How to Practice Food Safety at Home

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There are many consumers who worry about buying produce that could be a part of a recall or lead to a potentially life-threatening illness. With buyer specifications and the new FSMA rules in the produce industry, produce operations are guided on how to prevent food safety (pathogens/recalls/outbreaks/etc.) issues at the operation level. However, do you ever consider how you are preventing food safety issues while buying, storing and preparing produce at home?  Here are five easy ways for you to practice produce food safety at home.

Table of Contents

Be Picky When Selecting Produce

When selecting produce, make sure there is no mold, decay or physical defects (e.g., fingernail marks, openings in fruit). If the produce has any of these problems, that is where potential contamination will start growing first. When purchasing in bulk, review the produce in the bag to check for any physical or pathological disorders.

Store Your Produce in the Proper Area

With produce, it comes down to whether or not the fruit or vegetable should be stored in the refrigerator. This is important because some produce items are chilling sensitive (e.g., bananas, tomatoes) and will go bad quicker if placed in the refrigerator, and can also lead to internal changes. Also, if a piece of climacteric fruit is placed on the counter for further ripening, it needs to be monitored to make sure it goes into the refrigerator or is consumed before going bad. It is important to monitor the produce in your home because if one piece is stored with a group and goes bad, it will quickly spread to the rest of the group (e.g., a clamshell of strawberries).

Store & Prepare Produce on Clean Surfaces

When storing and preparing produce, produce should not come into contact with any type of raw meat (including poultry and fish) or eggs. Some helpful tips include using a cutting board designated specifically for produce, and storing produce separately in the refrigerator.

Wash Your Hands Before Preparing Produce

Just as it is important for the people who handle and prepare your food in restaurants, it is important for you to wash your hands before preparing food for yourself and for your family. The Centers for Disease Protection (CDC) recommend that you wash your hands with warm, running water and soap for at least 20 seconds. Handwashing is not only needed after using the bathroom, but also after touching other objects that could be contaminated, such as a doorknob or a phone.

Wash Your Produce Before Eating It

The FDA recommends washing produce with running water prior to consumption. This includes fruit that has a rind or outer skin (e.g., cantaloupe, avocado). This is recommended since, for example, cantaloupe rinds have multiple ridges where pathogens can hide and when the knife cuts from the outside in, it can affect the actual fruit if transferred to the inside fruit by the knife. However, for produce that is labeled as already washed and ready to eat (e.g., cut leafy greens), no further washing should be needed, except for your hands!

You will never be able to completely rid your produce of any pathogenic contamination. However, by doing preventative measures, you can decrease the likelihood of these issues by practicing food safety at home. Just as is the case with food safety in the produce industry: preventative measures are more efficient than reactive measures.

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Resources:

Shaw, Francine L. “Norovirus isn’t rocket science: Wash your freakin’ hands.” Food Safety News, 30 Oct 2016. Web.  Accessed 20 Dec 2016.

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