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 Look for any expiration dates on the labels and never buy outdated food.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.

---

Reductions: Proving Less is More

Any liquid can be reduced just by heating it -... Read More

Cool Summertime Cooking

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

Two for One Dinners: Beans

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

Two for One Dinners: Eggplant

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

What?s the Thick on Roux? Thickening Soups and Sauces

Soups and sauces can be thickened in a variety of... Read More

How to Care for Your Cast Iron Skillet (includes recipes)

Some of the best meals I've ever eaten were made... Read More

Seasoning An Oven

Untreated cast iron rusts, especially around water. To prevent metal... Read More

Foods That Freeze Well

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

Perfect Picnics - Frugal Food Safety Tips

Summer is finally here and for a lot of us... Read More

How to Cook a Lobster

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

Preparing Lobster Tails

Lobster, once the food of poor farmers, is now considered... Read More

The Barbecue Pit

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

Secret of Light and Fluffy Biscuits and Pancakes

Would you like to lose some weight -- in your... Read More

Bread in the Woods

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

10 Easy Ways To Protect Your Family From Food Poisoning

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

The Best-Kept Secrets of Beef Revealed! Get Ready to Become the Meat Expert in Your Family!

Do you helplessly stand at the meat counter looking from... Read More

50% Less Cooking

50% Less Cookingwithout hitting the fast food button! Don't you... Read More

Old-Fashioned Taffy Pull Party--How to Host Your Own

Want a unique party idea for your child's birthday-or even... Read More

About Baking: Eight Tips for Perfect Pancakes

Pancakes are easy and almost foolproof. But there are some... Read More

10 Critical Ways To A Perfectly Food-Safe Kitchen

Food poisoning is related to unsafe food, a dirty kitchen,... Read More

How to Make a Cajun Roux

The process of preparing Cajun food is in no way... Read More

Digital Kitchen Timers ? Never Burn Another Dish

Digital kitchen timers come in many shapes and sizes. Timers... Read More

The Almighty Beer-Can Chicken

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

Save Money ? The Crock Way

Saving money ? is something we would all like to... Read More

Flax Seed Will Add A Little Extra Flavor To Your Recipes

Flax seed will add a pleasant nutty taste to any... Read More

Don?t Poke the Chicken at Your Backyard Barbecue

You might be planning a home remodeling project and it... Read More

Barbequing, a Fun and Convenient Way to Make Dinner

"There's nothing more enjoyable than having friends and family gathered... Read More

Whats a Pan Dowdy?

Cobblers and dowdies, crisps and crumbles, buckles and betties-what are... Read More

Peppercorns & Ways To Use Them

New and exciting varieties of peppercorns are becoming available to... Read More

Troubleshooting Machine Bread

Bread machines-wonderful inventions that they are-don't think very well. You... Read More

6 Steps to Grill the Perfect Steak

There's nothing better than a nicely grilled juicy steak.But how... Read More

How to Choose the Right Smoke for the Right BBQ Dish

BBQ smoke is one of the easiest ways to add... Read More

Cut The Take Out

A long hard day at work. You get home and... Read More