Exposing 7 Food Handling Myths First, food left out is still good if they look and smell okay. How often have you looked at a piece of pizza that was left out all night, give it a good sniff and then throw it in the fridge because it doesn’t seem bad. It’s a common misconception that the food is only bad when it looks and smells bad. The sad truth is that most of the bacteria that hurt the body don’t usually change the appearance, taste, or smell of the food.
Keeping Your Food Fresh Food can look perfectly normal when you eat it, and still cause problems. The best practice is to refrigerate or freeze your leftovers as soon as you’re done eating. The sooner you get it in the cold, the better chance your food has of lasting. That being said, a refrigerator isn’t a place to keep leftovers for days on end. Second, just as long as the food is in the refrigerator, it’s safe to eat whenever you want. In reality, refrigerators only slow down bacterial growth, they don’t halt it altogether. Most food only has about 3-4 days before it starts to go bad. Be sure to eat it within that time to be safe. Third, you can quickly make your food safe again by throwing it in the microwave. A few strains of bacteria create toxins that are resistant to high cooking temperatures. The best way to beat them is to refrigerate them within 2 hours of preparation. Your microwave can’t get you out of everything.
How to Thaw and Cook Properly Fourth, after thawing your meat outside of the refrigerator, you can return it to the freezer for safe keeping. To the contrary, you should never re-freeze raw (thawed) or partially cooked food. Cook it all if you choose to thaw it thusly. However, you can refreeze meat that was thawed in the refrigerator.
Fifth, don’t put hot foods in the refrigerator. On the contrary, put hot foods in the refrigerator when ready to store them. This will keep them from (1) being forgotten, and (2) gathering unnecessary bacteria. You will slow the bacterial growth and preserve the food for longer the sooner you get it into the refrigerator to cool. Consider splitting larger dishes into smaller ones. This will help the food cool faster. Sixth, using hand sanitizer is the same as washing hands. Although hand sanitizer will kill germs, it cannot clean off the dirt and grease. You still need to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before you touch any food. The soap will break the surface tension between your skin and grime, safely removing it. Dry your hands on a towel (not an air dryer). A towel is the final step to wiping the remaining germs off of your skin. Seventh, the five second rule will keep too much bacteria from getting on your food when it falls to the floor. Germs are on that piece of food the instant it touches the ground. Avoid bringing it anywhere near your mouth as it can get you sick. Wash it or throw it out, despite how unfortunate it may be to do so. Buy vacuum sealer bags to help you preserve your food. These vacuum sealer bags are affordable and extremely effective at preserving food by keeping out unwanted bacteria.