Whether you are dining in or dining out, there are some things you need to know about your food. It is important to keep up to date with food safety precautions. There is nothing worse than eating something and immediately feeling sick right after.
Did you know that you shouldn’t eat fish at a restaurant on a Monday? You should also always separate your food when you are shopping at the grocery store.
You can check out the 15 food safety tips below!
1. You Shouldn’t Eat Fish at a Restaurant on Mondays
You might not have realized this, but ordering fish at a restaurant on a Monday is a bad move. Anthony Bourdain wrote about this tip in his book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. Unless you’re dining at a restaurant along the coast that is known for specializing in seafood, Monday fish dishes can be serving filets that are up to 4 days old.
2. Never Eat Fruit That’s Been Out for Over 2 Hours
You might think the morning fruit plate in your office is still good after lunch for a snack, but you’d be wrong. Bacteria can multiply rapidly as the food gets warmer the longer it sits out.
3. Separate Foods When Shopping
Don’t put your produce on top of your meat when you’re at the grocery store. Raw meat, poultry, and seafood need to be kept away from made-to-eat food in your cart. You should also separate these when you’re putting them in the fridge at home.
4. Never Ignore a Food Recall
Romaine lettuce has been recalled numerous times this year already. If you see a food item you often eat in the news for a recall, you should rush home to throw out it out ASAP.
5. Avoid Eating the “Best Seller” Items at a Fast Food Joint
If something is marketed as a top seller at a restaurant, it also can mean that they pre-make that food item. Being pre-made means that this can develop bacteria that can make you sick.
6. Leftovers Need to Go in the Fridge ASAP
Some people like to wait for their food to cool off before transferring it to the fridge, but that isn’t good. You need to put your leftovers right into the fridge after you’ve finished cooking.
7. Leftovers Also need to be Heated to 165ºF
According to the USDA, all leftovers need to be heated to 165ºF in order to get rid of any lingering bacteria.
8. The Five-Second Rule Doesn’t Exist
If you drop food on the floor while you’re cooking or while you’re eating, that food needs to be thrown out. Even if you grab it in under five seconds, there is still too much bacteria on that food and it should not be consumed.
9. Do Not Drink Tap Water When Out to Eat
Howard Cannon, CEO of Restaurant Expert Witness and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting A Restaurant, says, “One of the most dangerous items in a restaurant is water.”
Water that sits between 40 and 140 degrees for a short time has an extremely high potential to harbor harmful bacteria. If you have water already at your table, ask the waiter to bring fresh water.
10. Never Put Unwrapped Food on a Bare Shopping Cart
It might seem like a no-brainer suggestion but have you ever just needed one piece of fruit or garlic and you tossed it right in your shopping cart, sans plastic bag? Well, that was a bad move. Apparently, 72% of grocery shopping carts have traces of feces on them. Yuck.
11. Frozen Food Should Not Thaw on the Counter
You might have spent years putting frozen meat on your counter while you’re at work, but this is not safe. Instead, you can pop frozen food in the fridge the day before you plan to cook it. The reason for this is that food needs to be kept at the same temperature when thawing. On your counter in the kitchen, the room can read many different temperatures throughout the day. Other safe options are to defrost in warm water and in the microwave, but your best bet will be the fridge!
12. Don’t Eat Snacks on a Bar Counter
Those pretzels or popcorn on the counter at the bar might seem like a great idea when you’re drinking. However, they are often not refilled often and put out multiple nights in a row. That means you can’t even begin to count how many people put their hands in that bowl!
13. Store Bought Eggs Are More Expensive Than You Think
You might think those store bought eggs you just bought are extra fresh, but sadly they might not be. One farmer wanted to see how long eggs sat on grocery store shelves and found that some eggs were there from anywhere between 9 to 37 days on the shelf!
14. Avoid Buying Pre-Sliced Deli Meat
Much like eggs, deli meat has an expiration date posted on it that is not reflective on when it will actually go bad. Rather than buying pre-packed deli meat, head to the butcher at your grocery store and get fresh cut meat.
15. Never Cut Meat and Produce on the Same Cutting Board
If you’re prepping a meal with a lot of meat (and/or poultry and seafood), you’re going to need two cutting boards for your meat and for your produce. The bacteria from the uncooked meat for contaminate your produce, which is why the two need to be kept separate.
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