Safe Meat Handling

Improper handling of raw meat can generate activity and increase the growth of germs, viruses, and bacteria. If not handled very well, the cross-contamination of the meat can result in diarrhea, food poisoning, or worse, cancer when consumed.

Here are the ways to properly handle raw meat:

1. When selecting, avoid any meat that is already dark brown, faded and discolored, or has a strong odor. Choose meat that has a firm texture and is dry. Do not pick out meat that has a torn or damaged package or excessive amounts of liquid. It might have been exposed to bacteria and unsafe to cook and eat.
2. In buying meat, separate the raw meat from other goods in your grocery cart or basket. In this way, the meat juice can’t cross contaminate other foods in the shopping trolley. Meanwhile, in taking home meat, sealed it in a cool ice bag.
3. Never leave raw meat on the counter at a room temperature around 4°C to 60°C. Raw meats are most vulnerable to bacteria in hot surroundings while in low temperature environments like freezers or cold storage, the bacteria are inactive.
4. Make sure your hands are clean, washed with soap and water, before and after preparing the raw meat. Also, sanitize all the utensils that you will use in cooking meat.
5. In cooking, meats should be cooked thoroughly until the juices dry out. While serving the meat, do not use the same dish or board that was used to hold the raw meat.
6. In marinating meat, make sure that it is closed tightly in a container to avoid dripping other foods inside the refrigerator.

Meat is best enjoyed for consumption when it is safely cooked and properly handled. There are more ways to handle raw meat and it is always better to prevent than to cure.

For safer meat purchasing, you can always opt to buy online through our website at shop.enlfood.com as frozen food and meat products have a longer shelf-life with preserved quality.