Pre-packaged or pre-prepared Perishables:

1. If you’re buying an item that someone at that grocery store has cut up or repackaged in any way, make sure you grab one of the ones that’s surrounded in ice. Lets says it’s cut up fruit in cups. The display might have a few on top. Always grab from the bottom. You’re already at risk because someone has handled the food and cut it up, adding another 2 or 3 chances for contamination and the food becomes more delicate as it’s handled and put in smaller containers.

2. Even in your cart, keep the bag of grapes or other fresh fruit away from meat. If there is a leak in the meat packaging, it could get into your fruit packaging. It’s best to just keep them completely separate.

Storage at Home:

1. Anything that has been cut or pre-packaged must go in the refriderator.

2. Always keep the refriderator below 40 degrees.

3. Store all perishables away from meat and especially not on the shelf below meat in the fridge.

Preparation:

1. Obviously only handle perishables with clean hands and on clean surfaces.

2. If the bag of lettuce says “pre-washed” you can believe it and just eat it as is. Make sure to thoroughly clean all other lettuce though.

3. Even if you are going to peel an apple, you should wash it first. If there are germs and bacteria on the skin, you don’t want to shave it off onto your counter or spread it around while peeling.

4. If you dry produce off, don’t use a dish towel or hand towel. Get a clean one that hasn’t been used on anything since it’s last washing.

5. If there are bruises or the produce looks wilted, don’t bother, it’s past it’s prime.

Mostly this stuff is common sense. Trust your instincts with fruit and veggies!

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Biggest Dangers:

1. Foods made with mayonnaise & other egg based dishes. That potato salad left over from the cookout is likely very dangerous to eat, even the next day.

2. Meat.Veggies will last longer, but meat should be put in the refrigerator immediately and consumed within 1 to 3 days max.

3. Food that has been sitting out for more than two hours or food that has been out for even one hour in 90+ degree weather.

Way to prevent food borne illness:

1. Freeze it. Right away.

2. Make sure you safely reheat it. This means it must reach 160 degress throughout. A microwave may not do the trick since they tend to cook unevenly. Use a stove or oven whenever possible.

3. If you’re not sure how long it’s been in the fridge, don’t bother.

4. Avoid cross contamination by keeping your fridge clean (no moldy science experiments) and keeping left overs away from raw meat packages.

5. For large amounts of leftovers, like chinese containers, you should store them in several small shallow containers. If you use a large container, there’s a chance that the middle won’t cool correctly and bacteria will begin to grow.

6. Reheat only once. If you have a large portion of chili in the fridge. Don’t reheat the whole container unless you plan on eating all of it. Once you’ve reheated it, it shouldn’t go back into the fridge.

7. Label it. Decide when your cut off day is and mark the leftover package. Stick to it and throw it away after the date.

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It’s often tough to identify the source of a food bourne illness. Food may start in a field, be picked, transported, processed in a plant, trucked out, handled at the supermarket level, handled by other supermarket customers and then handled by you. There are many opportunities for contamination to happen and it could happen during any of these steps. Any food can be compromised, but the higher risk foods are raw fish, shellfish, raw sprouts, red meats, poultry, eggs, cheese and any dairy product. That covers most of our staple foods.

This article will cover the basics of SHOPPING for food & being safe about it.

1. Use your common sense and don’t buy anything that looks questionable. If the package is dented in, leaking or looks different than all of the others, don’t buy it. If the veggies look past their prime, they probably are. Be especially careful in the proteins section of the store.

2. Look at the ’sell by’ and ‘use by’ dates. Don’t buy anything that is past the date or approaching the use by date unless you plan on using it right away. Check out the difference in date between the product at the front and the product at the back. If the supermarket is stocking correctly the fresher items will be at the back of the shelf.  If there is a “Managers Special” sticker on the package, check it very carely for dates and other deal breaker signs. It usually means they are going to have to throw it away soon so they’re trying to blow it out of there even at minimal profit. It’s likely fine to eat at that moment, but a lot of times those items have that day or the next day on the ‘use by’ or ’sell by’ dates.  If it’s still in the store at that point, either they ordered too much or it’s just not a populare item. Either way, beware.

3. When buying the items that people grab by hand, try to buy the ones in the location least likely to be touched. The eye level portion of the pile of apples might have apples that have been handled by MANY people, with who knows what on their hands.

4. If you have a long drive home from the supermarket, make sure you buy the perishable items LAST. That way they have less time out of refrideration/freezer. Make sure the perishables aren’ t placed in a hot trunk for the drive home. They need the A/C just like you do in the summer.

5. Just don’t buy anything that looks or smells gross. Obviously.