Prevent cross contamination between raw and never cooked items, e.g. lettuce.

AT HOME STORAGE

Make sure your refrigerator is at 40°F or below; your freezer should be set at 0°F.
Keep your refrigerator at 40° F or below; freezer at 0° F.
Put cold meat, poultry, or fish in a plastic bag before refrigerating so it won't drip on other refrigerated foods.
Freeze meat, poultry, or fish right away if you won't use it within one or two days.

GETTING READY

Always wash hands before handling food or meat. Keep kitchen counter and utensils clean and neat.
Wash hands with hot water and soap before and after handling meat or other food.
Thaw foods in the refrigerator or microwave, not on the kitchen counter.
If you use a microwave to thaw foods, cook them immediately.
Cut meat, poultry, and fish on a different cutting board than other fresh foods like vegetables.

COOKING

Follow the cooking directions and cook it right. Never cook it now, leave it out, and serve tonight.
Use a meat thermometer to determine when meat or poultry is thoroughly cooked.
Use this guide to internal cooking temperatures to determine when meat or poultry is ready to serve:

Pork
Chops, roasts, ground
Beef, Veal, Lamb 160° F

Roasts & steaks
(med.rare to well-done) 145° F - 170° F Ground roasts and steaks 160° F

Poultry
Whole 180° FF
Ground 165° FF

SERVING

Always use clean dishes and utensils to serve your food and meat. Never leave cooked food out for more than two hours before or after you eat.
Serve cooked food on a clean plate and use clean utensils. Never use the same unwashed plate that you used to thaw the meat to serve that food.
Use separate utensils for each dish.
Never leave cooked foods out on the table or counter for more than two hours.

LEFTOVERS

Always put leftovers in the refrigerator right away. And when in doubt, throw it out. Better safe than sorry, any day.
Put leftovers in the refrigerator or within two hours after serving.
Reheat leftovers until the middle is hot before serving.

For More Food Safety Information:

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline:
800-535-4555

National Pork Board:
515-223-2600

National Pork Board Web site:
www.otherwhitemeat.com

Gateway to Government Food Safety Web site:
www.foodsafety.gov

American Meat Institute:
www.meatsafety.org

Iowa State University Extension Food Safety Project Web site:
www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety

NSF International:
www.nsfscrubclub.org

John Morrell & Company
Animal Welfare document
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