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Food Safety
Food Safety Tips
Winn-Dixie works hand-in-hand with the United States Department of
Agriculture and the Food Safety and Inspection Service to ensure the
food consumers purchase at Winn-Dixie is safe. However, we are
concerned that the consumer must continue to safeguard their
perishable items even after purchase and preparation. Therefore, we
offer the following Food Safety Tips to help everyone ensure proper
handling and storage of food products.
The following websites contain additional information about food safety:
How do you ensure take-out food (cold and hot) and leftovers are kept safe? The
guidelines below provide an overview of what you can do.
Hot Take-out Food Precautions
- Rotisserie Chicken
- Hamburgers
- Mexican Food
- Chinese Food
- Pizza
- And many other convenience foods.
Most take-out foods are consumed immediately. But
there are times when take-out foods are purchased to eat at a later time.
Or there may be leftovers which must be stored safely for future use.
- Take-out foods are perishable and can cause illness
when mishandled. To keep hot food safe, hold above 140° F.
- Take-out food that is purchased or delivered
hot should be eaten within two hours of preparation.
If you are not eating hot take-out within two hours,
keeping the food warm is not good enough. Harmful bacteria can multiply
between 40° and 140° F. To avoid this you should set the hot food
in an oven high enough to keep the food at 140° F. or above. Check
the internal temperature of food with a meat thermometer. Covering with
foil will help keep your food moist.
You can also keep hot food hot (140° F or
hotter) with chafing dishes or slow cookers that have been pre-heated.
If you are eating the hot take-out much later,
it is not a good idea to try and keep food hot longer than two hours. Food
will taste better if you place it in shallow containers, divide large quantities
or cover loosely and refrigerate immediately.
To reheat, warm food thoroughly to a temperature
of 165° F or until hot and steaming. In the microwave oven, cover
food and rotate so it heats evenly. Allow a two minute stand time for more
thorough heating (Consult your microwave owner's manual for recommended
times and power levels). Inadequate heating can contribute to illness.
Cold Take-out Precautions
When purchasing cold take-out remember to keep
cold food cold. Refrigerate immediately. Cold food should be held at 40° F or colder.
The two hour rule. Perishable food should not be
at room temperature longer than two hours. Discard food which has been left
at room temperature longer than two hours. For temperatures over 90°
F, discard after one hour.
Deli Platters -- Keep food cold on the buffet table
by nesting dishes in bowls of ice. Use small platters of food, and replace
them with fresh platters, rather than adding fresh food to a dish that already
had food on it.
Picnics -- When take-out food is purchased cold
to eat at a later time, like a picnic or a sporting event, a cooler with
ice is a practical alternative to a refrigerator. The cooler should be well
insulated and packed with ice or freezer packs.
Leftovers - Food Storage Guidelines
- Perishable food should not be out of the refrigerator for more than two hours.
- Refrigerate or freeze leftovers promptly in shallow covered containers.
- It is safe to freeze leftover take-out. Wrap tightly for best quality.
Leftovers - Storage in the refrigerator
- 40° F or below
- You can keep cooked meat or poultry 3 to 4 days
- Fried Chicken 3 to 4 days
- Pizza 3 to 4 days
- Deli prepared convenience foods such as egg, tuna, and macaroni salads 3 to 5 days
Foods stored longer may begin to spoil or become unsafe to eat.
Leftovers - Storage in the freezer
- 0° F or below
- Cooked meat or poultry 3 to 6 months
- Fried chicken 4 months
- Deli sliced luncheon meats 1 to 2 months
- Deli prepared convenience foods 3 to 4 months
(Salads made with mayonnaise do not freeze well)
Foods kept frozen longer than the recommended times
are safe, but may be drier and may not taste as good.
For More Information
For more information about food safety, you may
call the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555,
10 AM till 4 PM eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Developed by:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service
in cooperation with
Department of Health and Human
Services
Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Food Marketing Institute
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