Errors that you should avoid when ordering food at home to prevent food poisoning

Not leaving hot or cold foods at room temperature for more than two hours is one of the recommendations made by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prevent orders of food at home end up causing some type of poisoning or illness.

Fsis makes the recommendations a few days before the Super Bowl, a time of sharing among family and friends, in which it is customary to order food at home. Emilio Esteban, Undersecretary of Food Safety at the USDA, assures that precautions can be taken to preserve the good condition of food.

Be attentive to food delivery

If one of your options is to order takeout and you do it earlier in the day or the day before the big game, it is important that someone is available to receive the food.

After receiving the food, those foods that are not going to be consumed immediately should be reserved in the refrigerator. If there are leftovers, the recommendation is to divide them into smaller portions and store them in airtight containers.

While perishable foods that have been at room temperature should be consumed within two hours after cooking.

Take care of the exposure time of food

After serving the food, the recommendation is to follow the two-hour rule, which consists of refrigerating the food after 2 hours, since “when perishable foods remain in the danger zone (temperatures between 40 F and 140 F) for more than two hours, bacteria can multiply rapidly. Meat and poultry should be refrigerated or frozen within two hours of being displayed on a counter in the Danger Zone.”

If the estimated exposure time of the food is more than two hours, it is recommended to keep the food in the appropriate manner. Use a slow cooker, warming trays, or warming plates for hot foods to keep them at 140 F.

While cold foods should be kept at 40 F or less, for which it is recommended to place the food in small portions in containers on ice to keep it cold.

Take care of the leftovers

Depending on the food service, leftovers can be safe for three or four days in the refrigerator. When ready to eat, “reheat leftovers to the safe internal temperature of 165 F, measured with a food thermometer. “Reheat liquid foods, such as soups and sauces, until they boil.”

In addition, it is very important to remember which foods are dangerous to determine their safety. If in doubt, it is preferable to discard them.

Basic rules of food safety:

One of the most important things is to wash well before, during and after preparing meals. To do this, it is recommended to wash them for at least 20 minutes.

• Keeping spaces clean is another recommendation. Although it may seem obvious, you must ensure that you have water, soap and a disinfectant on hand to clean the spaces that are going to be used.
• Separate kitchen implements for handling meat, raw poultry, fruits and vegetables.
• Cook meat and poultry products to the appropriate temperature, using a food thermometer to achieve this.
• Once the food that is no longer consumed is cooled, put it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Keep reading:

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. Cauliflower free of germs and bacteria with this homemade trick to disinfect it

. Food with mold? An expert recommends what to do

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