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Home Food, Nutrition and Health

Food Safety

For Consumers
Photo: refrigerated foods. Photo: proper thermometer use. Photo: hand washing.

Safe Food Begins with You!

Have you ever gotten sick from something you ate? It's not a pleasant experience, and for at-risk individuals the health consequences can be very serious. Consumers say they practice good food handling, but they actually make many mistakes. Fortunately, people can avoid getting sick or causing illness in others by following simple food handling practices.

Answers to Your Questions

  1. I found bugs in my cereal, pasta or cake mix. What do I do?
  2. Are you at risk?
  3. Is it a food borne illness or something else?
  4. I've gotten sick from food, what can I do to feel better?
  5. What do I do if restaurant or store-bought food made me sick?

Community Education

Family & Community Health Sciences (FCHS) professionals provide food safety education for adults and youth in schools, community and work places. Topics include preventing foodborne illness, managing food allergies, ServSafe training, handwashing, and home food preservation. Contact the FCHS professional in your Rutgers Cooperative Extension county office for more information or to request a program.

Photo: Food Safety Practices on New Jersey Farms.
Food Safety Practices on New Jersey Farms - The New Jersey Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, developed the first statewide third-party audit system in the country to help growers evaluate their operations for food safety.
How Food Safe Is Your Home Kitchen?
How Food Safe Is Your Home Kitchen? - Food mishandling in home kitchens causes a significant amount of foodborne disease (food poisoning). The Home Kitchen Check-Up can help you identify how to reduce the risk for foodborne disease in your home kitchen.
Seafood Safety
Seafood Safety - Lately, headlines have been full of information about seafood, from new advisories, to the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids. This website is intended to help consumers make the best personal decision about integrating seafood into their diet.

Links

  1. Fight BAC!: Keep Food Safe From Bacteria (from the Partnership for Food Safety Education)
  2. Food Allergy Research and Education
  3. Food Recalls
  4. National Center for Home Food Preservation
  5. USDA Country of Origin Labeling Rule for beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat meat, wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, ginseng, and macadamia nuts
  6. USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service