and going to that information thing...

There is information that suggests that 95% of food borne illness may be tracked to the home.  Here are a number of good things to keep in mind

      

These rules apply across the board to all types of food:

For you that have never cooked anything that did not come from a box or the microwave some of this stuff may be tough.  On the other hand this may be the second part of a guide that you need to feed yourself well, impress your parents and friends and not break the bank on prepared foods.

• Shop Smart

Build a menu for a week and then a shopping list.  This list should reflect those ingredients that will hold and should be another for things should pick up daily.  The planning will help keep you in balance, it does me.  I have my whole day mapped out and really try to live by the program. When you do shop buy only food that looks and smells in top condition, period, when in doubt DO NOT buy it.  The higher the volume of the store, the fresher things are likely to be.

• Avoid Cross-Contamination

This is very important!  At the store, put meats and poultry in an extra plastic bag, which many stores now provide, so they can't drip onto other foods in your shopping cart. When you get home check for leaks and re-bag if necessary and store them on the bottom shelf of the fridge to avoid leaks and cross contamination.

• Store Food Promptly

The US Department of Agriculture advises, "Always refrigerate perishable food within two hours (one hour when the temperature is above 90°F)"  I think that you should not wait that long.  If you're making a few stops on the way home from the store, or the weather is very hot, keep a cooler in your trunk for meat, dairy, and frozen items.

• Check Your Fridge and Freezer

Keep a thermometer in each place and check them often. The fridge should be 40°F or below but above 32 degrees and the freezer, 0°F.  Home appliances often vary in temperature and frequent opening raises the temperature so pay close attention.  The variance can influence the shelf life of what you buy.

• Wash Your Hands

Wash them in hot, soapy water both before and after preparing foods. This is very important when you are working with raw animal proteins.  Get up lather and sing Happy Birthday or count to 20 while scrubbing.  Make sure you wash between your fingers, up to your wrists and around your cuticles that is where the bacteria hide.  Another personal note here, I don’t over wash my hands in the course of the day.  It removes natural oils and good bacteria that we need.  When you take these things away you leave yourself open to bacteria that are not so nice.  I also avoid the fad of sanitizing myself at every chance I get.

• Use or Freeze Promptly

If a product has a "use by" date, follow that. (This is different from a "sell by" date, which refers to the date by which you should purchase the product.) If there's no use-by date, use or freeze the ingredient within several days of its sell-by date. When storing food label and date the package.  Shopping frequently and in smaller amounts guarantees the freshness and quality of your food.

• Thaw Safely

You have several options for thawing frozen meats. The safest is in the refrigerator; meats thawed this way can safely be refrozen; always thaw on the bottom shelf and not in contact with other products. If you're in a hurry, meat can also be thawed in the microwave or in a pan of cold water. (With the water running and never use hot water—this could raise the temperature of some parts of the meat into the "danger zone," where bacteria grow quickly.) Meat thawed in the microwave or water must be cooked immediately. Never thaw meat on the counter top, which could allow dangerous bacteria to multiply.

• Cook Properly

We'll go into more detail on safe cooking temperatures in the individual method sections. A good general rule is to use an instant read metal probe thermometer rather than relying on just your eyes and nose to check doneness. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the product, and be sure it doesn't touch a bone.   Calibrate your thermometer by submerging it in a glass full of ice and water and adjusting the nut on the back so that the thermometer reads 32°F.  Thermometers should be re calibrated every month.

• Separate Raw and Cooked Items

Once food is cooked, it should never go back on a dirty plate or board that's held raw ingredients, and utensils should not be used for both raw and cooked foods without being washed and sanitized in between. This principle applies to marinades as well: If you want to serve a marinade that you've used on raw food, be sure to boil it for three minutes to kill any pathogens.

• Refrigerate Leftovers

The two-hour refrigeration rule for raw ingredients applies to leftovers and prepared foods as well.  Get stuff into the fridge or freezer as quickly as you can.  Keeping your food safe will keep you healthy.  It is better if you have few leftovers and if you do pawn it off on those you love, or hate.
I guess the question on everyone’s lips at this point is “Why is this stuff so important?”  The simple answer is so that you do not want to die; it is also the most extreme.  Over the last century and a half we have learned much about food safety and how food impacts our health and psyche.   You have heard that someone has gotten food poisoning that is unlikely to be true but it has been true in the past and if you follow the rules for safe food handling it will continue to be untrue.