10 Smart Shopping Tips To Protect Your Family From Getting Sick

Prevention of food poisoning starts with your trip to thesupermarket. Here's how to start off safely.

1. Pick up your packaged and canned foods first. Buy cansand jars that look perfect. Don't buy canned goods that aredented, cracked or bulging. These are the warning signs thatdangerous bacteria may be growing in the can.

2. Look for any expiration dates on the labels and never buyoutdated 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 stayfresh longest in your refrigerator.

3. Check eggs, too. Choose eggs that are refrigerated in thestore. Before putting them in your cart, open the carton andmake sure that the eggs are clean and none are cracked orbroken.

4. Raw meat, poultry, and seafood sometimes drip. The juicesthat drip may have germs. Keep these juices away from otherfoods. Put raw meat, poultry, and seafood into plastic bagsbefore they go into the cart. Separate raw meat, poultry,and seafood from other foods in your grocery shopping cartand in your refrigerator.

5. Don't buy frozen seafood if the packages are open, tornor crushed on the edges. Avoid packages that are above thefrost line in the store's freezer. If the package cover istransparent, look for signs of frost or ice crystals. Thiscould mean that the fish has either been stored for a longtime or thawed and re-frozen.

6. Check for cleanliness at the meat or fish counter and thesalad bar. For instance, cooked shrimp lying on the same bedof ice as raw fish could become contaminated.

7. When shopping for shellfish, buy from markets that gettheir supplies from state-approved sources; stay clear ofvendors who sell shellfish from roadside stands or the backof a truck. And if you're planning to harvest your ownshellfish, 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 separateplastic bags so that drippings don't contaminate other foodsin your shopping cart.

9. Drive immediately home from the grocery store. This willgive cold or frozen food less time to warm up before you gethome. If the destination is farther away than 30 minutes,bring a cooler with ice or commercial freezing gels fromhome and place perishables in it.

10. Save hot chicken and other hot foods for last, too. Thiswill 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.