Every day, consumers come in contact with millions of germs, including bacteria that can cause illnesses and lead to missed school or work and increased medical bills. The simple steps outlined in this brochure can help protect you and your family from bacterial infections.
Take Extra Care to Keep Germs Away
Personal Hygiene
The easiest, most effective way to prevent bacterial illness: Wash your hands! (And wash them often.)
The key is to keep germs from getting into your body. Touching an unclean or contaminated hand to the mouth, nose, or eye is one of the most common ways people get sick. Soap and water are effective at washing away germs. For added protection, many consumers use antibacterial hand soaps and hand sanitizers that — depending on their formulations — kill, reduce or inhibit the growth of bacteria that can cause skin infections, intestinal illnesses or other commonly transmitted diseases.
Food Preparation and Storage
Keep Surfaces Clean!
Don’t be fooled by appearances: Even the cleanest looking surfaces can harbor germs, and some germs can survive for days on moist surfaces, such as kitchen sinks. There is an easy, effective way to fight back: clean with a proven disinfectant.
- Use a disinfectant or an antibacterial cleaner that is registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which means that it is proven effective against a wide variety of germs, and follow the use instructions on the label carefully.
- KEEP ALL CLEANING SUPPLIES OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. If accidentally swallowed, contact your local poison control center.
Preparing Food
- Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water and dry them with a clean cloth or paper towel before and after preparing food.
- Wash lids of food cans and necks of water cooler bottles before opening them.
- If the contents of canned food forcefully sprays when the can is opened, or looks frothy and bubbly, do not use it. Return the can to the store or throw it away.
- When in doubt, throw it out! If the food in your refrigerator or freezer doesn’t smell or appear as it should, throw it away.
- Rinse or peel raw produce thoroughly — even organic produce.
- Thaw frozen food in the refrigerator, not on the kitchen counter. Bacteria multiply more quickly at room temperature.
- Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs separate from other foods. Designate one utensil for raw food and another for cooked; for instance, use one spatula to place hamburger patties on the grill and another to remove them.
- Clean and disinfect countertops, cutting boards and other kitchen surfaces after any contact with raw meat, eggs, poultry, or seafood to reduce cross-contamination.
Cooking
- Buy a meat thermometer and use it! Cook meat and poultry to their proper temperatures as specified in recipes. Cook ground meat to a minimum of 160° F throughout. Cook poultry to a minimum of 180° F throughout.
- Avoid raw seafood, especially if you are immune-compromised or are considered part of a vulnerable population (such as: children, pregnant or nursing women and senior citizens). Properly cooked fish should flake with a fork.
- Never consume unpasteurized milk or cheese.
- Cook eggs until yolk and whites are firm. Don’t eat raw cookie dough, cake batter, or Caesar salads (made with raw eggs) unless pasteurized eggs have been used.
Storing and Serving
- Do not reuse dishes and utensils during food preparation unless you have washed them. For instance, don’t use the same plate for cooked hamburgers that was used to hold raw ones.
- Do not leave perishables out. Immediately date and refrigerate leftovers.
- Keep your refrigerator at 40° F or below and your freezer at 8° F or below. (Use a thermometer to check the temperature.)
- Store leftovers in shallow dishes that cool quickly. Rapid cooling inhibits the growth of bacteria.