Food Safety Tips
Kill or reduce the number of food poisoning bacteria in foods we prepare by:
Cleaning
- Wash your hands especially after sneezing, smoking, coughing, using the washroom, touching pets, changing diapers, or touching raw meats or eggs. Wash them for at least 15 seconds with soap.
- Clean and sanitize utensils, cooking equipment and work surfaces. First clean the surface or item with hot water and soap, rinse and then sanitize with a chlorine solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach added to one litre of water.
- Wash all vegetables and fruits, including those that you peel or cut, like melons, oranges and cucumbers.
Cooking
- Use a probe thermometer to check the internal temparture of food items. The cooking temperature must be maintained for a minimum of 15 seconds.
- Never use leftover marinade for basting or as a sauce unless you boil it first
- Turkey or chicken and dressing should be cooked separately.
- All ground beef must be thoroughly cooked to minimum internal temperature of 71°C. Do not rely on the colour of the meat or juices to determine if your hamburger is cooked. The only way you will know if your burger has reached the proper temperature is to use a probe thermometer. It must be placed into the thickest part of the meat. Never eat a hamburger that is pink in the middle.
Cooking Temperature Chart
The following cooking temperatures must be maintained for a minimum of 15 seconds.
|
Food |
Minimum internal cooking temperature |
Minimum reheating temperature |
|---|---|---|
|
Whole poultry |
82°C (180°F) |
74°C (165°F) |
|
Ground poultry, poultry products, poultry pieces |
74°C (165°F) |
74°C (165°F) |
|
Food mixtures containing poultry, eggs, meat, fish or other hazardous food |
74°C (165°F) | 74°C (165°F) |
| Pork, pork product, ground meat other than ground poultry | 71°C (160°F) | 71°C (160°F) |
|
Fish |
70°C (158°F) | 70°C (158°F) |
| Seafood |
74°C (165°F) |
74°C (165°F) |
|
Food Premise Reference Document, 2019 and Ont. Reg. 493/17: FOOD PREMISES |
||
Chilling
- Meats, eggs and dairy products should be kept at a maximum of 4°C (40°F). Keep cold foods cold - place an ice pack or a frozen drink in your lunch bag to ensure that food is kept cold until lunchtime.
- Defrost foods in the refrigerator. Turkey or chicken should be thawed in the refrigerator and never at room temperature.
Separating
- Double bag raw meat, when storing it in the bottom of your refrigerator or when bringing it home from the grocery store. Drippings from meat can contaminate other foods with food poisoning bacteria.
- When barbequing, always use separate plates and utensils for the raw hamburgers and the cooked hamburgers.
Raw egg products
Foods like eggnog, hollandaise sauce and Caesar salad dressing may contain raw eggs. Ottawa Public Health strongly recommends preparing these products fresh every day and using pasteurized eggs in these products.
Pasteurized milk and juices
Unpasteurized milk and juices can carry a number of disease-causing bacteria, so it's recommended to only drink pasteurized products.