Spring is here! Use USDA’s new food preparedness graphic to clean out your fridge

Spring cleaning is about more than just cleaning out your closets. It’s also a good time to clean out your refrigerator, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Get Ready team spoke with USDA public affairs specialist Kristina Beaugh, MPH, on how you can make sure the food in your fridge is safe. Beaugh is part of USDA’s food safety education staff.

USDA has a new refrigerator food safety infographic. What does it say about the importance of an organized refrigerator?
With the start of spring, many people will be looking to clean and organize the house from top to bottom. It’s important to remember your refrigerator during your spring cleaning regimen. Keeping your refrigerator clean and organized helps to reduce your risk of foodborne illness and can also minimize the amount of food that spoils. USDA’s “Your Fridge + Food Safety” infographic is a great tool to keep handy while you’re cleaning. It goes over everything from temperature and storage to how to keep your fridge clean and fresh.

Step-by-step, take us through the process of turning an unsafe, messy fridge to an organized, safe, risk-free one.
The first step is to make sure your refrigerator is set to the right temperature. Refrigeration slows bacterial growth on your food, so it’s important to keep your fridge and freezer at a temperature that will keep your food safe and help it to stay fresher longer. Your refrigerator should be set to 40° F or below, and your freezer should be set to 0° F or below. You can measure your fridge’s internal temperature with an appliance thermometer.

Next, it’s time to store the food. Did you know that where you store certain foods could have an effect on their safety and freshness? It’s true! Here are some helpful guidelines:

• Raw meat and poultry should be stored in a sealed container or securely wrapped on a plate to prevent juices from contaminating other foods.
• Sealed crisper drawers provide an ideal storage environment for fruits and vegetables. Some refrigerators may allow you to customize each drawer’s humidity level. If so, vegetables require higher humidity, while fruits require lower humidity.
• Never store perishable foods in the door. The temperature of doors changes frequently. Instead, use the doors to store things like juice, water and condiments.
• Perishable foods like eggs, dairy and raw meat and poultry should be stored on shelves in the main compartment where the temperature is more stable.
• Food stored in the freezer is safe indefinitely. Although quality may suffer with lengthy storage, frozen food is safe forever.

If you’re ever left wondering how long different foods last in the fridge and freezer, don’t worry — you’re not alone. A general rule of thumb for refrigerator storage is three to four days for cooked foods, one to two days for poultry and ground meat and up to five days for whole cuts of meat. For storage information on more than 400 foods and beverages, download the FoodKeeper app. It’s free and it’s available for Apple and Android products.

And finally, keeping your refrigerator clean isn’t necessarily the last step, but rather a step you should remember all year long. Wipe up spills immediately, and clean surfaces thoroughly with hot, soapy water. Sanitize your refrigerator with a diluted bleach solution — one tablespoon unscented bleach to one gallon of water. To keep your refrigerator smelling fresh and to help eliminate odors, place an opened box of baking soda on a shelf.

Where can readers find out more?
If you have additional questions about food safety or organizing your fridge, you can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854. Or chat live with a food safety specialist at AskKaren.gov from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday, in English or Spanish.

USDA’s “Your Fridge + Food Safety” infographic

Infographic: 5 ways to prevent the flu

Do you know how to prevent the flu? Check out these 5 easy tips.



Text:

1. Get vaccinated

Getting vaccinated is the most important way you can protect yourself from the flu. When you get vaccinated, you’re much less likely to get sick.

2. Wash your hands often

Hand-washing is a great way to get rid of germs. Washing your hands with soap and water before and after eating, after coughing or sneezing and after using the bathroom can make a big difference when preventing flu. 

3. Stay away from people who are sick

Keeping your distance from others who have the flu can reduce your chance of getting sick. Flu viruses can spread through air and via surfaces, so stay away from people who are sick.

4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands

Touching surfaces that are contaminated with germs and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth can allow for the flu virus to enter your body.

5. Practice good hygiene

Clean surfaces and objects in your home, at work, at school and elsewhere to reduce the chances of spreading the flu.

Census Bureau graphic shows Americans have room for improvement on preparedness

If disaster strikes tomorrow, where would you get your water? Nearly half of all Americans would be in trouble if their water supply was cut off in an emergency.

That’s a finding from the 2013 American Housing Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The survey results, released in March, found only 54 percent of Americans have a three-day supply of water in their home.

To raise awareness, the Census Bureau released a new infographic this month showing just how ready — or not — Americans are for emergencies.

Among the survey’s findings: Only about half of Americans have an emergency evacuation kit prepared, and just 37 percent have an emergency plan for dealing with disaster. No one likes to think it could happen to us. But the truth is that floods, tornadoes, diseases and more can affect all of our lives.

But the Census Bureau graphic shows that it’s not all bad news. When it comes to having food around, we’re doing really well. And a lot of our houses are clearly numbered. That makes it easier for emergency responders to find us when we need help.

It might look like a lot to think about, but it’s much easier to get ready now than during a disaster. With that in mind, here’s a checklist to help build your emergency stockpile!

Announcing the winners of APHA’s 2014 Get Ready Scholarship

Three students at the high school, undergraduate and graduate level have been chosen to receive scholarships in APHA’s sixth Get Ready Scholarship competition.

The annual scholarship, which is offered in conjunction with APHA’s Get Ready campaign, encourages high school and college students to focus on the importance of emergency preparedness.

Students were challenged to write a post for the Get Ready Blog explaining how preparation can prevent negative outcomes of severe weather issues in their communities, develop a campaign to address the lack of preparedness for severe weather or other public health emergencies or create an infographic on the impacts of antibiotic resistance to human health.

Out of hundreds of entries, three students were chosen as winners:

• High school level — Tiffany Chen: Ridge High School, Basking Ridge, New Jersey
• Undergraduate level — Angel Vincent: Kent State University, New Franklin, Ohio
• Graduate level — Nicholas Thompson: Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia

Each student will receive a $400 scholarship and a one-year APHA student membership. Read excerpts from the 2014 winning essays and see the winning infographic on the Get Ready website.

Congratulations to our winners, and thanks to every student who submitted an entry!