Food Safety Education Month 2022

For a safe plate, don’t cross-contaminate.

September is National Food Safety Education Month. This year, we are focusing on helping you prevent cross-contamination. What is cross contamination? Cross-contamination occurs when harmful germs from one food spread to other foods. This can happen when foods, cutting boards, and utensils are not handled and cleaned safely. Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can spread germs to ready-to-eat foods, like salads or food that is already cooked. These germs include Campylobacter, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and E. coli. They can make people sick and even lead to hospitalization and death in serious cases. Every year, an estimated 48 million Americans get foodborne illness (food poisoning), but you can help protect yourself and others from getting sick. The key to avoiding cross-contamination is to keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from foods that won’t be cooked before you eat them (ready-to-eat foods). Below are tips to avoid cross-contamination all the way from the grocery store to your plate.

Take Steps to Avoid Cross-Contamination

Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from other food in shopping cart.
Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from all other foods in the refrigerator.
Do not wash raw chicken or turkey.
Use one cutting board or plate for raw meat, poultry, and seafood and a separate cutting board or plate for produce, bread, and other foods that won’t be cooked (ready-to-eat foods).
- If you only have one cutting board, cut produce, bread and other ready-to-eat foods first then wash cutting board with soap and hot water before cutting raw meat, poultry or seafood on it.
Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water after touching raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
Wash your utensils, cutting boards, and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
If you marinate raw meat, poultry, or seafood and want to reuse that marinade on the food after it is cooked, bring marinade to a boil first.
Keep cooked meat, poultry, and seafood on a separate plate from raw meat, poultry, and seafood.

The first day of fall this year is Wednesday, September 22, which means it’s time to enjoy some fall recipes! This recipe combines favorite fall flavors such as apples, pecans, and maple syrup and offers food safety tips throughout. When making this dish, remember to keep raw chicken, its juices, and anything they have touched away from foods that are ready-to-eat, like kale, pecans, and apples.

Fall Harvest Sweet Potato and Chicken Salad Recipe

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

Salad:

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil (divided use)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

½ teaspoon onion powder (optional)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bunch of kale

2 apples

1 cup chopped pecans

Salad dressing:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ cup olive oil

Directions:

Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds.
Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C)
Rinse and scrub sweet potatoes with running water (do not use produce washes or soap). Dry with a clean paper towel, then peel.
Using a clean cutting board and knife, cut the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
Place the sweet potato cubes into a baking dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toss.
Bake sweet potatoes for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, use a clean cutting board and knife to cut raw chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes (do not wash raw chicken).
Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds after handling raw chicken.
Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a clean bowl.
Add raw chicken to the bowl and toss with oil and spices.
Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds.
After the sweet potatoes have baked for 10 minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven, flip the sweet potatoes and add the chicken to the dish. Mix chicken and sweet potatoes together and place back in oven.
Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds.
Bake chicken and sweet potato mixture for around 20 minutes.
Make the dressing by adding the red wine vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to a bowl and whisking them together. Slowly pour in olive oil, using the whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
Rinse apples and kale with running water (do not use produce washes or soap). Dry with a clean paper towel.
Using a clean cutting board and knife, thinly slice the apple. Remove stems from kale and roughly chop it.
Place kale in large bowl, add dressing, and toss with utensils.
After baking chicken and sweet potatoes, check to make sure the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165°F (74°C). Use a food thermometer inserted into a few of the 1-inch cubes to check.
Add chopped pecans, sliced apples, cooked sweet potatoes, and cooked chicken to the bowl with kale and dressing. Toss and serve.
Refrigerate leftover salad within 2 hours of preparing it. If the salad is exposed to temperatures above 90°F (32°C) (like a picnic), refrigerate it within 1 hour.