09/03/2026
September is Food Safety Education Month!
This month take an active role in preventing foodborne illness, also known as “food poisoning.” The Federal government estimates that there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness annually – that’s about 1 in 6 Americans each year. Each year, these illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. Following simple food safety tips can help lower your chance of getting sick.
Below are some tips from our Food & Nutrition Director, Abigail Eads, RDN, LDN, CN on Food Safety:
1) Wash your hands before, during, and after preparing food for at least 20 seconds each time to help prevent spreading germs.
2) Wash all of your produce under running water, but do not wash raw meat, poultry or eggs to prevent cross contamination.
3) Sanitize all surfaces you are using (counter tops, utensils, cutting boards) frequently and after you are finished.
4) Avoid cross contamination by storing fresh and ready-to-eat foods away from raw poultry, meat, eggs, and seafood.
5) Use separate cutting boards for raw meats and produce.
6) Use a food thermometer to check temperatures of meat to ensure doneness and avoid going by color.
7) Keep foods out of the temperature danger zone! Cold foods should stay cold (40°F or colder) and hot foods should stay hot (140°F or warmer) to prevent bacterial growth that lead to illness.
8) Refrigerate foods as soon as possible to avoid the temperature danger zone. Food should not be sitting out any longer than 2 hours, and should not be consumed if it is out longer than that amount of time.
9) When thawing frozen foods, do so safely. Frozen foods should be thawed in the refrigerator, under cold water, or in the microwave, but NEVER on the counter.