Food Safety at Home, School and Work

Food safety is important for everyone. By following a few simple steps, you can reduce the risk of foodborne illness for yourself and others. Whether you’re cooking at home, preparing food for a school event, or sharing meals at work, safe food handling can keep everyone healthy and happy.

How can we prevent foodborne illness?

Follow these smart food safety steps to reduce your risk of getting sick from food.

1. Clean – Wash your hands and surfaces well

• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds:

• Before handling food

• After touching raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs

• After using the washroom, touching pets, or changing diapers

• Clean and sanitize surfaces, cutting boards, and utensils with a mild bleach solution:

• Recipe: Mix 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of bleach with 3 cups (750 ml) of water. Use this before and after food prep, especially when switching between raw and ready-to-eat foods.

• Replace worn-out cutting boards and utensils that are hard to clean

2. Separate – Stop cross-contamination

Cross-contamination happens when bacteria from raw food spread to other food or surfaces. To avoid this:

• At the store: Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood away from other food in your cart and bags

• In the fridge:

• Store raw meat in sealed containers or plastic bags on the bottom shelf to keep juices from dripping onto other foods

• On surfaces:

• Clean and sanitize surfaces and utensils after touching raw meat

• Use paper towels or change dishcloths daily

• Cutting boards:

• Use one board for raw meat and another for fruits and veggies

3. Safe storage – Store food the right way

Proper storage keeps food from spoiling and makes it safer to eat. Learn more about safe food storage.

4. Chill – Keep it cool

• Refrigerate or freeze food within two hours of preparing it or buying it

• If food has been left out for two hours or more, throw it out

• On hot days, meat, dairy, and other perishable foods can spoil faster — they may only last one hour without being refrigerated

• Don’t overfill the fridge as cold air needs to move around to keep everything cool

For tips on keeping food safe during a power outage, check out SWPH’s Food Safety and Power Outages guide (PDF).

5. Cook – Use a thermometer

Cook food to the right temperature to kill harmful bacteria. Use a food thermometer to be sure.

Safe cooking temperatures:

• Whole poultry: 82°C

• Ground poultry, poultry pieces: 74°C

• Food with poultry, eggs, meat, or fish: 74°C

• Seafood: 74°C

• Pork and other ground meat: 71°C

• Fish: 70°C

Avoid the “danger zone” (4°C to 60°C). Serve food hot and refrigerate leftovers quickly.

Microwave cooking:

• Cover food, stir it often, and let it sit after cooking to finish heating properly

For more details, visit Health Canada’s Safe Internal Cooking Temperatures and print their handy temperature chart (PDF) for proper cooking temperatures of high risk food items.

How can we ensure food safety in schools?

If you’re involved in school activities like fundraisers, hot lunches, or classroom events, safe food handling is essential to keep kids healthy. Schools follow Ontario’s Food Premises Regulation (O. Reg. 493/17) to ensure food safety. Here’s what you should know:

• Any food prepared and served at school events must meet these regulations. Learn more about the requirements for Ontario’s Food Premises Regulation (O. Reg. 493/17).

• Volunteers and staff may need special food handler training for large events or food programs.

• Learn more about being a part of the food handler training and certification for high school students.

• Contact your school’s administration or public health for guidance.