With several family gatherings happening this week and lots of home-cooked meals being served, an expert shares recommendations to avoid food borne illnesses.

ISU Extension Health and Human Sciences Educator Tom Keinert advises to keep hand washing in mind when prepping or cooking food.

“Anytime your hands are touching contaminated or dirty surfaces, so before or after you’re handling raw meat, poultry, seafood or eggs or maybe your trash is full, so you take out your trash, and then you come back to the kitchen, you’re going to want to wash your hands. Anytime you are touching a dirty surface.”

Keinert notes that proper hand washing includes using warm water and scrubbing hands with soap for 10-15 seconds each time. 

As for serving food, Keinert points out that food should only sit out for two hours before bacteria can start growing on it, which can lead to food borne illnesses.

“So, I would recommend that people serve, get the food out there, everyone eats, but then quickly get that stuff back in the fridge or freezer as quickly as you can.”

Keinert adds that using sanitizer is not a replacement for good hand hygiene, but that people can use sanitizer after they wash their hands.