September has been designated as Food Safety Education Month so this week we’ll look at food safety.

Each year in the United States:

• 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur.
• more than 325,000 people are hospitalized for foodborne illness.
• 5,000 people will die from foodborne illness.

 In the news recently you’ve heard about Salmonella and other foodborne bacterium that have been found in our food supply in items like tomatoes. These are typically rare cases. Food handling safety risks at home are more common than most people think. You are much more likely to become sick from improper food handling procedures at home than you are at a restaurant or from the grower or the supply chain. Improper storage or handling can cause bacteria to grow.

The four easy lessons of Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill can help prevent harmful bacteria from making your family sick. This week we’ll look at each of these.