Prevent foodborne illness by remembering to clean, separate, cook and chill
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EmailBe food safe with these four steps and protect your children from food poisoning.
It’s important to protect everyone, especially children, from foodborne illness. While we’re all susceptible to foodborne illness, young ones face a greater risk because they are still growing, and their immune systems aren’t strong enough yet to fight off pathogens. Preventing foodborne illness does not have to take extra effort; all you need to do is follow a few steps to keep everyone in your home safe. Remember these key words: clean, separate, cook and chill.
Keeping areas clean relates to several things. It includes the countertops where you prep meals, your hands, the table, and all the provisions used in food prep (napkins/towels, knives, cutting boards, pots/pans, plates, etc.). By keeping everything clean and sanitized, you are eliminating the amount of bacteria present that may affect your child’s health.
Separating is important for prevention of cross-contamination. An example of cross-contamination is using the same knife to cut raw chicken and then vegetables. A tip to be safe while preparing multiple food items is to prep ready-to-eat foods first, and raw foods last (meat, eggs, and poultry). If you must prepare meat first, be sure to clean and sanitize equipment before preparing ready-to-eat foods.
We must also cook foods thoroughly. Cooking your foods to required internal temperatures helps to kill any pathogens present in them. Each food item has a certain temperature to which it must be cooked. Young immune systems cannot handle rare meat or raw egg products, so cook foods well for your youngsters.
We also need to chill leftovers as soon as possible. By storing foods correctly, you can make them safe for consumption later. When you leave foods out at room temperature, bacteria growth can occur at a rapidly. Temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit are known as the “Temperature Danger Zone.” We must either keep foods cold (below 39 F) or hot (above 165 F).
When you incorporate these steps into your family meal time, you are helping your child by providing safe food. It also keeps them from bad experiences with foods. So remember these four main food safety steps: clean, separate, cook and chill.
