10 Smart Shopping Tips To Protect Your Family From Getting Sick

Prevention of food poisoning starts with your trip to the supermarket. Here's how to start off safely.

1. Pick up your packaged and canned foods first. Buy cans and jars that look perfect. Don't buy canned goods that are dented, cracked or bulging. These are the warning signs that dangerous bacteria may be growing in the can.

2. Look for any expiration dates on the labels and never buy outdated food. Likewise, check the "use by" or "sell by" date on dairy products such as cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, and sour cream and pick the ones that will stay fresh longest in your refrigerator.

3. Check eggs, too. Choose eggs that are refrigerated in the store. Before putting them in your cart, open the carton and make sure that the eggs are clean and none are cracked or broken.

4. Raw meat, poultry, and seafood sometimes drip. The juices that drip may have germs. Keep these juices away from other foods. Put raw meat, poultry, and seafood into plastic bags before they go into the cart. Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery shopping cart and in your refrigerator.

5. Don't buy frozen seafood if the packages are open, torn or crushed on the edges. Avoid packages that are above the frost line in the store's freezer. If the package cover is transparent, look for signs of frost or ice crystals. This could mean that the fish has either been stored for a long time or thawed and re-frozen.

6. Check for cleanliness at the meat or fish counter and the salad bar. For instance, cooked shrimp lying on the same bed of ice as raw fish could become contaminated.

7. When shopping for shellfish, buy from markets that get their supplies from state-approved sources; stay clear of vendors who sell shellfish from roadside stands or the back of a truck. And if you're planning to harvest your own shellfish, heed posted warnings about the water's safety.

8. Pick up milk, frozen foods, and perishables (meat, poultry, fish) last. Always put these products in separate plastic bags so that drippings don't contaminate other foods in your shopping cart.

9. Drive immediately home from the grocery store. This will give cold or frozen food less time to warm up before you get home. If the destination is farther away than 30 minutes, bring a cooler with ice or commercial freezing gels from home and place perishables in it.

10. Save hot chicken and other hot foods for last, too. This will give them less time to cool off before you get home.

Terry Nicholls
My Home-Based Business Advisor
www.my-home-based-business-advisor.com

Copyright © by Terry Nicholls. All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Terry Nicholls is the author of the eBook "Food Safety: Protecting Your Family From Food Poisoning". In addition, he writes from his own experiences in trying to start his own home-based business. To benefit from his success, visit My Home-Based Business Advisor - Helping YOUR Home Business Start and Succeed for free help for YOUR home business, including ideas, startup, and expansion advice.

---

10 Easy Ways To Protect Your Family From Food Poisoning

Do you realize the many ways that bacteria can contaminate... Read More

How to Cook a Lobster

French chefs plunge them into boiling water; English ones, in... Read More

The Almighty Beer-Can Chicken

A popular method of cooking chicken in recent years both... Read More

Fine Tuning Bread Machine Mixes

Sometimes bread machines can be tricky. We were trying to... Read More

Picnic Checklist

In the previous article, we suggested that you start a... Read More

Why do We Need to Knead?

Bread dough needs to be elastic in order to capture... Read More

6 Tips for Perfect Homemade Hard Candy

There's nothing better than the juicy, flavorful hard candy from... Read More

How To Eat Fresh Vegetables ? Ideas for Working More Veggies Into Your Diet

Fresh, uncooked veggies are so healthy and it's important to... Read More

What Are Scoville Units?

To understand what a Scoville Unit is, one must understand... Read More

Buying, Storing, and Preparing Apricots

When buying apricots, always look for those that are firm,... Read More

The Barbecue Pit

The barbecue pit has been around since 1920,s and it... Read More

Two for One Dinners: Ham

If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then... Read More

7 Things to Consider when Buying a BBQ

BBQ as we all know is an abbreviated form of... Read More

Must Haves for Any At-Home Chef

With the holidays on their way soon, many people will... Read More

10 Mind-Easing Ways To Make Sure Your Childs Bag Lunch Is Safe

Perishable food must be kept cold while commuting via bus,... Read More

Cooking Filet Mignon

Filet mignon is French, of course, with filet meaning "thick... Read More

Bread in the Woods

We really like fresh bread while we're camping. There is... Read More

Picture Perfect Bread

The secret-at least most of it-is in the rise. The... Read More

Barbeque Grilling has Reached a Whole New Dimension

Grilling on the barbecue has never been more exciting. Not... Read More

10 Wide Open Tips For Food Safety In The Great Outdoors

Hiking, camping, and boating are good activities for active people... Read More

Cake Baking Tip Guide

Successful cake decorating is all about preparation. Baking and preparing... Read More

Little-known Tips for Easy Holiday Baking

Are you wondering if you have the time to bake... Read More

Working with Eggs

Bad eggs are rare but they do occur. Crack eggs... Read More

Is Cooked Food Really All That Good For Us?

In nature all animals eat living foods as yielded up... Read More

The Wonderful Wok: Stir Frying Basics

Want to enjoy the tantalizing taste of Asian food at... Read More

Cool Summertime Cooking

Summertime--and the living is easy! But the kitchen is hot!!... Read More

Foods That Freeze Well

"Can I freeze it?" is a question often asked in... Read More

The Perfect Omelet(te), How to Cook It

Omelet(te)sThey're easy to cook, right?We'll see.The first thing to remember... Read More

Grill Your Corn for Maximum Flavor

There's two basic theories on grilling corn. Some people prefer... Read More

What is a Serving Size?

Have you ever wondered how much a serving really is.... Read More

Prepare the Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Would you like to prepare the best Garlic Mashed Potatoes... Read More

Chinese Cooking Technique: Thicken

"Thicken", or "Thickening" is a very common technique used in... Read More

High Altitude Baking - A Cooks Guide

High altitude baking can be a real adventure for the... Read More