Foodborne illnesses can come from the bacteria that comes from raw meat, poultry, and other uncooked foods, like salad and sprouts. After all, these things must have, like everything else that’s edible, have bacteria in them.

The only way to reduce the bacteria and to prevent getting a foodborne illness from consuming bacteria filled foods is by cooking these products with clean utensils on clean surfaces with clean hands. Wash your hands; cook your food, prevent cross-contamination; use food thermometers; chill foods in freezer; separate raw and cook foods; wash your cooking utensils; use clean plates to serve cooked meals; prepare and eat food on clean surfaces; and take utensils, plates and cloths with you when you go eat outside for a picnic or something similar like that.

1. Wash your hands

Before cooking, you should wash your hands so that you don’t contaminate the food. Your hands can have all kinds of bacteria, soil, and debris on them. It’s just a good protocol just to wash your hands before you prepare your food and before you start cooking.

2. Cook your food thoroughly

Cook your food thoroughly to kill viruses and bacteria in food. The high temperature when you cook your food will kill the harmful bacteria within your food, and it will be safe to eat if it’s at the appropriate internal temperature; which is why a food thermometer is good to have around and is good to use whenever you cook something, like meat and poultry.

3. Prevent cross-contamination

Separate food, cooked and uncooked, and don’t let unclean, contaminated food touch or be near clean food. Bacteria and Viruses can spread to other foods which is why it’s important to separate food and keep them separated from each other, especially since it could interfere with the taste of it or it could interfere with bacteria or viruses and stuff like that. Also, use clean utensils, clean cutting boards, and clean hands to prepare your food, especially the ones that normally don’t have to be cooked to be eaten, like a salad, because those will be the ones with the highest bacterial content.

4. Use food thermometers

Use food thermometers to know if the food is thoroughly cooked. They are used to show you if the food is ready to be eaten or not, especially at the max bacterial-killing temperature that the food might be at. When finished with the thermometer probe, wash the probe after you use it, after each use, with hot water and soap.

5. Chill foods in the freezer

Keep foods in the freezer to keep them from spoiling and slow down bacterial growth. This will also let foods last for a long time, for like a year at most. Be aware, though, that your food would only last a few days in the refrigerator before they start to go bad.

6. Separate raw and cooked food

Raw food has bacteria in them that have yet to be cooked out of them. It’s a good idea to keep raw food away from cooked food because raw food would only contaminate cooked food. And that would only be a waste of perfectly cooked food that would have lasted a few more days.

7. Wash your cooking utensils before use

Before you use your cooking utensils, make sure they are clean. If they are not, wash them thoroughly with hot, soapy water. Also, after each and every use, wash them thoroughly or put them in the washing machine to clean them.

8. Use clean plates to serve cooked meals

Never use the same plate and utensils that held the raw products to serve the cooked meals. The bacteria within the raw meat or juices can contaminate the meals that were safely cooked. Always serve your cooked, clean meals on clean plates and clean utensils. That way, you won’t get sick with a foodborne illness, like salmonella. And don’t reuse the utensils you used with the raw food with the cooked food; those utensils still have bacteria on them, and they will contaminate the cooked food if you use them on the cooked

9. Keep your pets, house cleaning products, and other toxins away from surfaces used to prepare food or to eat food on

Pets carry bacteria, household cleaning products have toxins in them that can make you either sick or die if you swallow them, and other toxins in your house can make you sick or die when swallowed. So, it’s best to keep pets and toxins away from where you prepare your food and from where you eat your food. That way, you won’t get sick or die. You will also save a trip to the hospital.

10. When you go outside to eat, take a lot of eating plastic utensils and paper plates with you

Pack cloths that will clean and disinfect your hands and surfaces, the ones that are soapy and wet or dry: taking plastic utensils and paper plates are probably the best option, especially the clean ones. If you prefer the ceramic plates and the metal forks and spoons, then it’s best to clean them before taking them with you on your excursion. And with the cloths, you are going to need face cloths to wipe off the grease out of your fingers and face.

Overall, everything needs to be clean when you are preparing and eating food. Otherwise, you could get sick with a foodborne illness, and that is not going to be good for you. And, especially when you are cooking for someone else, you would need to keep these safety tips in mind in order to prevent food poisoning and foodborne illnesses because these things can be preventable if you can make the right choices. It’ll be worth it if it keeps you and your loved ones safe from foodborne illnesses.

And always remember to wash your hands; cook your food, prevent cross-contamination; use food thermometers; chill foods in freezer; separate raw and cook foods; wash your cooking utensils; use clean plates to serve cooked meals; prepare and eat food on clean surfaces; and take utensils, plates and cloths with you when you go eat outside for a picnic or something similar like that.

Raw food can make you really sick if you don’t take precautions to prevent contamination, so be careful when preparing your meals.