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Basic tips on how to store food safelyBY: Eve | Category: Food | Post Date: 2010-02-11
The foods we eat must be properly handled, and at the most always kept safe and edible for us to eat. The present times have made everyone get used to fast foods, delivery take-outs and orders. Time is important because these foods may be eaten at once, on a later time or some may even be stored for a few days before being consumed. It is good to remember that unpreserved or consumable foods may cause some ill-effects to our health. So it is essential to properly know how to handle the food you eat, or if you have some leftovers, you also know how to properly handle them as well. Keep in mind the 2 hour rule. All unpreserved foods that have been exposed at room temperature longer than 2 hours must be thrown away. These may be meat, eggs, chicken or casseroles. Bacteria may have started to set in these foods. Remember to keep hot food hot as they should be and cold food as cold as they should be. Hot food should be kept hot at a temperature of about 140 F or above. Cold food must have a temperature of about 40 F or below. Remember to also use this 2 hour rule with delivered or take-out orders to ensure the foods you eat are still safe to be consumed at a later schedule. It would be good to refrigerate foods that you have to eat at a later time. If your delivered food would be eaten much later on, you can place them in separate containers and place them inside the fridge as safeguard against bacteria. If you are serving cold dishes on the table, and your guests may be coming in a bit later, you can make place the foods on plates on top of basins filled with ice cubes to preserve their freshness. You can also make use of refrigerated small serving dishes in adding more cold foods on the table. Use a good cooler to have your foods in especially when you are outdoors or in a picnic. Cold take-out foods can be placed inside the cooler packed with plenty of ice and remember to place the cooler in a shaded area. Keep in mind the 2 hour rule when using the cooler; foods stored in the cooler for more than 2 hours should not be eaten anymore and must be thrown away. Crackers, bread, cookies and fruits may be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Slices of ham, turkey, chicken or any meat must be placed inside the fridge or freezer for proper storage. All left-over foods must be placed in thin containers, wrapped properly and tightly. Cooked meat or poultry may last 3-4 days when stored in the fridge at 40 F or below. Pizza can be good for 3-4 days, luncheon meats would last 3-5 days, egg, tuna and macaroni salads may last 3-5 days in the fridge with the same temperature. If you are using the freezer, cooked meat or any poultry would last 2-6 months, pizza may last 1-2 months and luncheon meats may last 2-3 months in the freezer at temperature 0 or below. If these foods have been in storage more than their estimated time, they may not be safe to be consumed anymore, and you must not taste them, and better to discard them immediately. For further information, foods that have been stored in the freezer for a long time become stale, drier and become too bland to taste. It is not good to freeze a salad with mayonnaise. A salad is kept cold, eaten cold right away or it can also be hot and should be eaten hot right away. You can thaw your meat on a tray inside the fridge. It may take a few hours to properly thaw the meat to its tenderness. Those frozen left-over foods such as gravy, potatoes or any stuffing can be thawed outside the freezer, and can be placed in the fridge when already thawed. You must eat the foods within 2-3 days. The foods can be reheated in an oven or you may eat them cold after you have thawed them. You can also place the frozen food straight into the oven even without thawing. In reheating your foods using the microwave oven, remember to cover and turn around the food to ensure steady heating. You can also make use of a food thermometer to get the right internal temperature of the food. If you are heating sauces, gravy and soups, you must bring these to boiling temperature. If using the oven, always reheat at a temperature not lower than 325 F to ensure safety of food for eating. Meat and other poultry must have an internal temperature of at least 165 F. Slow cooking is not recommended for these foods since the required high temperature may take to long too achieve and the foods may become spoiled before finally getting to the right temperature. Always be aware of heating or reheating instructions of your oven. Also follow package directions for storing, thawing and heating for foods. Remember to let the reheated meat to stand for a few minutes before getting the internal temperature. Look out for the USDA or State Mark of Inspection on your food packages so you would know how they were prepared and inspected. Use common sense in making your foods safe always. When there is the slightest doubt, and you are not sure of the freshness of your foods, then don't eat them. It's better to be safe than sorry when you get sick because you have eaten unsafe and improperly handled food. Article Source: http://www.writearticles.org About Author / Additional Info: Additional Articles: * A healthy diet to keep you in top of your health during pregnancy * Finding and Winning the Best College Scholarships * The World's Best New Year's Eve Parties * How Not to Destroy a Relationship: 12 Fatal Factors You Must Avoid * Minor Concussion Indicators Does this article violate or infringe on your copyright ? It is a violation of our terms for authors to submit content which they did not write and claim it as their own. 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