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By: Ariel Garsow

It is common in the New Year to make a resolution to eat healthier. This may include incorporating foods into your diet that you have not cooked with or eaten before. Maybe you want to meal prep the night before for the next day.

Improper handling of food can lead to an increased risk of foodborne illness. There are four steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting sick from the healthy food you are preparing this New Year: clean, separate, cook, and chill.

Clean: wash your hands and the counter

Hand washing may seem monotonous, but it is important. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before you start cooking, after handling potentially contaminated food as well as before eating. Clean your countertop after use as well.

Separate: keep raw meat, eggs, poultry, and seafood far away from produce

Cross-contamination can occur if the same cutting boards and utensils are used simultaneously for raw products that are commonly contaminated (raw meat, eggs, poultry, and seafood) and produce. To prevent the spread of foodborne pathogens, use different cutting boards and utensils or wash them with hot, soapy water between uses.

Cook: use your food thermometer

A visual test may not be sufficient to ensure meat, fish, and seafood are fully cooked. If you are unsure of what temperature to cook an item to, here is a link to a chart with safe internal cooking temperatures for various types of foods. There are also some minimum internal cooking temperatures on the figure below.