Food Safety Reminders for Your Customers
Although America’s food supply is safe, there are steps your customers can take to improve food safety in their own kitchens. Remind your customers of these food safety tips:
- Cook beef to the proper temperature. Use an instant read meat thermometer to accurately determine beef’s internal temperature. Cook ground beef to 160oF. Cook roasts and steaks to 145oF.
- Store beef at the proper temperature. Refrigerate beef in a 40oF or less refrigerator within two hours of purchase.
- Defrost beef in the refrigerator. Never defrost beef at room temperature. Move beef from the freezer to the refrigerator 24 hours before you plan to cook it.
- Store leftovers properly. Store leftovers in shallow containers that will allow the food to cool quickly. Refrigerate or freeze perishable leftovers within two hours of cooking. Do not allow cooked food to reach room temperature before refrigerating.
- Wash hands. When handling raw beef, always wash hands and any surfaces that come in contact with raw beef before handling other food or placing other food on contaminated surfaces.
- Avoid Cross-Contamination. Wash all utensils and surfaces used to handle raw beef prior to using them for cooked beef or other foods.
Additional resource:
www.fightbac.org