Food Safety Procedures and Information

There are a lot of ways food can become contaminated with bacteria causing people to get sick. Whether you are having a backyard barbecue, serving your family a normal meal.

Food can become contaminated by improper cooking/cooling/reheating temperatures, cross-contamination from utensils or cooking surfaces, handling of food with your hands or other items that aren't clean, preparing food when you are sick, kitchen area not being clean and free of insects, rodents, and dust, cooking in contaminated water, and not thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables before use.

What are the Correct Food Temperatures?

Most foodborne illness is caused by bacteria that multiply rapidly at temperatures between 45 degrees and 125 degrees Fahrenheit. To control any bacteria that may be present, it is important to maintain the internal temperature of cooked foods that will be served hot at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or above, and to maintain the internal temperature of foods that will be served cold at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

See the "Food Temperature Guidelines" document in the info bar for more information.

What is Cross-Contamination?

Some examples of cross contamination is when you are cutting raw foods and cooked or ready-to-serve foods on the same cutting board without sanitizing between use; use of slicers, graters, choppers and grinders for more than one food product without cleaning between use; handling raw meat with bare hands then handling bread without washing in between.

  Revised 01/04/24