10 Common Food Safety Mistakes

Most food safety mistakes are made innocently, simply because we
didn’t know the rules. And with so many of us juggling multiple
responsibilities at work and home, it’s no wonder that we are
more concerned with convenience and saving time than we are with
washing that head of lettuce thoroughly before using it or heating
up the leftovers to the proper temperature.

Read the top 10 most common food safety mistakes, and their solutions

1. Assuming that “prewashed” fruits and vegetables are really clean and ready-to-eat.

Solution: Wash all fruits and vegetables.

2. Thinking a hamburger is done because it tastes fresh and “looks” done.

Solution: Use a meat thermometer test and make sure it is cooked through to at least 160F.

3. Putting the grilled meat back on the same plate after you finish cooking or grilling it.

4. Tasting homemade cookie dough or cake batter that contains raw eggs.

5. Using the same dishtowel to wipe your hands and the counters.

6. Stuffing a chicken or turkey hours before cooking.

7. Eating cheese with mold on it, or other old food. (This isn’t about “bleu” cheese.)

8. Eating unwashed fruits.

9. Eating foods packed in dented or bulging cans.

10. Throwing suspect food away after eating it. (If there is a contaminant present in a food you ate, you will need to know what it was so that you can get the proper treatment.)

Read more: Food, Eating for Health

Adapted from Overkill by Dr. Kimberly M. Thompson, Harvard School of Public Health (Rodale, 2002). Copyright (c) The Philip Lief Group. Reprinted by permission of Rodale Press.
Adapted from Overkill by Dr. Kimberly M. Thompson, Harvard School of Public Health (Rodale, 2002).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

MGreat K.

7:25AM PST on Dec 25, 2012

Interesting

December 25
send a green star

Line M.

6:45AM PST on Dec 19, 2012

Preparation of frozen fruit that will not be cooked includes rinsing them

December 19
send a green star

Donna H.

5:13AM PST on Dec 19, 2012

Thanks.

Ana Marija R.

1:31AM PST on Dec 19, 2012

Thank you for the reminders.

Jennifer E.

2:36PM PDT on Jun 22, 2012

I think we can be very precious about the food we eat in developed countries. People in poor areas would give their eye teeth for some of the food we chuck out. Maybe we need to challenge our immune systems more so they can withstand a greater variety of prospective problems. Children growing up on rubbish tips in Asia, for instance, eat foods far worse than things we toss away willy-nilly. Their immune systems have HAD to get strong enough to tolerate the foods they find - they don't have the luxury of choosing the freshest. We need to buy less, eat it all and throw out as little as possible.

We are some of the most wasteful humans to ever have lived on the planet.