Kitchen Food Safety Tips - Transcript

Preventing foodborne illness

Pizza Please

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Nothing beats home-made pizza. You know your pizza’s tasty, but is it "food safe"?

There are steps you need to take to prevent food contamination that can make you sick.

Always get off to a clean start!

Wash your hands. That’s one of the best ways to avoid getting sick from food contaminated with harmful bacteria.

Before and after handling food, wash your hands for at least twenty seconds with soap and warm water.

Make sure to clean all countertops, cutting boards and utensils and then sanitize with a mild bleach solution. Rinse afterwards with clean drinkable water and wipe with a clean cloth or let surfaces air dry.

…and remember to keep objects that may not be clean away from sanitized surfaces.

Before opening a can, wipe off the top so that it doesn’t contaminate the food inside.

Make sure the can opener is clean, too.

Unwashed fruits and vegetables can be just as risky as uncooked meat. They can make you sick.

To prevent cross-contamination, don’t let unwashed vegetables contaminate clean surfaces...

...and wash them thoroughly with clean drinkable water before you prepare and eat them.

Try not to handle food you may be repackaging.

Measure out what you need, and seal the rest.

Freezing and refrigerating food doesn’t kill harmful bacteria. Only proper cooking will reduce the hazards...

Ready-to-eat meats such as pepperoni make great pizza toppings. Check the "best-before date" to make sure the product is fresh.

If you’re adding raw meat, remember it must be cooked to a safe internal temperature before being used as a topping.

Remember not to let food sit at room temperature for more than two hours. If you’re not cooking food right away, keep it chilled...

...That goes for leftovers too.

It's always important to keep food out of the danger zone, which is between four and sixty degrees Celsius.

By using fridge and freezer thermometers, you can be sure your food is stored at a safe temperature.

Homemade pizza that’s tasty, nutritious, and safe...

...if you remember these four food safety practices: "Clean", "Separate", "Cook", and "Chill".

For more information, visit foodsafety.gc.ca

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