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with care. Food safety begins at the grocery store, so make sure to shop wisely: Check the use-by dates on all products and use your judgement to decide if foods have been stored at the correct temperatures. Pack meat and poultry products into separate bags and do not let the raw flesh touch any other food products as you shop or bring them home. Keep cold and frozen foods as cold as possible, especially when transferring from the store to your home. This prevents the growth of pesky bacteria that could cause food poisoning. Here are ways to keep your food safe: Wrap the goods in newspaper or buy a small cooler bag to transport your cold and frozen foods home. When using coolers, always separate meat from other cold items. You should label your coolers so you always put the right items in the right cooler. Clean the coolers after each use with disinfecting cloths. When possible, leave grabbing cold products to the end of your shopping. Store all foods properly and quickly when you get back home. Wash your hands thoroughly with hot water and antibacterial soap before and after preparing food, especially after handling raw meat. Dry your hands on a clean towel that's separate from the 1 you use to wipe down surfaces. Keep dish cloths and hand towels regularly cleaned to prevent bacteria from accumulating on the fabric. Always wash your hands after handling pets (especially reptiles, turtles and birds) and after using the bathroom or handling pet litter. It's very important to keep your kitchen counters and other food preparation areas clean, especially when preparing high-risk food items like meat, poultry and eggs. Use a mild disinfectant to clean your countertops and other surfaces. Wash your cutting board in warm, soapy water. It's best to also clean it using a bleach solution made of 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of bleach mixed into 34 ounces (1 L) of water. Disinfect your sink, especially if you've washed raw meat products in it. It's possible for germs to get on your clean dishes. Keep these boards separate to avoid any possibility of cross-contamination of bacteria from meat to other food products. If you cannot keep separate chopping boards, make sure to disinfect a multi-purpose chopping board thoroughly after each use (see bleach recipe in "Tips"). Plastic chopping boards are recommended over wooden chopping boards, as the wooden ones are harder to clean. Wooden chopping boards can also absorb and hold bacteria in their grain. You should never defrost food (especially meat and poultry) at room temperature just to speed up the process. Food should always be thawed in the refrigerator, as thawing at room temperature allows the surface of the food to warm up too quickly, promoting bacteria growth. Alternatively, you can defrost foods using the "defrost" or "50 percent power" setting on your microwave. You can also safely defrost food by holding them under cold running water. Once foods have been completely thawed, they should be used promptly -- they should never be refrozen without being cooked first. This is especially important for red meat, poultry and eggs, which are considered high-risk foods. Cooking these foods all the way through will destroy harmful germs. Consult a cookbook for the correct cooking times (taking the weight of the food and the temperature of your oven into account). Use a meat thermometer if you have any doubts about how long to cook something -- this can take a lot of the uncertainty out of cooking meats. Chicken and turkey are cooked when they reach a temperature of 165F, steaks are cooked at 145F and hamburgers are cooked at 160F. Bacteria multiply fastest between 40F and 140F, so it's important to keep foods either above or below these temperatures. You should make sure your fridge is set at a temperature of 4C/ 40F or less and that cooked food reaches a temperature of at least 165F Leftovers that have been reheated poorly can still contain active food pathogens. Moreover, if leftovers have gone bad, no amount of reheating will make them safe. Do not keep leftovers for too long. Any signs of discoloration, sliminess, growth of mold etc. are signals to discard or compost the leftovers. Never reheat leftovers more than once.
Shop Maintain the cold chain. Always wash your hands before and after preparing foods. Keep your kitchen clean. Use separate chopping boards for preparing raw meat/poultry and vegetables. Defrost carefully. Cook foods thoroughly. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Reheat leftovers thoroughly before serving.