What is meant by "safe food handling"?

"Safe food handling" refers to practices that minimize the risk of foodborne illness during food preparation and storage. This entails a series of measures designed to ensure that food is prepared, cooked, and stored appropriately to prevent contamination and promote food safety. It includes aspects such as maintaining proper temperatures during cooking and storage, avoiding cross-contamination, ensuring proper hand hygiene, and sourcing food from safe, reputable suppliers.

In contrast, minimizing cooking time for efficiency may lead to undercooked food, which could pose a health risk. Using only frozen foods does not inherently ensure safety, as frozen foods can also be improperly handled or thawed. Serving food at high temperatures is important for certain foods but is not the sole indicator of safe food practices; food safety encompasses a broader range of considerations beyond just serving temperature. Therefore, the emphasis on comprehensive practices aligns closely with the definition of "safe food handling."