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Cooking encyclopedia Food safety

Cross-contamination

How raw food makes cooked food unsafe, and the small habits that prevent it.

What it is

Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs from everything that will not be cooked. Separate boards or a strict order of work, washed hands between tasks, and no plate that carried raw meat going back under the cooked version of it.

Why it works

The bacteria that cooking is meant to kill are on the raw surface, on the packaging, on the board, on the knife and on your hands. Cooking one item thoroughly does nothing about what its juices touched on the way.

When to use it

All of the time, and especially when a meal mixes raw and ready-to-eat components — salads, garnishes, bread, cheese.

What goes wrong

One board for everything; the plate the raw meat came out on going back under the cooked meat; washing raw poultry, which sprays bacteria around the sink; tasting a marinade that held raw meat.

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