Food Handling, Preparing, and Storing Tips

1. When storing the following foods stick to these tips:
Cheese
Keep all cheese tightly packaged in moisture-proof wrap. If the outside of hard cheese gets moldy, trim off a ½ inch of it below the mold. Do not eat moldy cottage of ricotta cheese. Hard cheese can be frozen, but it will become crumbly.

Cake Contents
Cakes containing butter, whipped cream, cream or custard frosting/filling should be refrigerated.

Eggs
To freeze uncooked yolks or whole eggs, add 1/8 of a teaspoon salt or 1 ½ of a teaspoon corn syrup per ¼ cup (4 yolks or whole eggs).

Fruits & Vegetables
Do not wash fruit before storing because moisture promotes spoilage; instead, wash fruit before eating. Keep chile peppers refrigerated and in a paper bag.

2. Wash hands and cooking surfaces.
Wash hands and kitchen surfaces such as cutting boards, dishes, and utensils often with soap and water after preparing each food item and before going on to the next item. Use paper towels for cleaning kitchen surfaces.

3. Keep meats separate to avoid cross-contamination.
Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods when shopping at the grocery store and in your refrigerator. Set aside separate cutting board for raw meat and poultry, as well as for other food. Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat and poultry unless the plate has been thoroughly cleaned. Store fresh meats in the coldest part of the refrigerator and freeze if you’re not planning to use within two days

4. Cook food at its proper temperatures.
Instead of second-guessing the internal temperature of cooked food, use a food thermometer to make sure meat and poultry are cooked at their proper temperatures. Cook roasts and steaks to at least 145 ºF, whole poultry to 180 ºF in the thigh, and ground beef to 160 ºF.

5. Serving food.
Use chafing dishes, crock pots, and warming trays to keep foods hot, cooking to 140 ºF or above. Keep cold foods chilled by nesting the serving dishes in bowls of ice, chilling them to 40 ºF or below

6. Cooking preparation and handling.
Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the refrigerator, in a cold water bath, or in the microwave. Marinate foods in the refrigerator.

7. Packing perishable foods for travel.
When transporting cold food, wrap it and then place in an ice chest that contains ice cubes or freezer packs. To transport hot food, wrap in clean kitchen towels and then wrap it with newspapers. Pack food in a corrugated box or insulated cooler.

8. Sending and receiving food by mail.
Cold or frozen food should be packed in an insulated cooler or heavy corrugated box, packed with a frozen gel-pack or dry ice. Label the package "Perishable--Keep Refrigerated" on the outside of the box. Ship the package by overnight delivery and arrange for a mutually agreeable delivery date with the recipient of the package. Perishable mail-order food should arrive still frozen or cold-to-the-touch; if not, do not consume or taste the food. Always check the label on the item for storage instructions. Refrigerate or freeze the food immediately if the food is to be kept cold.

9. Handling precooked dinners.
If the dinners are to be picked up hot, make sure that it remains hot. Harmful bacteria multiply fastest in temperatures between 40 and 140 °F. Set the oven temperature high enough to keep the internal temperature of meat and side dishes at 140 °F or above. Eat the food within two hours of pickup. When picking up cold dinners, refrigerate them as soon as possible and always within two hours. Serve the dinners within one to two days.

10. Handling leftovers.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours of having served. Leftovers should be thoroughly reheated to 165 ºF. Sauces, soups, and gravy should be brought to a rolling boil. Place leftovers into shallow containers for rapid cooling.

Information provided by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service