Everyone loves to eat. Whether we eat out a restaurant or dine in the comfort of our own homes, eating can be a pleasurable and social experience. But anyone who has gone through the far-from-pleasurable experience of food poisoning knows that as great as food can be, if it isn't prepared safely, food can be dangerous. Because of the importance of food safety, most states require servers, cooks, and other people who handle food commercially to have a food handler card, also called a food handler's permit. To obtain a food handler card, applicants have to take a short course on food safety, and one of the main safety issues that these people learn about is cross contamination

Cross contamination is the transfer of harmful bacteria from one food source to another or from cutting boards and utensils to food. Cross contamination is a particular threat when people are preparing raw meat, poultry, or seafood alongside ready-to-eat food such as salads, fruits, and vegetables. Especially in a busy kitchen, it's easy to inadvertently use the same knife to chop vegetables that you used to cut raw meat. In crowded kitchens, it's also not uncommon to accidently leave knives and other utensils lying next to raw meats or cutting boards with raw juices on them.

Cross contamination can cause serious threats to food safety. And for restaurants and food suppliers, it can also lead to serious and costly legal repercussions, one of the many reasons most food handlers are required to obtain a food handler card or permit. But knowledge about how to prepare food properly should not be restricted to those in the food industry. By learning how to prevent cross contamination and how to properly store and prepare food in your own kitchen, you can help keep you and your family safe from food-related illness.

Aside from food preparation, cross contamination can also occur at other times than when handling food. Cross contamination is also a possibility when shopping or preserving food--basically at anytime when bacteria-ridden food may carelessly be placed alongside other foods.

The effects of cross contamination are not pleasant. It may cause ailments such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, and abdominal cramps. These effects usually last around 24 hours, but can last longer, depending on the severity of the bacteria content in the food. Luckily, by following a few simple guidelines, you can prevent you and your family from consuming harmful bacteria as a result of cross contamination.

First of all, when you shop, be sure to separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other food types in your cart. If bags are available, place bacteria-ridden foods in the bags in order prevent their juices from leaking or dripping on to other foods. It is also a good idea to keep different types of food separate when checking out and bagging your groceries. If possible, it's also wise to double bag raw meats to ensure no juices leak or spill on the trip home.

When you return from your shopping trip, continue to keep different types of food separate. Meats with raw juices should continue to be stored in bags and kept on the bottom shelf of the fridge so that the juices don't drip onto other foods sitting below.

When you are preparing food, be sure that all of your utensils have been thoroughly washed with soap and hot water. You should also wash your hands thoroughly before you start preparing food and several times throughout the food preparation process, especially after you've touched raw eggs or meats.

During each stage of meal preparation, be sure to rewash utensils and cutting boards. Ideally, you should have multiple cutting boards so that you can keep different foods completely separate. But if you need to reuse cutting boards or cooking utensils, you can sanitize utensils, bowls, and surfaces by using a solution of one teaspoon of bleach in one quart of water. Also, if your cutting board becomes too worn, you should throw it away. Old and worn cutting boards are more porous than they should be, making them havens for bacteria that cannot be easily sanitized or cleaned.

Cross contamination dangers aren't just caused by utensils. Dish towels and sponges also house harmful bacteria, so use different towels and sponges when drying dishes that held different types of foods.

Also, when you marinate food, do so only in the refrigerator and not on the counter. Marinating juices on the counter are more likely to spill or contaminate other foods than when left in the fridge. And of course, the same marinating sauce used on raw meat, poultry, or seafood should not be used on cooked or ready-to-eat foods, unless it is first boiled. Boiling serves to kill any harmful bacteria.

Once you're done preparing the meal, the dangers of cross contamination reduce, but they can still happen. That's why when you serve food, you should always use a clean plate and never placed cooked food back on the same plate or cutting board that previously held raw foods. And you should store leftovers in the fridge or freezer within two hours of cleaning, and sooner if possible. The best containers to store leftovers in are clean, shallow, and covered containers because they create ideal conditions to prevent bacteria from multiplying.

By learning more about the ins and outs of food safety, you can help prevent a variety of illness caused by poor food preparation. If you want to learn more about food preparation you can get a Texas food handler card and become qualified to not only prepare food in your home, but commercially as well. The effects of cross contamination are not pleasant. Keeping your food separate, cleaning, and storing food properly, you can help keep your food and your family safe.