Live

and Let
Cook!

Sources

Justine Bennett
NFS 4950

All food naturally

contain bacteria
Cleaning and cooking
foods kills them!
All food naturally has bacteria in or
on it, in order to prevent others
from getting sick it is important to
make sure that foods that will not
be cooked are cleaned thoroughly,
that bacteria on raw meats is kept
away from any prepared foods
such as uncooked vegetables or
fruit, and that meats are heated
thoroughly in order to prevent
them from giving any consumer
food poisoning. Food poisoning is
often caused by carelessness
during preparation, dont let it
happen to you!

Food Safety Web Site. Available

at: http://www.foodsafety.gov.
Accessed September 20, 2015.

Learn how to target bacteria in

your kitchen to prevent cross
contamination!

CDC. Handwashing Web Site.

Available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/handwashin
g/when-how-handwashing.html.
Accessed September 20, 2015

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2011/11/29/e-coli-make-three-fuels/

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/meat-and-poultry-
cooking-guide

Dont forget to
wash your hands!

Check the meat!

It is important to clean not only

the food that you will be cooking
but also yourself. Before doing
anything be sure to wash your
hands for at least 20 seconds
with soap and running water.
First wet your hands with running
water, next lather your hands
with soap, scrub for at least 20
seconds then rinse them with
running water, finally dry hands
using a clean towel. You should
wash your hands before touching
any food, when switching from
one food to another (for example
handling raw chicken then
preparing a vegetable), or when
touching your skin or hair or
using the restroom. If you are
unsure if you should wash your
hands or not, just do it!

All meat naturally has bacteria therefor they have

designated cooking temperatures that ensure that
you will have killed the bacteria in them. The
minimum internal cooking temperatures for meats
are as follows:

http://www.wisebread.com/the-5-best-cutting-boards-0

Keep your equipment clean!

140F for ham

145F for beef, p ork, lam, veal steaks,

roasts, and seafood

160F for ground meats (beef, lamb, veal,

and pork) and egg dishes

165F for all poultry, casseroles, and

reheating leftovers

The safest and most accurate way to find what

temperature meat is at while you are cooking it is
to check it with a thermometer, if you do not have
an internal thermometer buy one! With foodborne
illness it is important to be safe rather than sorry.

Be sure to use clean equipment including knives,

cutting boards, utensils and any other items that
will be coming in contact with cooked or uncooked
foods. It is also very important to keep utensils
that have touched raw meats away from fruits and
vegetables. Follow the easy tips below to make
this step a breeze!
o

Prepare meats and vegetables at

different times

Be sure to clean all tools and surface

areas that meats may have come into
contact with after handling them

Have different cutting boards for meat,

vegetables, fruits, and dairy

http://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/iowagap/tag/handwashing/

http://www.basic-cooking.com/meat-cooking-times.html

Clean those vegetables!

A great deal of emphasis is put onto meat when it
comes to cross contamination but it is important
to remember that fruits and vegetables g row in
soil and unless they are prewashed that they will
still have some kind of dirt on them.