Rule #1: Store your food properly
First, set your refrigerator to 40°F or colder and your freezer at 0°F or colder. Then follow these guidelines:
- Meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish should be stored in their original packaging or wrapped or sealed in airtight containers and kept in the refrigerator for use within 24 hours or the freezer for longer term storage.
- Eggs should be stored in the carton they came in to protect them from breakage and spoilage. Don't wash or rinse them; that can remove the shell's protective mineral oil coating and increase the possibility of bacteria entering the egg. Eggs may be kept three to five weeks from the day you buy them. The sell-by date will often expire during that period, but according to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, they are perfectly safe to use.
- Dairy products, including milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt, should all be stored in the refrigerator.
- Produce should not be washed before it's stored, since a wet surface favors microbial growth. Certain types of produce, such as avocados, pears, bananas, and tomatoes, can be stored in the refrigerator, but will ripen best at room temperature. Produce to keep out of the refrigerator includes eggplant, onions, potatoes, and other root vegetables.
- Mayonnaise-based salads should be refrigerated immediately after they're prepared and left in the fridge (or in a cooler with ice) until they're served to prevent the growth of bacteria. Don't leave them at room temperature for more than two hours (no more than one hour in hot weather). If you want to keep them out longer, put them in a shallow container surrounded by ice, replacing the ice as needed.
Rule #2: Cook foods appropriately
Each food has a specific minimum internal temperature that must be reached in order to reduce the microorganisms in food to safe levels. I encourage you to invest in a food thermometer. According to the USDA, the recommended safe minimum internal temps are:
- Poultry: 165°F
- Ground meat (beef and pork): 160°F
- Steaks and chops: 145°F
- Roasts: 145°F
- Fish: 145°F
- Eggs: 160°F
Rule #3: Avoid cross-contamination
Cross-contamination results from the transfer of pathogens from one food surface to another. It can occur when cooking surfaces or utensils haven't been properly cleaned after use (for example, chopping tomatoes on a cutting board that wasn't washed after being used for slicing raw chicken breast or placing your cooked steak back on the same plate that the raw version was on) or when hands are not completely cleaned after touching contaminated foods (for example, tossing a salad with your hands after shaping hamburger patties).
Keep things safe by immediately using soap and water to clean your hands, utensils, cutting boards, and food prep surfaces after they've been in contact with raw poultry, seafood, and meat. And get into the habit of washing your hands with soap and water for about 10 to15 seconds every time you handle food (both while you cook it and before you eat it).
Rule #4: Store your leftovers properly
All leftovers must be refrigerated or frozen within two hours -- one hour in hot weather. In other words, no, you cannot leave your leftover food in the car while you go to the movies, then come home and stick it in the fridge.
How long will your leftovers last in the fridge? Typically, up to four days -- but nutrition and taste will suffer as the days go by. My rules of thumb:
- Dishes with seafood and eggs: No more than 2 days
- Cooked meat and/or poultry: No more than 3-4 days
- Leftover pizza: No more than 3-4 days
