Posts Tagged ‘Food Health’

There are four rules to follow to ensure food safety standards are being met in your home and they are repeated here over and over because repitition works. The four areas are: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill. This particular article will deal a little with Chill because we are going to follow some tips for storing food safely. This may involve the refrigerator, but our examination will also move into shelf storage too.

One of the big areas where bacteria can grow and become dangerously prevalent is while storing food. Food storage can be broken down into three categories: Perishable Food; Frozen Food and Shelf Stable Food.

Refrigerated Perishable Food

Perishable food should always be refrigerated within 2 hours of purchase. Different types of foods will have a different set of basin guidelines to follow.

Raw Meat, Poultry, and Seafood: Place in containers or sealed plastic bags to prevent their juices from dripping onto other food in the refrigerator. This could cause cross-contamination. If you’re not planning to use the food within a day or two, freeze it.

Cooked Poultry: These guidelines apply to all kinds of poultry such as chicken and turkey. Cut the meat into small pieces. Refrigerate stuffing, bird, and gravy separately in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking (or 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F). If left out longer, discard. Use leftover poultry, stuffing, and gravy within 3 to 4 days; or freeze these foods. Use frozen leftovers within 2 to 6 months for best quality.

Eggs: Store in the original carton and place in the main compartment of the refrigerator — not in the door. When ready to use, do not wash them.

Produce: Store perishable produce in the refrigerator. Throw away fresh fruits and vegetables that have not been refrigerated within 2 hours of cutting, peeling, or cooking. If any fruit or vegetable has touched raw meat, poultry, or seafood and will not be cooked immediately, do not eat it. Throw it away.

Leftovers: Refrigerate (or freeze) leftovers within 2 hours in clean, shallow, covered containers to prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying.

Frozen Food

For long-term storage of perishable foods the freezer is the best option. Food that is stored at 0°F or below will be safe. There are a few things to remember when freezing perishable food.

Refreezing Thawed Food: If food is thawed in the refrigerator it is safe to refreeze it without cooking. The only problem you will get in this case is the quality of the food may be reduced because of moisture loss through the derfrosting process.

Freezing Cooked Food: After cooking raw food that was previously frozen it is safe to freeze the cooked food. If previously cooked food were frozen and then defrosted in the refrigerator it is safe to refreeze the unused portion.

Shelf Stored Food

Food that doesn’t need to be refrigerated or frozen still must be stored with care. There are some food storage guidelines for these types of food too.

Where: Store canned food and other shelf-stable products in a cool, clean, dry place. Never put them above the stove, under the sink, in a damp garage or basement, or any place exposed to high or low temperature extremes.

How Long: In general, you can store high-acid food such as tomatoes and other fruit for 12 to 18 months; low-acid food such as meat and vegetables, 2 to 5 years.

Care and Cautions for Cans: Discard cans that are dented, leaking, bulging, or rusted. Can linings might discolor or corrode when metal reacts with high-acid food such as tomatoes or pineapple — but as long as the outside of the can is in good shape, the contents should be safe to eat. Keep in mind, though, that the taste, texture, and nutritional value of the food can diminish over time.