Consumers have an important role to play in preventing food borne illnesses. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that improper food handling, either in the home or at restaurants, frequently contributes to reported food borne illness cases. Not only do beef producers help fund consumer safe food handling education programs, but they also invest in research and technology to reduce the risk of food contamination before beef reaches consumers.
Cooking for Groups
A Volunteer's Guide to Food Safety from the USDA
Looking for food safety information for food service?
Log on to http://www.beeffoodservice.org/Safety/Default.aspx
United States Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline
A toll-free telephone service that helps consumers prevent food borne illness, specifically by answering their questions about safe storage, handling, and preparation of meat and poultry products. The Hotline may be reached by calling:
1-800-535-4555 (voice)
(202) 720-3333 (Washington, DC, area), or
1-800-256-7072 (TDD/TTY)
Callers may speak with a food safety specialist from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, weekdays. Recorded messages are available at all times. Questions may be e-mailed to the Hotline by visiting their website.
FoodSafety.gov
A gateway to government food safety. Search the site for information on news and safety alerts, food borne pathogens, information for kids, teens and educators, and much more.
Focus on: BEEF…from Farm to Table
This website from U.S.D.A. offers information on everything from the raising of cattle, to beef grading, to statistics on beef consumption.
The Food Marketing Institute
Offers information on a variety of food safety issues on their website. Nutri-Facts provides nutritional statistics on a variety of foods while The Food Keeper offers tips on how to safely store foods.
