Released November 6, 2009
COLUMBUS,Ohio -- A great place to start for a refresher on food safety is http://foodsafety.gov, a veritable one-stop shop of food safety information from the federal government. Check out the "Keep Food Safe" area and scroll down to review "The Basics: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill," -- the Web site offers information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Partnership for Food Safety Information. All provide similar basic information -- click on any one, and if you don't find what you're looking for, click on another and chances are you'll find it.
Specific groups including older adults
You may also be interested in scrolling down and clicking on "For Specific Groups" and choosing "Older Adults." The information offered here includes everything from a brief overview from the FDA and a detailed, 24-page brochure (available as a PDF) from the USDA. Among the basic guidelines you'll find are to avoid serving seniors sprouts, raw fish, raw or lightly cooked eggs (including meringue and homemade egg nog), and unpasteurized juices.
In addition, specific holiday-related food safety information is offered under the category of "By Events and Seasons." You can find details on thawing and cooking turkey; making sure homemade pies, eggnog and other holiday goodies are safe; and keeping food safe in holiday buffets.
Audio podcasts are also available in each area listed above.
You may contact the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline for answers in English or Spanish from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays (or 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day) by calling 1-888-674-6854. And, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA offers the "Ask Karen" service at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Food_Safety_Education/Ask_Karen/index.asp. You can type in your food safety question and receive a list of questions and answers related to your inquiry.
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http://msucares.com/news/print/fcenews/fce09/091105healthy.html
Writer: Martha Filipic, 614-292-9833, filipic.3@cfaes.osu.edu
