11 Food Safety Mistakes You Don T Know You Re Making

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    Overview
   You wash your hands before cooking and don't cut raw vegetables and raw meat on the same cutting board. That's basically all you need to know about food safety, right? Wrong. One out of every six Americans gets food poisoning each year, and those are just the ones who report it. While some people spend a miserable night at home in the bathroom, 128,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 die every year from foodborne illnesses. We frequently underestimate the risks of known pathogens in the kitchen while worrying a little too much about the benign bacteria in our overall environment. But how can we know when we're putting our health at risk? Read on to learn the 11 food-safety mistakes you don't know you're making -- and how to fix them immediately.

Image Credit: lofilolo/iStock/Getty Images

  1 of 13
 
    Overview
   You wash your hands before cooking and don't cut raw vegetables and raw meat on the same cutting board. That's basically all you need to know about food safety, right? Wrong. One out of every six Americans gets food poisoning each year, and those are just the ones who report it. While some people spend a miserable night at home in the bathroom, 128,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 die every year from foodborne illnesses. We frequently underestimate the risks of known pathogens in the kitchen while worrying a little too much about the benign bacteria in our overall environment. But how can we know when we're putting our health at risk? Read on to learn the 11 food-safety mistakes you don't know you're making -- and how to fix them immediately.

Image Credit: lofilolo/iStock/Getty Images

    Overview

You wash your hands before cooking and don’t cut raw vegetables and raw meat on the same cutting board. That’s basically all you need to know about food safety, right? Wrong. One out of every six Americans gets food poisoning each year, and those are just the ones who report it. While some people spend a miserable night at home in the bathroom, 128,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 die every year from foodborne illnesses. We frequently underestimate the risks of known pathogens in the kitchen while worrying a little too much about the benign bacteria in our overall environment. But how can we know when we’re putting our health at risk? Read on to learn the 11 food-safety mistakes you don’t know you’re making – and how to fix them immediately.

Image Credit: lofilolo/iStock/Getty Images

    MISTAKE #1: Cutting Melons Without Washing Them First

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    MISTAKE #2: Overstuffing Your Refrigerator

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    MISTAKE #3: Having One Sponge and Never Disinfecting It

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    MISTAKE #4: Washing Raw Chicken

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    MISTAKE #5: Storing Eggs in the Refrigerator-Door Egg Holder

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    MISTAKE #6: Believing Clear Juice Equals Cooked Chicken

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    MISTAKE #7: Thawing Meat on the Kitchen Counter or in Hot Water

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    MISTAKE #8: Judging Leftovers by Taste, Sight or Smell

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    MISTAKE #9: Not Washing Your Hands Before Washing Produce

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    MISTAKE #10: Using the Same Tongs for Raw Meat and Cooked Meat

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    MISTAKE #11: Rinsing Pre-Washed Greens

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