Is your kitchen making you sick? How to prevent food poisoning
Avoid a cooking disaster, or a trip to the ER, with these food-safety tips.
Jan, 2026
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Slide 1
Each year in the United States, there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although companies may make headlines when they recall a food due to contamination, the truth is, food poisoning isn’t always the result of bad practices in restaurants or food processing facilities.
Since food can become contaminated at any stage of production, from harvesting to storing to cooking, nowhere is 100 percent safe—and it can even happen in your own kitchen.
Read on for tips to keep your home free from food poisoning.
Written byBeth Ward.
Medically reviewed byGaby Vaca-Flores, RD.
Sources: U.S. Food & Drug Administration. What You Need to Know about Foodborne Illnesses. Page last reviewed February 17 + 15
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. What You Need to Know about Foodborne Illnesses. Page last reviewed February 17, 2022.
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Foodborne Pathogens. Page last reviewed March 5, 2020.
- Mayo Clinic. Food Poisoning. December 30, 2022.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Four Steps to Food Safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill. Page last reviewed August 5, 2022.
- Wolde T, Bacha K. Microbiological Safety of Kitchen Sponges Used in Food Establishments. Int J Food Sci. 2016;2016:1659784.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture – Food Safety and Inspection Service. Cutting Boards. Page last updated August 2, 2017.
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Safe Food Handling. Page last reviewed February 17, 2022.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture – Food Safety and Inspection Service. Shelf-Stable Food Safety. Page last updated March 24, 2015.
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Cold Food Storage Chart. Page last reviewed September 20, 2021.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fruits and Vegetables: Keep Them Fresh to Keep You Healthy. Page last reviewed June 20, 2022.
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart for Cooking. Page last reviewed December 16, 2022.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture – Food Safety and Inspection Service. Food Product Dating. Page last updated October 2, 2019.
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. What You Need to Know about Egg Safety. Page last reviewed May 10, 2022.
- Zeratsky, Katherine. How long can you safely keep leftovers in the refrigerator? Mayo Clinic. October 4, 2022.
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Tips to Chill Food – Food Safety for Moms to Be. Page last reviewed September 27, 2018.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Attribution of Foodborne Illness: Findings. Page last reviewed November 5, 2018.
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