Are you a Finger Licker? (2301)

Food may be "finger-lickin" good, but finger licking is not good for food. The cook is the most important defender of food safety. When cooking, do the following;

- "Spoon taste" only if you use a clean spoon. Use it only once.

- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water. Remember the areas between the fingers and under the finger nails.

- Remove rings or other jewelry when you prepare food. Bacteria may be stuck in the crevices of jewelry.

- Keep clean hands away from your mouth, nose and hair. Use a clean facial tissue to suppress coughs and sneezes, and wash your hands again.

- Always wash your hands after going the bathroom and after touching garbage, poisons, and cleaning supplies. This rule also applies to any contact with pets, their dishes or bedding.

- If you have pimples, boils, infected cuts or burns on your hands, use clean disposable plastic gloves to prevent the spread of infection. Always wash hands before putting gloves on and after taking gloves off.

- When you have a cold or flu, stay out of the kitchen. But if you still have to handle food, be especially careful about hand-washing, and use utensils instead of hands to touch food.

- Even if your kitchen is “clean enough to eat off the floor,” toss any spilled foods.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

Feel free to forward, post or reprint any of the "Solutions" in their entirely, but please credit http://www.solutions.psu.edu/ as the original source of information, and please do not change the content.