Restaurants get blamed for food poisoning a lot, but most food poisoning happens at home. Restaurants have to follow strict guidelines for food preparation. No health inspector is going to come into a home to check the kitchen. Most would fail outright just for having porous surfaces!
If you want to avoid food poisoning at home though, you can use some of the same steps that professional restaurants use. Here’s how to handle different types of food:
Milk and dairy: A big culprit for poisoning. Bacteria love dairy products! We use this fact to make cheeses. Keep all dairy products refrigerated at all times before use. If you drink unpasteurized (“raw”) milk, this is even more important. Raw milk is teeming with all kinds of bacteria. The wrong kinds will make you sick.
Meats: Store meat separately from everything else. Do this the moment you pick it up from the refrigerated section in the store to avoid cross contamination. Never thaw meat openly on the counter. Do it in the refrigerator, in a microwave, or under cold running water. Always cut and prepare meat with separate equipment and cook it thoroughly.
Eggs: One of the most common sources of food poisoning due to the high levels of salmonella in hens. Never buy eggs that are dirty or have cracked shells. Refrigerate them promptly and cook them thoroughly to kill the bacteria. You can also buy pasteurized eggs to further reduce your chances of getting sick.
Vegetables and fruit: These all need to be washed before consumption, especially fruit and greens which are usually handled by humans and may have had exposure to improperly-composted manure. It’s easy to clean though. Just a few seconds under cold water will do the trick.
