Check the temperature of your refrigerator with an appliance thermometer you can buy at a variety or hardware store. 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. Put packages of raw meat, poultry, or fish on a plate before refrigerating so juices won't drip on other food. Raw juices often contain bacteria.
Bacteria can live in kitchen towels, sponges, and cloths.
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, cutting board, and knife in hot soapy water after cutting up the chicken and before dicing salad ingredients. Use plastic cutting boards rather than wooden ones where bacteria can hide in grooves.