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For the past three months, dining in at restaurants hasn’t been possible, which has led to a lot of people cooking at home and even trying new recipes.
For Gabri Vergara, Weld County Environmental Health Co-Director, grilling hamburgers with her husband in the backyard has been their go-to meal.
Vergara, perhaps more so than most families, is acutely aware of food safety after helping oversee food safety inspections conducted by the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment for the past three years.
“With over 1,600 health inspections conducted annually by the Health Department, the food safety mistakes are very apparent, and we work with restaurant staff to mitigate them,” Vergara said. “Many violations health inspectors find in restaurants are also being made in home kitchens.”
Before slicing the tomatoes to top off her hamburger, Vergara washes her hands. Her husband does the same before and after handling raw hamburger meat. According to Vergara, washing hands throughout the preparation and cooking process is the most effective way of preventing foodborne illnesses.
As Vergara starts cutting the tomatoes, her husband cooks the hamburgers. Another common mistake made in the restaurant industry and at home that can lead to foodborne illnesses is not cooking meat to the proper internal temperature.
“Even though it’s taught that when chicken is white it’s safe to eat, our eyes alone are not accurate at determining the safety of cooked foods,” Vergara said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry. We recommend investing in a food thermometer when preparing meats.”
Vergara’s husband checks the internal temperature of his hamburgers – a perfect 155°F – before transferring each onto a hamburger bun. Vergara has sliced the tomatoes and is moving onto the lettuce. She washes the tomato juice off her cutting board and pulls a new knife from a drawer and a cutting board from the cabinet before chopping the remaining garnishes for their delicious meal. Using a new knife and cutting board helps reduce cross contamination, something most people think of as the first thing to do to reduce the risk of food poisoning. However, according to Vergara, the most common mistake made in food preparation that can lead to foodborne illness is the improper cooling of food.
"If lids are immediately placed on containers of hot food, the heat becomes trapped, slowing the cooling process and causing bacteria to grow," Vergara said. "If hot food is going into the refrigerator or freezer, the lid of the container should be left off or slightly ajar so cooling can take place quickly."
It’s also important to not leave food out on a hot day or even at room temperature for more than four hours. Foods such as cheese, potato and pasta salad, tomatoes, meat and fruit should be put in a cold cooler or refrigerator within two hours. If food temperatures reach between 41 to 135°F, that’s the danger zone where foodborne illness is most likely to strike.
“The bottom line is all foodborne illnesses are 100 percent preventable, whether that’s from cooking at a restaurant or in your home,” Vergara said. “Of all the things happening right now in the world, we don’t need to add food poisoning to the list.”
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