Food Safety
- Wash your hands before & after wearing gloves, wash your cooking utensils when switching from one type of food to another - to avoid cross contamination
- Bacteria grows well between 4.6 to 7.5 pH balance of the food
- There are two types of bacterial food borne illnesses: infection & intoxication:
- Infection: caused by eating live bacteria. Bacteria grows and attacks
directly in your body. It takes 24-48 hrs to get sick or show symptoms.
Examples are: E. Coli, Salmonella, Listeria.
- Intoxication: caused by eating toxins that are produced by bacterias growing in the food. It is the toxins make us sick. It takes 2-8 hrs to
get sick. Examples are: staph, botulism, red tide.
- Do not leave cooked food in the temperature danger zone (41-135 degrees F.) for more than 4 hours
- High protein & high moisture food ideally should be kept in the refrigerator no more than 7 days
- Store cold food at below 41 degree F., store hot food at above 137 degree F.
- Food should be stored in food grade plastic, stainless steel, or glass containers only
- Don't put fresh products on top of the old food - contamination
- All living harmful bacteria are killed at 180 degree F.
- Best freezer temperature is from -10 to 0 degree F.
- Refrigerator temperature range is between 33 - 40 degree F.
- Most dangerous temperature zone/fermentation zone is between 70 - 120 degree F.
- 165 degrees F is the proper internal cooking temperature for
poultry, leftover food/reheated, stuffing & stuffed food, and
microwaved food
- 155 degrees F is the proper internal cooking temperature for ground red meat, shell eggs held before serving
- 145 degrees F is the proper internal cooking temperature for shell
eggs served right away, steaks & roasts of red meat, and seafood
- Raw salt water fish raw is edible (due to different chemistry
components than our bodies) but raw fresh water fish is NOT edible.
- Farm raised salmon tends to have high mercury level
- Duck eggs don't have salmonella
