ISU Extension News

Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915

9/18/03

For immediate release

Contacts:
Sam Beattie, Food Science and Human Nutrition, (515) 294-9484, beatties@iastate.edu
Diane Nelson, Continuing Education and Communication Services, (515) 294-3178, dinelson@iastate.edu

"Store It; Don’t Ignore It," Advises Food Safety Expert

AMES, Iowa--- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have indicated that the second leading cause of food borne illness is improper storage of foods. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is promoting a “Store it; don’t ignore it” campaign during September for both home and food service kitchens.

“ Understanding what proper food storage means is critical,” said Sam Beattie, Iowa State University Extension specialist in food science. “Bacteria are not killed by refrigeration or freezing so foods that may have been temperature abused will still contain a number of these organisms.”

Examples of foods that are especially sensitive to storage temperatures include fresh meats and poultry, dairy products and eggs. These foods and products made from them are potentially hazardous if not stored at temperatures below 40 degrees F or heated and held at temperatures above 140 degrees F.

“ Most consumers know that refrigeration is important,” said Beattie. “But many don’t know -- or don’t pay attention to -- the actual temperature inside their refrigerators. New models of refrigerators have special compartments that will maintain even cold temperatures below 40 degrees F.”

For consumers with older refrigerators, Beattie recommends using a simple food thermometer to monitor temperature. “Put the thermometer in a glass of water and set it on the center shelf of the refrigerator. Check the temperature after a day to determine if you need to reduce the temperature setting.”

Location in the refrigerator is the second important consideration when storing potentially hazardous foods. For example, juices that drip from raw meats and poultry may contain bacteria that cause illness.

“ The best place for storing fresh meats and poultry is the designated ‘meat’ drawer or set on a tray on the bottom shelf which is usually the coldest part of the refrigerator,” Beattie said. The third storage habit that food safety specialists want consumers to adopt is related to timing.

“Many consumers allow food to sit on the countertop to ‘cool down’ before putting into the refrigerator,” said Beattie. “What they’re doing is giving pathogenic bacteria an opportunity to multiply.”

Even though modern refrigerators are designed to cool hot food quickly, Beattie advises dividing large quantities of hot food into smaller containers that will cool more quickly.

Other aspects of safe handling of food include frequent handwashing, especially before preparing foods, cooking foods to proper internal temperatures and avoiding cross contamination. These have been identified as leading preventative measures to avoid food borne illness.

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