City of Newton, MA
Home MenuFood Safety
All food inspection reports are available upon request. To request a food report, click here.
1. Clean
Wash your hands and surfaces often!
- Germs that cause food poisoning can survive in many places and spread around your kitchen.
- Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds before, during, and after preparing food, and before eating. Always wash your hands after handling uncooked meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, flour, or eggs.
- Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water
- Be sure to wash utensils. cutting boards, countertops, and any other used kitchenware with hot soapy water after preparing food.
2. Separate
Do not cross-contaminate!
- Raw meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, and eggs can spread germs that cause food-poisoning to ready-to-eat foods, unless you keep them separate.
- When grocery shopping, be sure to bag these items separate from other foods.
- When unpacking these items in your refrigerator, try to store them separate form all other foods. A sealed container or securing wrapping are recommended for storing these items, so that the juices do not leak onto other food.
- Use one cutting board/plate for uncooked meat and seafood. and a separate cutting board for produce, bread, and other foods that will not be cooked.
3. Cook
Cook to the correct temperature!
- Food is safely cooked when the internal temperature is high enough to kill all the germs that can make you sick.
- The only way to be sure that food is safely cooked is by using a good thermometer.
- For more information about food thermometers, click here.
- Different foods require different cooking temperatures to ensure the food is safe to eat. Refer to this chart for a detailed list of temperatures and foods.
4. Chill
Refrigerate promptly!
- Bacteria can multiply rapidly if left at room temperature.
- Be sure your refrigerator is at or below 40°F, and your freezer is at or below 0°F.
- Refrigerate perishable food such as meat, seafood, dairy, cut fruit, certain vegetables, and cooked leftovers within 2 hours.
- Thaw frozen food safely in the refrigerator, cold water, or the microwave. Never thaw food on the counter, bacteria multiply quickly in parts of the food that reach room temperature.
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