Food Safety Guidelines

Whether you work in food service or just serve your family food out of your home kitchen, these food safety guidelines will help keep everyone safe from food-borne illnesses.

According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services:

• Perishable food should be refrigerated within 2 hours, or 1 hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees.

• Poultry, fish, and ground meat should be cooked within 2 days of being thawed or purchased. Beef, veal, lamb, and pork should be cooked within 3 to 5 days.

• All raw ground meats should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, while all poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. For raw beef, pork, lamb, and veal steaks and chops, cook to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees.

• When serving, hot food should be kept at 140 degrees or warmer, while cold foods should be kept at 40 degrees or cooler.

• When sanitizing, cutting boards and countertops can be cleaned with 1 tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach per 1 gallon of water.

For a complete list of food safety guidelines, and a comprehensive cold storage chart, please visit USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Site.