Prevention of Foodborne Illness NDC 2018

Young children are at risk for having foodborne illnesses because their immune systems are still developing. You can help prevent foodborne illnesses by following these 4 easy steps. Clean Separate Cook Chill

Handwashing Everything that can come in contact with food should be clean, including your hands and the children’s hands. Handwashing is a very important routine to teach everyone in your daycare. * wash your hands with warm soapy water. Make sure to scrub in between the fingers and under the fingernails for at least 20 seconds before and after preparing food, serving, and eating. * wash your hands before and after handling raw meat. * infants and smaller children will need help washing their hands properly, especially after playing outside and using the restroom/diaper changes. * Singing a fun song and having a positive reward system in place will encourage children to wash their hands properly and have a little fun at the same time!

Keep Your Area Clean and Organized Only use plastic or acrylic cutting boards and do not use the same cutting board to cut up raw meat that you use for fruits and vegetables etc. Use clean towels or paper towels to wipe down all surfaces like counters, sinks, and tables. Dirty towels and sponges often carry and spread harmful bacteria so do not reuse the same items over and over again. Disposable paper towels are better. Tip: To kill germs on a sponge place a damp sponge in the microwave for 1 minute on full power or run it through a cycle in your dishwasher.

Keep Your Area Clean and Organized (cont.) * Sanitizing your food preparation surfaces is highly encouraged in your daily cleaning routines. *Mix 1 tablespoon of Unscented liquid bleach per gallon of water. *This sanitizing solution is only good for 24 hours so will need to be remade daily. Keep food preparation surfaces and eating surfaces clean by no allowing things like backpacks, various papers etc. to clutter up the areas. * Rinse all of your fresh fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking. * Rinse the tops of all canned goods before opening. * Cooking foods thoroughly will kill any harmful bacteria so there is no need to rinse raw meat, fish, poultry, and other seafood.

Proper Food Separation Separate ready to eat foods from raw meat that may contain harmful germs. Use the plastic bags most grocery stores supply to wrap any raw meat items in at the store to prevent any juices from dripping and leaking. Keep them separate in your grocery cart away from the other items. Store all raw meat on a plate, in a plastic container or sealed plastic bag on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator. Always wash your cutting boards in hot soapy water between uses Try and use color codes cutting boards for specific items to avoid any confusion.

Cooking Food is properly cooked when a food thermometer shows the food item has reached its proper internal temperature. Never thaw foods out on the counter or at room temperature. Three ways to defrost food properly: On the bottom shelf of the refrigerator over night. By placing food under a slow stream of cold running water. Using the defrost on your microwave. (only use this method if you are cooking immediately after thawing) Food Thermometer: Food can’t be judged on how done it is by its color or texture. Ground beef, pork, veal, or lamb and egg dishes should be cooked until an internal temp. of 160F is reached. Poultry, casseroles and leftovers should be cooked until an internal temp. of 165F is reached. Use a clean thermometer each time by washing it in hot soapy water between uses. Insert it into the thickest part of the food to get an accurate internal temperature.

Handle Foods Carefully Chill Refrigerators need to be kept at 40F or below. Freezers need to kept at 0F or below. Keep hot foods at 140F or above and cold foods at 40F or below. Handle Foods Carefully Perishable foods should be refrigerated and never kept out longer than 2 hours. If the food is outside and it is 90F or above food should not be left out more than 1 hour. Divide larger amounts of food items like soup or casseroles into smaller containers for faster cooling. Check expiration dates often. When in doubt, throw it out!

NDC thanks your for taking the time to learn more about preparing and serving foods in a safe and sanitary manner to the children in your day care. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. 701-838-6709 ndc@minot.com Once you have completed the post test turn in into the NDC Main office by faxing, mailing, or emailing and with a passing result you will receive 1 hour of Growing Futures training credit to go towards your licensing requirements.