Health News
- Store Holiday Leftovers Properly For Better Flavor And Food Safety
Leftovers are a great way to stretch your food budget, but proper handling of them is important to make sure they maintain their taste and remain bacteria-free, says the Institute of Food Technologists. In a news release, the institute suggests...
- Safety Tips For Trick Or Treating, Halloween Parties
The state Department for Public Health offers these food safety tips to help you have a safe Halloween: Avoid having children snack while they?re out trick-or-treating so you can inspect the contents of their treat bag. Give children a light meal...
- Lose Power In A Storm? Keep Your Food Safe
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Power outages often accompany big storms. While Hurricane Sandy might not knock out your electricity this time, it?s good to know the basics of food safety related to your refrigerator and freezer. If you don?t already have...
- Top Food Safety Tip: Cook It!
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might have heard about the recent recall of raw ground turkey from supermarket shelves. Salmonella (a type of bacteria causing food-borne illness) was found during routine testing, with a quick removal from stores. Food contamination...
- Smoked Chicken Salad Sandwich
Many people are starting to realize that the traditional food of our ancestors, real food, is much better for us than the chemical-drenched industrial stuff turned out by the big food industry. Food smoking is an ancient method of preserving food using...
Health News
Safe Summer Grilling
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
Just about every food can be grilled outdoors. Whether you have a portable charcoal mini-grill, or a monster-size gas grill, the joys of outdoor cooking are one of the great pleasures of summer. But there are a few basic food safety rules you?ll want to follow to avoid foodborne illness and to keep your grilling experience a positive one.
Keep your hands clean! Wash them with soap and water after you?ve handled raw meats, poultry, or fish. Or keep a bottle of hand sanitizer handy. Having bacteria on your hands is one of the biggest culprits for foodborne illness.
Avoid cross-contamination. Separate raw and cooked ingredients. That means cutting surfaces (use paper plates for easy disposal) and marinated foods. Put your meat, chicken, or seafood in a large ziplock bag, add the marinade, and keep refrigerated. Do NOT re-use the marinade on the cooked food. Throw it out! Keep some aside before you marinate the food if you want to use it later.
Use a meat thermometer. The ?I think it looks done? test is not good enough to keep food safe. To eliminate harmful bacteria, insert an instant thermometer to check that meats are at least at 145°F and that poultry is at least 165°F.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly. Foods are safe for consumption up to two hours after cooking. After that, refrigerate. If the temperature hits 90°F or higher (as it has been this summer!), wrap up the food after one hour.
And along with the basics, don?t be afraid to try some unusual grilled items, like watermelon ?steaks? (large slabs of melon) or a heart of romaine (brushed with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and pepper). Let your imagination be your guide. My favorite tip? If you can put it on a skewer, you can grill it!
- Store Holiday Leftovers Properly For Better Flavor And Food Safety
Leftovers are a great way to stretch your food budget, but proper handling of them is important to make sure they maintain their taste and remain bacteria-free, says the Institute of Food Technologists. In a news release, the institute suggests...
- Safety Tips For Trick Or Treating, Halloween Parties
The state Department for Public Health offers these food safety tips to help you have a safe Halloween: Avoid having children snack while they?re out trick-or-treating so you can inspect the contents of their treat bag. Give children a light meal...
- Lose Power In A Storm? Keep Your Food Safe
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Power outages often accompany big storms. While Hurricane Sandy might not knock out your electricity this time, it?s good to know the basics of food safety related to your refrigerator and freezer. If you don?t already have...
- Top Food Safety Tip: Cook It!
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might have heard about the recent recall of raw ground turkey from supermarket shelves. Salmonella (a type of bacteria causing food-borne illness) was found during routine testing, with a quick removal from stores. Food contamination...
- Smoked Chicken Salad Sandwich
Many people are starting to realize that the traditional food of our ancestors, real food, is much better for us than the chemical-drenched industrial stuff turned out by the big food industry. Food smoking is an ancient method of preserving food using...