How to Cook Safely

• Wash your hands frequently: Wash your hands with warm water and soap before you begin cooking and after you touch any unwashed fruits and vegetables, raw meats, poultry, fish, and any surfaces or tools that have contacted these raw foods.
• Work with clean surfaces: Always use clean surfaces for cutting or handling food.
  • Use smooth, uncracked cutting boards made of hard wood or a nonporous material such as plastic.
  • After use, wash all cutting boards with hot water, soap, and a scrub brush to remove food particles. Then run the boards through the dishwasher or rinse them in a solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach to 1 quart of water.
  • Before use, rinse all cutting boards to avoid ingesting any chlorine used during sanitization.
  • Consider reserving one cutting board for foods that will be cooked (such as raw meat or fish) and another for ready-to-eat foods (such as bread, cheese, and fruit).
• Beware of sponges: Sponges are notorious breeding grounds for bacteria. Put sponges in the dishwasher, microwave for 30 seconds, or soak in a bleach solution of 1/2 teaspoon of chlorine bleach to 1 pint of water after each use. Alternatively, consider switching to scrub brushes, which are more bacteria-resistant than conventional sponges.
• Avoid cross-contamination: Clean any tools and utensils that come in contact with soiled or raw food thoroughly before using them again.
• Clean as you go: If you take breaks during the cooking process to clean dirty tools and utensils, you’ll avoid the temptation to reuse a tool without washing it.

Keep Food Out of the “Danger Zone”

• Insert the thermometer right into the center of the piece of meat.
• Be careful not to touch any bones with the probe of the thermometer (for poultry, insert the thermometer beneath the thigh).