Xavier High School

1. Xavier High School Xavier High School Food Safety Tips By: Kevin Kraljev, Leo Moraca, and Peter Pedulla Class of 2011

2. Safe Shopping Tips • Buy cold food last; get it home fast. • Never choose packages which are torn or leaking. • Don't buy foods past "sell-by" or expiration dates. • Put raw meat and poultry into a plastic bag so meat juices won't cross-contaminate cooked foods or those eaten raw, such as vegetables or fruit. • Place refrigerated or frozen items in the shopping cart last, right before heading for the checkout counter. • When loading the car, keep perishable items inside the air-conditioned car—not in the trunk. • Drive immediately home from the grocery. If you live farther away than 30 minutes, bring a cooler with ice from home; place perishables in it.

3. Secure Storage • Keep it safe; refrigerate. • Unload perishable foods from the car first and immediately refrigerate them. • Place securely wrapped packages of raw meat, poultry, or fish in the meat drawer or coldest section of your refrigerator. • Check the temperature of your unit with an appliance thermometer. To slow bacterial growth, the refrigerator should be at 40° F; the freezer, 0° F. • Cook or freeze fresh poultry, fish, ground meats, and variety meats within 2 days; other beef, veal, lamb or pork, within 3 to 5 days.

4. Grilling Precautions Marinate meats in the refrigerator. If you plan to use some of the marinade for a dip or basting sauce, make sure it has been boiled for at least 1 minute. Keep vegetables or fruits intended for grilling separate from raw meats so no one will unwittingly munch on an uncooked, possibly contaminated piece of produce. If you partially cook meat in advance to reduce grilling time, put it on the grill immediately afterward. To transport hamburger patties, fresh meat, or poultry to a picnic site, place the food in a well-insulated cooler that keeps food at 40 ° or lower; store food in the cooler until it's time to start grilling. Don't return cooked meats to the plates that held them when they were raw. Use a food thermometer to check temperatures ofgrilled meats.

5. Thorough cooking will kill most germs. To make sure foods get hot enough, check the internal temperature by inserting a food thermometer in the thickest part.Meats: Cook beef and pork to at least 160 ° F, lamb to 145 °, and poultry to 180 ° for thigh meat and 170 ° for breasts. Ground beef, pork, veal, and lamb should be cooked to at least 160 °, and ground poultry to 165 °.Seafood: Cook fish until it flakes with a fork. Simmer shrimp for three to five minutes or until the flesh turns pinkish and opaque. Steam clams and mussels for 5 to 10 minutes or until the shells open (if they don't, toss them out). Cook oysters until they're plump, for about five minutes. Don't eat raw oysters.Eggs: Don't use homemade foods containing raw eggs, such as mayonnaise and Caesar-salad dressing. Commercial versions are okay, since manufacturers use heat-treated eggs. Use hard-boiled eggs within two to three days of cooking. Do Not Undercook Food!

6. Food Poisoning Prevention The symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. These generally being occurring anywhere from 4- 36 hours after consuming the infected food. If you begin to display these symptoms you should see a doctor immediately. • Food poisoning is usually a result of eating contaminated or undercooked food. • Some common bacterium and viruses found in these food are: E. coli, salmonella, Hepatitis A and many others. • You should know the symptoms of food poisoning.

7. Clean Food • Keep everything clean! • Hands should be washed thoroughly after using the bathroom or changing diapers, and before preparing or eating food. • Wash hands before and after handling raw meat and poultry. • Sanitize cutting boards often in a solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach in 1 quart of water. Wash kitchen towels and cloths often in hot water in washing machine. • Don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food. After cutting raw meats, wash hands, cutting board, knife, and counter tops with hot, soapy water. • Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator. • Always wash fresh fruits and vegetables under cool running tap water before eating. This removes any lingering dirt while also removing or reducing any bacteria or other substances. • Certain hearty vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots. can be scrubbed with a produce brush if consumers plan to eat the fiber and nutrient-rich skin.

8. Quick and Easy Safety Tips • Refrigerator Raider • When it comes to refrigerating leftovers, Americans are losing their cool! More than a third of people typically keep their refrigerator set at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and 41 percent admit they don’t know the proper temperature to which their refrigerator should be set. Don’t let bacteria shorten your leftovers’ life – use a refrigerator thermometer to make sure your fridge is always set below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. • Repeater Eater • Nearly nine out of 10 people consistently reheat leftovers before eating them – versus nibbling them cold right out of the fridge. But 97 percent of leftover lovers do not use a meat thermometer to ensure doneness of foods. Next time you reheat, use a meat thermometer to make sure food reaches the proper internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit before you eat. • Pizza Prowler • Believe it or not, 36 percent of people admit to eating leftover pizza from the night before…even if it hasn’t been refrigerated! Pizza, like all perishable foods, follows the two-hour rule: If pizza has been sitting at room temperature for more than two hours, toss it! • Doggie Bag Diner • Who says you can’t take it with you? When eating out, nearly 40 percent of restaurant patrons leave at least some of the time with a doggie bag or leftovers to eat for another meal. If you’re a doggie bag diner, write the date of purchase on your take-out container – and remember to discard leftovers within three to five days.

9. with the Xavier High School Food Science Club