Basic Guidelines for Food Safety at Home

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GUIDELINES FOR SAFE FOOD HANDLING

1. Keep it safe, refrigerate or freeze. Refrigerate or freeze all perishable foods. Refrigerator temperature should be 40° F or less; freezer temperature should be 0° F or less. Use a refrigerator/freezer thermometer to check the temperatures.
2. Never thaw food at room temperature. Always thaw food in the refrigerator, or in cold water or in a microwave. When thawing in the microwave, you must cook the food immediately.
3. Wash hands with warm soapy water before preparing food. Wash hands, utensils, cutting boards and other work surfaces after contact with raw meat and poultry. This helps prevent cross contamination.
4. Never leave perishable food out of refrigeration over two hours. If room temperature is 90° F or above food should not be left out over 1 hour. This would include items such as take-out foods, leftovers from a restaurant meal, and meals-on wheels deliveries.
5. Thoroughly cook raw meat, poultry and fish (see the following chart of internal temperatures). Do not partially cook food. Have a constant heat source, and always set the oven at 325° F or higher when cooking. There is no need to bring food to room temperature before cooking.

FOODS PURCHASED OR DELIVERED HOT

Eating Within Two Hours?

Pick up or receive the food HOT...and enjoy eating within two hours.

Not Eating Within Two Hours?

Keeping food warm is not enough. Harmful bacteria can multiply between 40° and 140°F.

Set oven temperature high enough to keep the hot food at 140°F or above. Check internal temperature of food with a meat thermometer. Covering with foil will help keep the food moist.

Eating Much Later?

It's not a good idea to try and keep the food hot longer than two hours. Food will taste better and be safely stored if you:

Reheating?

Reheat thoroughly to temperature of 165°F or until hot and steaming. In the microwave oven, cover food and rotate so it heats evenly. Allow stand time for more even heating.

Consult your microwave owner's manual for recommended cooking time, power level and stand time. Inadequate heating can contribute to illness.

FOODS PURCHASED OR DELIVERED COLD

Keep Cold Food Cold

Eat or refrigerate immediately. Cold food should be held at 40°F or colder.

The Two Hour Rule

Perishable food should not be at room temperature longer than two hours. Discard food which has been left at room temperature longer than two hours. For room temperatures over 90°F, discard food after one hour.

MINIMUM INTERNAL COOKING TEMPERATURES

We recommend the following:

COLD STORAGE

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This page was updated on March 22, 2006