How to Handle Food Safely From the Supermarket to the Kitchen

April 22, 2010— -- There are 76 million cases of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. every year, and 5,000 of them are fatal, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But lawmakers are seeking to change that. Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would enhance food safety rules and strengthen government oversight. The legislation would mean heightened scrutiny for the nation's food manufacturers.

Unsafe foods often prompt sweeping recalls -- of popular items such as ground beef, spinach, peanut butter and many others.

While consumers have relatively little control over how their food is processed, there are ways that they can protect themselves by shopping wisely and taking precautions at home.

Mandy Walker from ShopSmart magazine visited "Good Morning America" to share some food safety tips:

From the Supermarket ...

Start shopping from the middle of the store and work your way out. The middle of the store has packaged goods -- boxes and cans -- which aren't perishable, so perishables will spend less time at room temperature.

If you're shopping for hamburger meat, get it fresh from the butcher's counter rather than pre-packaged. Packaged hamburger meat can come from a number of different animals, and even from different countries. When you order it at the butcher's counter, you'll know it all comes from the same animal.

Don't get the meat tenderized at the supermarket. The tiny needles in the butcher's mallet could get stuck in the meat. Since the mallet is used frequently, bacteria can be transferred from one meat product to the other.

Don't judge a meat by its color. Walker said carbon monoxide is sometimes used in packaging to keep meat looking red and fresh even when it's not. It's essential that shoppers check the "sell by" date on the packaging. You can use meat up to a day or so after it's "sell by" date. If the package doesn't have a "sell by" date, do not buy the product. Of course, be sure to cook the meat thoroughly. That's the best way to kill harmful bacteria.

Supermarket Shopping Tips

Don't touch meat packaging with your hands. That's because the packaging could contain harmful bacteria. ShopSmart tested fresh, whole broiler chickens and found that two-thirds of them contained bacteria that cause the most food-borne illnesses. The best way to handle packaged meat is to use a storage bag like a glove, picking up the package and wrapping it in one motion. Some stores have bags for this purpose in their meat sections.

Keep raw meat is a separate part of your shopping cart. This will enable you to protect your groceries from leaks or other harmful contaminants. You also should have your meat, poultry and seafood bagged separately.

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Do not purchase milk that contains artificial hormones, or rBGH. Injecting cows with rBGH increases milk output, but it also increases infections in cows, Walker said. It's not clear whether the substance is harmful to humans, although some studies link a hormone found in cows treated with rBGH to increased cancer risks. Most stores in the Western world don't sell milk containing artificial hormones.

When you're purchasing plastic food storage containers, be sure to look for recycling codes. Avoid those containers marked with a number 7 with the letters PC or those made of unmarked, hard opaque plastic. These could potentially be made with BPA -- a substance used in the production of certain plastic containers and which could pose a health risk. When you are buying baby's bottles, make sure to buy those marked with the numbers 1, 2 or 5. The safest bottle would be made of glass, Walker said.

Know when you should use the products you buy. Meat, poultry and seafood should be used or frozen within a day of their "sell by" date. Deli meat, either from the butcher's counter or pre-packaged, should be used within 3 to 7 days of the "sell by" date. Prepared salads – such as potato salad – should be used between 3 and 5 days of the "sell by" date. Open jars of tomato sauce may be used up to 5 days after, and milk can be used up to 7 days after the "sell by date."

From the Supermarket ...

Clean the supermarket shopping cart. Before you get to the cart, it will have been used by many other people, and you can't know when it was last cleaned, Walker said. Researchers at the University of Arizona found that shopping carts were loaded with more saliva, bacteria – and even fecal matter – than escalators, public telephones and public bathrooms.

Walker recommended that shoppers wipe the handles of their shopping cart. Some stores may provide wipes, but you should carry some of your own, especially if you are taking a child along. It's also not a bad idea to clean your hands when you leave the supermarket, she said.

... to the Kitchen

Storage: When you put away groceries, do it quickly. Put perishables in the fridge or freezer as soon as you get home, and put things in their proper place. Don't put food away in a dirty refrigerator or cupboard.

Food prep: Put an appliance thermometer in your refrigerator and freezer to make sure they're at the right temperature. Use different cutting boards for meat and poultry, seafood and produce. Wash them in hot, soapy water, then spray them – first with vinegar, and then with hydrogen peroxide.

Cooking: Take your food's temperature. Be sure the food you've prepared is at the correct temperature. Thaw foods properly. Don't wash meat and fish. Don't eat foods raw if they're meant to be cooked.

Kitchen tools: You can kill germs on sponges and non-steel scrubbing pads by microwaving them wet for two minutes, or put them in the utility basket of the dishwasher and let them dry thoroughly.

Prevent cross-contamination. Don't use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked foods.

Leftovers: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of serving them, and throw them out after two or three days. Don't stack frozen leftovers too tightly. Don't give stale leftovers to your pets – they also can get sick from food-borne illnesses.

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