Summer is coming! June 21st, 2011 (Home Food Safety)

As summer rolls around and grills across the nation heat up for backyard barbecues, so does your risk of food poisoning. The Home Food Safety program is dedicated to raising consumer awareness about the seriousness of foodborne illness and provides solutions for easily and safely handling foods.

Did you know?
...that each year roughly 1 out of 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases.

Did you know?
...that reducing foodborne illness by just 1% would keep about 500,000 Americans from getting sick each year; reducing foodborne illness by 10% would keep about 5 million from getting sick.

Did you know?
...that nearly half of all cases of foodborne illness could be eliminated if people would wash their hands more often when preparing and handling food.

Did you know?
...that certain people have an increased risk for foodborne illness. These "at risk" people include:

• Pregnant women and newborns
• Older adults
• People with weakened immune systems and chronic illness including diabetes, kidney disease, AIDS and some cancer patients. 

Safe Grilling
Did you know that Hambergers and Hot Dogs must be fully cooked and their internal temperatures should be checked with a food thermometer and they should read 160 degrees Fahrenheit for Hambergers and 165 degrees Fahrenheit for Hotdogs? I didn't! If meat isn't grilled just right, it can cause food poisoning.

I recently had a BAD case of food poisoning from eating an undercooked hamburger from a local fast food restaurant. I honestly felt like I was going to die. My stomach hurt, I kept throwing up, and I couldn't get off of the toilet for over six hours. It didn't help that it started up a few hours after I went to bed. I won't be eating at that fast food restaurant again any time soon. 


Reduce Food Borne Illnesses
Keep you and your family safe by always washing your hands before and after you prepare any food. Keep raw meats and ready-to-eat foods separate. Cook foods to their proper temperatures. Refrigerate foods promptly to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

My husband and I have two different cutting boards, one for cutting up meat, and the other one for cutting up fruits, vegetables, and more. We took a black sharpie and wrote MEAT on the one cutting board so that we wouldn't get them mixed up or forget which color cutting board was for which foods. 


Cooking Safely with your Microwave Oven
Thaw foods using the Defrost button on your microwave. Remove all food from packaging before defrosting. (Do not use foam trays and plastic wraps because they are not heat stable at high temperatures.) Cook all foods immediately after defrosting them in your microwave.

Cover foods with a lid or a microwave-safe plastic wrap to hold in moisture and provide safe, even heating. After reheating foods in the microwave oven, allow the food to "stand" alone in your microwave for a minute or two before removing them. Then, use a clean food thermometer to check that food has reached 165°F.

When heating up food for children, never microwave it in a plastic bowl. Don't ever microwave food in the containers located in the children's section labeled to be used and then thrown away. These are made of very thin plastic and they will melt in the microwave. These containers will also put bad toxins into your children's food. We always use glass bowls and plates when microwaving food for us or our children.


All of the above information and more are included HERE and printable so they can laminated and posted where everyone in your household can see them and review them before preparing any food.

Go to Homefoodsafety.org for more information about food safety.


Disclosure: I copied some of these home food safety tips from Homefoodsafety.org. The story about me having food poisoning and about the cutting boards are true and they are my own words and experiences. I will receive a $15 Starbucks gift card in exchange for my post.