Safe Food Handling

Take some simple precautions when preparing food for storage. Always work with well-scrubbed hands and be sure all utensils, cutting boards, etc., are absolutely clean. Then keep food either hot (above 135°F) or cold (below 41°F), never in between for any length of time. Here’s why: There are common bacteria present all around us that are normally not troublemakers but can become dangerous if they are given the ideal “breeding” climate, between 70°F and 125°F, in which they quickly multiply to dangerous levels and can cause food poisoning. Don’t leave foods in this “danger zone” for more than 2 hours.

Foods That Need Special Care

Take extra precautions with foods that are especially susceptible to bacterial growth—poultry, fish and seafood, meat, creamed mixtures, puddings, and stuffings. Some safe-handling tips:

• Never stuff poultry the night before you roast it—the stuffing may not heat to a temperature high enough to kill any harmful bacterial growth.
• When refrigerating leftover poultry and stuffing, remove the stuffing from the bird and store in separate dishes.

To Refreeze or not to Refreeze

You can safely refreeze virtually any partially thawed food as long as it still has ice crystals and has been held no longer than 1 or 2 days at refrigerator temperatures. Many foods, however—ice cream and uncooked baked goods, for example—will deteriorate in texture and taste.

Meat, fish, and poultry you’ve thawed in the refrigerator can be refrozen within 24 hours of defrosting. But combination dishes—pies, stews, casseroles, etc.—that have been thawed should not be refrozen.

With the exception of fruit and juice concentrates, foods thawed accidentally in the freezer over a period of days (because of power failure) should not be refrozen unless they still have ice crystals. If food is completely thawed (on purpose or by accident), warmed to room temperature, and left for more than 2 hours, throw it out. (The exception: fruit and juice concentrates that ferment when spoiled, thus preventing the growth of harmful bacteria.) Discard any fruit whose flavor is “off.”

Differences in Package Dating

More and more foods are being sold now with a date that tells you something about their freshness. But just what does it tell you? That depends on the kind of food. Here, the most frequently used dates and what they mean:

• Fresh meat and fish are dated with “date of pack or manufacture,” which refers to when the food was packed or processed for sale. (See Refrigerator chart, page 3, for storage life.)
• Dairy and fresh bakery products are labeled with a “freshness, pull, or sell-by” date, which refers to the last day the food should be sold. The date allows you a reasonable length of time to use the food.
• Frozen foods, fried snack foods, cereals, canned foods, macaroni, rice, and other foods are labeled with a “use before” or “best-if-used-by” date, after which the food is no longer at its best but can be used safely.
• Yeast and unbaked breads are labeled with an “expiration” or “use by” date, after which the quality of the food deteriorates. However, the food would still be safe to consume.

Store foods in your coolest kitchen cabinets, not over range or near refrigerator’s exhaust. Dry foods keep fresh the longest in airtight containers, which also keep out insects. When shopping, choose fresh-looking packages; avoid cans with swollen ends, dents. Date your purchases; then check your kitchen cabinets every 6 months or so to be sure you use the oldest items first. With longer storage, flavors gradually fade and nutrients can be lost.

Keep refrigerator temperature between 34°F and 40°F. If it rises above 40°F, food quickly spoils. Except as noted in chart, wrap foods in foil, plastic wraps, or bags or place in airtight containers to keep food from drying out and odors from being transferred from one food to another. Food kept longer than recommended times may be usable but of inferior quality.

Keep freezer at 0°F, maximum 5°F. Check temperature with thermometer or use this rule of thumb: If the freezer can’t keep ice cream brick-solid, temperature is above recommended level. If this is the case, use food within a week or two. To wrap for storage of 1 month or more, use moisture-vapor-resistant plastic wrap, freezer wrap (may be specially coated or laminated), or heavy-duty foil. After times listed, food is safe, but flavors fade

Revised by Janet Johnson, Regional Extension Agent, Food Safety & Quality. Originally prepared by Jean Weese, Extension Food Science Specialist, Professor, and Evelyn F. Crayton, former Extension Assistant Director for Family and Community Programs, Professor, both in Nutrition and Food Science, Auburn University

Reviewed April 2022, Better-Safe-Than-Sorry Food Storage Charts, HE-0471