Americans love to eat out.  The average citizen dines out 4-5 times a week.  When doing so, you run the risk of contracting a food born illness from sub-standard food handling.  Studies suggest another place where the risk of getting sick is a lot higher.  Your home.

Food born illnesses have everything to do with food preparation, whether it be in a restaurant or in your own kitchen.  Restaurants are required to maintain a level of health standards in order to serve the public.  These standards, or codes, are very specific to the way food is handled, prepared, and cooked.  Most establishments are meticulous in their practice of food safety, but not all.  Are these same practices applied at home?  Here are some questions that home cookers should ask themselves and know the answer to.

1) What temperature should you keep your refrigerator at to prevent bacteria growth in your food?

2) What temperature should chicken be cooked in order to kill salmonella?

3) What is the ideal temperature range for the promotion of bacteria growth in food?

4) Name three safe ways to thaw food?

5) At what temperature should ground beef be cooked at in order to kill e-coli?

6) What kind of foods are most likely to develop botulism?

7) What is a safe temperature to serve pork, fish and eggs?

8) How long and at what temperature can food be stored at in a refrigerator?

9) How long can food sit out on the counter before it becomes dangerous to consume?

10) How should counter tops be sanitized?

 A helpful, informative site to reference is Homefoodsafety.org.  Knowing the proper way to handle your families food could spare you, and your loved ones, the affliction of food poisoning.  Leave a comment of your thoughts or suggestions for food safety.

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