Food Safety

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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For You

• Children
• Women
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage can prevent foodborne illness. There are four basic steps to food safety at home:

• Clean - always wash your fruits and vegetables, hands, counters, and cooking utensils.
• Separate - keep raw foods to themselves. Germs can spread from one food to another.
• Cook - foods need to get hot and stay hot. Heat kills germs.
• Chill - put fresh food in the refrigerator right away.

In the grocery store, avoid cans that are bulging or jars that have cracks or loose lids. Check packages to be sure food hasn't reached its expiration date.

United States Department of Agriculture

Start Here

• Are You Storing Food Safely? (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Cold Food Storage Chart (Department of Health and Human Services)
• Food Safety at Home (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Food Safety When Preparing Holiday Meals (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service) - PDF
• Four Steps to Food Safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Related Issues

• Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• E. coli and Food Safety (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Eating Out & Bringing In - Food Safety for Moms to Be (Food and Drug Administration)
• Fires and Food Safety (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Freezing and Food Safety (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• High Altitude Cooking and Food Safety (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• How Safe Are Color Additives? (Food and Drug Administration)
• Keep Food and Water Safe After a Disaster or Power Outage (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Keeping Food Safe During Emergencies: Power Outages, Floods, and Fires (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Kitchen Thermometers (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts (Food and Drug Administration)
• Refrigeration and Food Safety (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• To Eat or Not to Eat: Decorative Products on Foods Can Be Unsafe (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Barbecue Basics: Tips to Prevent Foodborne Illness (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Color of Meat and Poultry (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Cutting Boards and Food Safety (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Egg Products and Food Safety (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Food Delivery Safety (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Food Safety and Raw Milk (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Fruit and Vegetable Safety (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Ground Beef and Food Safety (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to Know (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• How to Grill Safely (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Lettuce, other Leafy Greens, and Food Safety (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Perchlorate Questions and Answers (Food and Drug Administration)
• Prevent Illness from C. perfringens (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Say No to Raw Dough (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely (Food and Drug Administration)
• Shelf-Stable Food Safety (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Food Safety (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: The competence of street food vendors to provide nutritious and safe...
• Article: Surveys as a valid tool for assessing food safety knowledge amongst...
• Article: Food handlers' knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices regarding safe food handling...
• Food Safety -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• Food and Drug Administration
• Food and Nutrition Information Center
• FoodSafety.gov (Department of Health and Human Services)
• USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)

Children

• Halloween Food Safety Tips for Parents (Food and Drug Administration)
• Once Baby Arrives (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• People at Risk: Children under Five (Department of Health and Human Services) Also in Spanish

Women

• Food Safety for Moms to Be (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Food safety (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish