• Tip 1: Wash hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap before cooking or touching food; wash again if interrupted.
• Tip 2: Throw away hot and cold foods that stand at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If in doubt, throw it out—better to be safe than concerned about wasting food.
• Tip 3: Clean kitchen carefully, use safe cooking practices and promptly store foods in the refrigerator or freezer to eliminate food poisoning bacteria.

Bacteria that cause food poisoning reproduce at temperatures ranging from 40ºF to 140ºF. Salmonella, e. coli and campylobacter, among others, can cause illness or (in rare cases) death when eaten. Most bacteria can't be seen, smelled or tasted. Food poisoning symptoms generally appear within four to 48 hours and can be confused with flu; if in doubt, call your doctor or go to a hospital if symptoms are severe (vomiting, diarrhea, fever or cramps).

For more information on safe food handling, check out the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service web site www.fsis.usda.gov or call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555 (voice) or 1-800-256-7072 (TTY). For food safety consumer advice, see http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/fsgadvic.html.

Potlucks, Buffets & Salad Bars

• Serve food in small dishes. Don’t add fresh food to a dish that already has had food in it—change dishes or wash dish first.
• Keep foods hot (at least 140ºF) with a slow cooker, fondue pot, chafing dish or warming tray. Warming units heated by canned cooking fuel are safe to use; units heated with candles are not safe because they don't get hot enough to prevent bacterial growth.
• Place containers of cold foods in crushed ice to keep them below 40ºF.
• Salad bars, potluck tables and buffets should look clean. Make sure cold foods are well-chilled and hot foods are steaming hot.
  

Picnics

• Pack lunches in insulated lunch bags or in a small cooler with a freezer-pack, a frozen juice box or small frozen plastic bottle of water to keep food cold. Keep the bag or cooler out of the sun. Refrigerate perishable foods that are carried in an uninsulated lunch bag—don’t leave them on your desk or in your backpack.
• Wash thermoses and rinse with boiling water after each use. Be sure hot foods are boiling when poured into thermoses. Wash fruits and vegetables before packing.
• Chill picnic food before packing in an ice-filled cooler. Use one cooler for beverages and one for perishable foods, since the beverage cooler tends to be opened more frequently.
• Tightly wrap and chill raw meat, poultry, fish and seafood to be cooked at a picnic; pack in a separate cooler to prevent juices from dripping.
• Use hand sanitizer, antibacterial moistened towelettes or a bottle filled with soapy water to wash hands and surfaces after handling raw poultry, meat, fish or seafood.

Grocery & Carry-Out Food

• Buy meat, poultry, fish and seafood last. Place in plastic bags to prevent juices from dripping on other foods in your cart.
• Refrigerate perishable foods immediately after purchase. Bring a cooler filled with freezer packs or ice and put perishable groceries inside.
• Buy refrigerated foods only if cold to the touch. Follow usage labels and freshness dates on these products. 
• Freeze frozen foods promptly. Choose foods that are frozen solid and without huge amounts of ice crystals (an indication of thawing and refreezing). 
• Allow air space between foods for faster chilling when stocking your refrigerator and freezer. Divide large amounts of food into smaller portions and place in shallow containers.
• Serve carry-out food immediately, keeping cooked food hot or refrigerated until ready to serve. 

Safe Food Prep Tips

• Don't partially cook or heat perishable foods and then set them aside or refrigerate to finish cooking later. During cooking, food may not reach a temperature high enough to destroy bacteria.
• Keep cooked food hot, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Don't allow cold foods to stand at room temperature for more than 2 hours, including prep time. Keeping cold foods cold means keeping them at 40ºF or lower.
• Reheat leftovers, stirring often, until steaming hot (165ºF). Heat soups, sauces and gravies to a rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly, before serving.
• Throw away food that looks or smells bad—bacteria that cause food to spoil can grow at refrigerator temperatures (between 34 ºF and 40ºF).
• Use separate, dishwasher-safe cutting boards for meats, poultry and fish.
• Use a refrigerator thermometer to ensure temperature is between 35ºF and 40ºF. Use a freezer thermometer to confirm a freezer temperature of 0ºF or colder. If your electricity fails, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed to protect food up to 2 days.
• When cleaning your refrigerator or freezer, pack perishables in a cooler with freezer packs or filled with ice.
• Never thaw foods at room temperature—thaw only in the refrigerator or microwave. Cook microwave-thawed food immediately.