Food Safety Basics Rule 2: Separation

Time to brush up on your food safety know how!

Best practices are easily organized into four simple categories: clean, separate, cook and chill.

Here is step 2 of the food safety basics: Separate to prevent cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is when bacteria from one food are transferred to another. An example would be juices from raw meats coming in contact with already cooked meat or cutting raw meat on a cutting board and then cutting vegetables on the same cutting board.

Tips for preventing cross-contamination:

Separate your cutting boards. Use one board for produce and another for raw meat, poultry, fish and seafood. Wash thoroughly with soap before reuse.
If your cutting board is well used with lots of grooves, replace it.
Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs separate during shopping.
Before bringing them home, wrap them in separate plastic bags in case they leak.
In the refrigerator, keep raw meat, poultry and seafood in leak proof containers or wrapped in plastic.
Leave eggs in their container and store them in the main part of the refrigerator.
When barbecuing, use a clean plate for the cooked meat. Don’t use the same dish that held the raw meat.
Also, don’t use marinade from raw meat on cooked meat.