A Publication From the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Washington, D.C. 20250

Food Safety is always important, but in the summertime when temperatures are always hotter and foods can reach the danger zone faster, it's more important than ever to be sure foods are handled properly. At the store, when transporting foods and when handling food at home are crucial times for keeping food at safe temperatures and for avoiding cross contamination.

Selecting Foods
When shopping for raw and cooked foods in the summertime, notice how the food is displayed in the store. It's always important to be sure food is being stored at the proper temperature but especially in the summertime when the outside air is warmer. Display cases may have to be put on a colder setting to compensate. Never choose packages which are torn or leaking.

Avoiding Cross Contamination
To guard against cross contamination, put raw meat and poultry into a plastic bag so meat juices won't drip on other foods such as lettuce and fruit that will be eaten raw.

When ordering food from the deli department, be sure the clerk washed his hands between handling raw and cooked items. Don't buy cooked items which are touching raw items in the display case.

Transporting Food Home
Put refrigerated or frozen items in the shopping cart after all other selections have been made. Then, head for the checkout counter.

Ask the bagger to put raw foods in bags separate from cooked foods and produce. When loading the car, keep perishable items inside the air conditioned car -- not in the trunk.

Drive immediately home from the grocery. Make the food store your last stop before driving home. If you live farther away than 30 minutes, bring a cooler from home and place perishables in it for the trip home.

Storage of Foods at Home
Unload perishable foods from the car first. Put them immediately into the refrigerator or freezer. Assuming the store wrap on meat and poultry is clean not torn, refrigerate or freeze the package as is. Since repeated handling can introduce bacteria from your hands to meat and poultry, it's best to leave a product in its original packaging.

Otherwise, re-wrap products in clean plastic or aluminum foil. For long-term freezer storage (longer than two or three months), overwrap store packaging as an added barrier and protection from freezer burn.

If you want to divide perishable foods into smaller containers, remember to wash your hands first. Work as fast as possible so food isn't setting out on the counter long. Wash hands after handling raw meat and poultry, too.

Preparation
Clean preparation is essential. Be sure all work surfaces and utensils are clean before preparing food. Remember, bacteria can be present on any surface or food as well as on people's hands.

To sanitize cutting boards, counters and sinks, first wash with hot, soapy water. Make a solution of two teaspoons of chlorine bleach to a quart of water and let the solution set on surfaces for a few minutes. Then rinse with clear water and pat dry.

When planning a picnic or cooking outdoors, be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters for handling the raw foods and the food after cooking. Pack soapy sponges and wet towelettes for cleaning surfaces and hands.

Keeping Food at a Safe Temperature
When working with food in a summertime kitchen, it's important to handle it quickly and get it into the oven or the refrigerator as soon as possible.

For example, as soon as you take a package of raw ground beef out of he refrigerator, form it into patties and stack them between squares of wax paper. Don't put more than four in each stack; the cold air needs to reach the center to chill them fast. Overwrap the stacks and refrigerate or freeze them immediately.

Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator unless you will be cooking them within the hour.

Check the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer. Like the store's display cases, they may need to be put on a low setting in the summertime. Keep a thermometer in your cold storage unit. The refrigerator should be maintaining 40 degrees F or lower and the freezer should be keeping foods at zero degrees.

Thorough Cooking
Once food is in the oven or on the grill, it should stay there until done to a safe temperature. Partial cooking of foods allows bacteria to survive and multiply to the point of subsequent cooking can't destroy them.

Cook ground beef, veal, lamb and pork to 160 degrees F; ground turkey and chicken, 165 degrees F. Whole fresh beef roasts can be cooked to 145 degrees F (rare) if desired. Otherwise, cook red meats to 160 degrees F; whole poultry to 180 degrees F; poultry breasts and roasts, 170 degrees F. Check for visual signs of doneness: poultry juices should run clear and meat should be tender; ground meat should not be pink.

Leftovers
Warm summertime air may slow the cooling of cooked foods. Di