Is it safe?

Common violations found in restaurant inspections

* Lack of proper hand washing by employees

* Meat, poultry and dairy products not kept at low temperature

* Cooked foods not kept at a high temperature

* Employees without proper food-handling permits

* No one on the premise with a food manager's certificate

* Water for dishwashing is not hot enough

* Sanitizer bucket (for dish cloths) with incorrect ammonia to water ratio

* Lack of hot water, soap or paper towels in the restroom

What you can do at home

Preparation:

* Always wash hands before and after handling food.

* Don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food. After cutting raw meats, wash hands, cutting board, knife, and counter tops with hot, soapy water.

* Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator.

* Sanitize cutting boards by using a solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach in 1 quart of water.

Thawing:

* Refrigerator: The refrigerator allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing meat and poultry juices do not drip onto other food.

* Cold water: For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag. Submerge in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook immediately after thawing.

Leftovers:

* Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than two hours (1 hour if the temperature was above 90 degrees F).

* Use cooked leftovers within four days.