Updated: Food and COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their recommendations on food handling during this time of COVID-19. The recommendations are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. Highlights of the recommendations are: There continues to be no evidence that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is associated with handling food or consuming […]

Food safety precautions for July 4th

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have released food safety and health tips for celebrating this 4th of July. Planning to enjoy a picnic, barbecue, or meal under the summer sun on this holiday weekend? Remember to pack your picnic basket with food safety in mind, […]

Picnics and potlucks in the time of COVID-19

With warmer weather, many of us are heading outside and anxious to reconnect with family and friends. Even though there is no evidence that the coronavirus is transmitted through food or food packaging, being together with others does increase the chance of exposure to the disease. What are some best practices for picnics and potlucks […]

Best gardening practices during COVID-19: Info-graphics!

The Division of Extension has developed info-graphics that depict best practices for gardening in community spaces this summer. A community garden can be a great place to meet new friends and exchange gardening tips. This summer of COVID-19 there are some practices that will keep everyone safe and healthy. Feeling ill? Stay at home. Garden […]

Let the Hotline answer your questions!

As some remote work continues, it’s a good time to remember that the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is available to personally answer food safety questions during the weekday, all year round. The hotline focuses on answering questions about meat, poultry, or egg products, and tries to help callers find answers to other topics as […]

Importance of washing hands (and tools) when gardening

Fingers crossed, the weather will continue to warm and more and more people can get out into their gardens. If you garden in a community space, it will seem different this year. An earlier update shared information on community gardening this summer. In the community where I garden, we’ve installed foot-operated hand washing stations with […]

Food safety basics: a video collection

The Partnership for Food Safety Education lists four basic steps to help prevent foodborne illness: Clean, Cook, Chill and Separate. These food safety steps are important because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that foodborne microorganisms are responsible for 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths in the United States every […]

Food Safety in the Time of COVID-19: Grill like a PRO

The CDC estimates that 48 million Americans every year get sick with a foodborne illness, with cases of foodborne illness tending to spike in the summer. While grilling outside with our family can be fun, it can also lead to food poisoning. Now is certainly no time to get sick with an illness that is […]

Food Safety in the Time of COVID-19: Keeping Backyard Poultry

Recognizing that more people may be interested in keeping backyard poultry, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has updated resources to keep both poultry and humans healthy! Since 2000, backyard poultry flocks have been responsible for more than 70 Salmonella outbreaks in the United States, sickening more than 4,794 people, with 894 hospitalizations and seven deaths; […]

Food Safety in the Time of COVID-19: Handling leftovers safely

With so many meals prepared at home these days and grocery shopping a bit more complicated as we practice physical distancing, it’s important to make sure that leftovers are handled safely so that they don’t go to waste or, even worse, make us sick. Cook food safely. The first step in having safe leftovers is […]