Frozen food should be rock-solid. Canned goads should be free of dents, cracks or bulging lids which can indicate a serious food poisoning threat. Generally, keep your refrigerator as cold as possible without freezing your milk or lettuce. Freeze fresh meat, poultry or fish immediately if you can't use it within a few days. Raw juices often contain bacteria.
Bacteria can live in kitchen towels, sponges and clothes.
Wash them often. Replace sponges every few weeks. Keep raw meat, poultry and fish and their juices away from other food. For instance, wash your hands, cuffing board and knife in hot soapy water after cuffing up the chicken and before dicing salad ingredients. Thaw food in the microwave or refrigerator, NOT on the kitchen counter.