Final answer:
The five critical risk factors to keep food safe from contamination involve maintaining proper hygiene, preventing cross-contamination, controlling temperatures, thorough cooking, and carefully selecting and handling all food items. Regular handwashing, food rotation, and correct cooking temperatures are key practices to maintain food safety and prevent illness.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Five Most Common Risk Factors to Keep Food Safe
The foodborne disease typically stems from food becoming contaminated at various stages from production to consumption. The three main ways that food becomes contaminated include poor hygiene, cross-contamination, and failure of temperature control. To mitigate the risks and ensure food safety in the home, several practices can be employed, such as:
- Regular handwashing before and after handling or preparing food, as well as before eating.
- Proper rotation of food in the pantry, using older items first and ensuring that perishable foods are consumed before their expiration or spoilage. This includes maintaining the correct refrigerator temperature.
- Rinsing fresh produce before consumption, whether it is eaten raw or cooked, to remove any potential contaminants on the surface that could be transferred to the inside when cut open or peeled.
- Ensuring thorough cooking of foods to an internal temperature of at least 74 degrees C (165 degrees F) to kill bacteria, using a cooking thermometer for accuracy.
It's valuable to note that the top five germs responsible for foodborne illnesses in the United States are Norovirus, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter, and Staphylococcus aureus (Staph).