Consumer Food Safety
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Washing Raw Meat Does Not Protect Against Illness
Many people believe that rinsing or soaking meat and poultry improves safety. However, when cooking whole cuts of meat, pork, or poultry, a cooking temperature above 160°F on the surface of the product will kill pathogenic bacteria.
The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline does not recommend washing or rinsing beef, pork, lamb, poultry, or veal before cooking. In fact, unless you do a careful job of cleaning and sanitizing the sink or container you used to rinse or soak the meat, you run the risk of transferring disease-causing bacteria from your meat or poultry to other places in your kitchen such as food preparation surfaces and utensils. And if you fail to wash your hands, it is easy to spread bacteria to other foods during preparation. This is called cross-contamination. Cross-contamination is an important cause of foodborne illness.
Some consumers also believe that soaking will reduce the sodium content of pork, bacon, or cured ham, but very little is removed during washing, rinsing, or soaking meat or pork products.
Does washing eggs improve their safety?
Eggs are often associated with a common type of disease-causing bacteria called salmonella. Egg surface contamination is an important health and safety concern for producers. If you purchased commercially produced eggs, they have been washed. Federal regulations clearly define washing procedures as well as the types of chemicals that may be used during commercial processing of eggs. Commercial egg wash is very effective in removing bacteria. But scrubbing also removes the protective, natural layer called the "bloom" on the eggs.
After washing, egg producers replace the natural coating with a light layer of edible mineral oil. Paint, whether it's natural oil or edible mineral oil, is important to prevent bacteria from penetrating the egg shell during storage. If you wash commercially processed eggs, you will remove the protective covering and with additional processing you increase the risk of contamination - especially if the shell is cracked. It is not recommended to wash eggs.
Is it important to wash fresh produce?
It is always important to wash fresh produce before preparing or eating it. By placing the product under cold running water, you can easily remove dirt and also reduce bacteria that may be present on the product. The Food Safety Inspection Service recommends washing products with hard surfaces such as apples or potatoes with a brush. However, fruits and vegetables should not be washed with detergents or soap. Commercially, any substance used on the surface of the product during washing must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Soaps and household cleaners are not approved for this purpose. Leaving residues on food can pose health risks to you and your family. Proctor and Gamble Corporation is introducing certified wash products that will be offered to consumers this spring in retail stores.
Washing Fresh Produce
- Wash the fruits in large quantities of cold or warm valve water, and retrieve them at a meet as appropriate. Do not use detergents or chlorine bleach.
- Discard the outer leaves of leafy greens such as lettuce and cabbage. Separate the lettuce leaves and wash each one separately.
- Fresh sauces and shoots should also be watered before serving. Since the sprouts have caused outbreaks of many foodborne diseases, people in high-risk groups (children, the elderly, people with compromised systems) are advised not to eat the sprouts.
- Wash the vegetables with the vegetable touch on carrots and other produce you plan to eat the peel. This step removes most of the stuck-on dirt and reduces bacteria that may be present.
- Purchase of products that are not bruised or damaged.
- When buying watermelon pieces, be sure to bury them in the snow or put them in a cooler box, not just on top of the snow. Uncut watermelon does not need to be refrigerated.
- Before cutting the watermelon, make sure to wash the outer side with drinking water and dry it with paper or a different shape, as when cutting the watermelon through it, any bacteria on the outer side can be transferred to the inner core.
- Watermelon pieces should be refrigerated at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
- Watermelon domes can be served unrefrigerated for 4 hours, but leftovers should be discarded if you want to save leftovers, letting them cool after 2 hours.
- Fruits that are high in acid (apples, oranges, pineapple, malachite) can stay at room temperature longer. The high acid content protects them from being dangerous.
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