If you’re like us, you do everything you can to keep you and your family healthy. A friend of ours recently got food poisoning and it was a good reminder to share some simple ways to stay healthy and avoid food borne illness. Oh, and by the way, our friend is just fine now (she asked to remain unnamed since she doesn’t want to be known for spending a week on the toilet J.)

• First and foremost washing your hands with soap before handling food is must. It’s the simplest and best line of defense against spreading bacteria.
• Use separate cutting boards—one for your meats and one for your produce. Bacteria can hide in the crevices so be sure to wash them thoroughly with soapy, hot water and throw them out when they get too scarred up.
• Thaw meats in the sink, not on the counter, to avoid cross contamination. Also be sure to wipe counters frequently with disinfectant sprays.
• Be sure to keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. The temperatures bacteria like to grow at are between 40*F and 135*F so keeping foods below and above these temperatures are ideal.
• Finally, proper storage is key to enjoying safe foods at a later time. If cooking a hot entree be sure to store in a shallow dish allowing for it to cool thoroughly before placing it in the refrigerator. This will ensure no warm pockets exist within the foods, and the heat from the dish will not raise the overall temperature in the refrigerator when you first put it in.

What kind of techniques do you use to store foods and prevent spoilage?