Food Safety
Food Safety Even the most nutritious, visually appealing, affordable, delicious food won’t keep children healthy if it isn’t stored, prepared, and served safely
Safe Shopping When purchasing food for an early care and education program:
Do not buy or use meat, poultry, and meat products unless they have been inspected.
Do not use or buy home-canned food from outside sources, food from dented, rusted, bulging, or leaking cans, or food from cans without labels.
Do not buy or use raw or non-pasteurized milk or milk products, or non-pasteurized juices.
Place frozen food and perishables such as meat, poultry, or fish in plastic bags and put them in the shopping cart last.
Do not buy torn or leaking packages.
Do not buy foods past “sell-by” or expiration dates.
Storage Before Preparation To keep foods safe from spoilage and contamination before you prepare them:
Keep your refrigerator and freezer clean and in safe condition.
Store soaps, detergents, cleaning compounds, or similar substances away from food supplies to prevent accidental poisoning, potential leakage problems, and contamination. Always keep these substances away from children.
Do not store pesticides and other similar toxic substances where you store, cook, or prepare food, or where you store kitchen equipment or utensils. Always keep these substances away from children.
Unpack perishable foods from the car first and put them in the refrigerator right away.
Keep the refrigerator temperature at 40° F or less, and the freezer at 0° F, to slow the growth of most bacteria and keep them from multiplying.
Check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer daily with an appliance thermometer.
Keep all food stored in the refrigerator and freezer covered, wrapped, stored in airtight containers, or otherwise protected from contamination.
Wrap raw meat, poultry, and seafood securely to prevent raw juices from contaminating other foods. Store them in the meat drawer or coldest section of the refrigerator or freezer.
