Food Service Safety
& Certificates

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The FDA provides guidelines to practicing food safety at home. Some of these include:

Clean. Always wash food, hands, countertops, and all cooking tools. Wash hands with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds before and after touching any food. Wash all utensils, cutting boards, and countertops with hot soapy water before and after preparing food. Be sure to rinse off fruits, veggies, and can lids before opening or consuming.

Separate. Keep all raw food separate from one food to another. This includes raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. Do this in your shopping cart, bags, and the fridge. Do not reuse marinades on raw foods unless you bring them to a boil first. Use separate plates and cutting boards when preparing raw foods.

Cook. Safe cooking temperatures (in Fahrenheit) include:

            Beef, Pork, & Lamb: 145 degrees

            Fish: 145 degrees

            Ground Beef, Pork, & Lamb: 160 degrees

            Turkey, Chicken, & Duck: 165 degrees

Always use a food thermometer to make sure the food is done. You cannot always tell just by looking.

Chill. Put foods in the fridge right away. Follow the two-hour rule of putting foods in the fridge or freezer within two hours of cooking or buying from the store. If it is 90 degrees or hotter, do this within one hour. Never thaw food by taking it out of the fridge. Either thaw the food in the fridge, under cold water, or in the microwave. Also, be sure to marinate foods in the fridge.

Visit the FDA website or foodsafety.gov for more information on how to practice food safety at home.