Food Safety

Here’s an important Thanksgiving food safety tip that will surprise many: USDA doesn’t recommend stuffing a whole turkey. The practice increases the risk of cross-contamination and takes the turkey longer to cook. Cook stuffing separately instead.

The busiest time of the year for USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline is the week before Thanksgiving. Calls, chats and emails are answered by food safety specialists who even work on Thanksgiving Day to ensure your meal is safe.

We use the kitchen sink for food preparation – rinsing produce, cleaning pots and pans, washing utensils that touch raw meat, and more. With these activities come the possibility for foodborne illness-causing bacteria to hang out in the sink too. If proper food preparation safety steps are not...

You have a food thermometer and are ready to use it – that’s fantastic! But do you know where to place it in your foods? Correctly placing the food thermometer within food is important to get the most accurate temperature reading. Without proper placement, it’s possible that parts of your food could...

When you hit the road for that one last camping trip or beach day, bring food safety along to keep foodborne illness in the rearview mirror.

Parents and caregivers should take extra precautions when preparing and packing a school lunch. Flunking in food safety is not an option, especially when children are most vulnerable to foodborne illness.

The Fourth of July is a time of celebration, family and of course cookouts. Cooking safely is in your hands and doing so can help keep your family healthy this Independence Day. Control the transfer of bacteria by thoroughly washing your hands before and after touching raw meat, poultry and seafood.

Foodborne illness impacts every community around the world, and preventing these illnesses is essential to global health. On this World Food Safety Day, the United Nations aims to spread the message that food standards save lives.

The Codex Alimentarius, or just Codex for short, is an international set of food standards that protect public health by ensuring food safety and promoting fair trade practices. It is produced by an international commission that formulates voluntary international standards, codes of practice, and...

At your next picnic, let the spotlight shine on your food — not on party crashers like Salmonella or Listeria. When temperatures rise and food safety steps aren’t followed, cold dishes at a cookout are at risk for unsafe bacteria levels. Avoid foodborne illness by following these steps: