Excerpts from an Ontario Ministry of Health 1993 pamphlet

On a shopping trip, buy food last - and your cold and frozen food last of all. Take food straight home to the refrigerator. Never leave food in a hot car!

Don't buy food in poor condition. Make sure refrigerated food is cold to the touch. Frozen food should be rock-solid. Canned goods should be free of dents, cracks or bulging lids, which can indicate a serious food poisoning threat.

Don't buy anything you won't use before the "best before" date.

Freeze fresh meat, poultry or fish immediately if you can't use it within a few days.

Put packages of raw meat, poultry or fish on plates before refrigerating so their juices won't drip on other food. Raw juices often contain bacteria.

Always wash your hands in warm soapy water before preparing food.

Bacteria can live in kitchen towels, sponges and cloths. Wash these often. Keep raw meat, poultry and fish - and their juices - away from other food.

Wash your hands, cutting board and knife in hot soapy water after cutting up chicken and raw meat, and before using the utensils for other food.

Thaw food in the refrigerator, microwave or oven, not on the kitchen counter. At room temperature, bacteria can grow in the outer layers of food before the inside thaws. Marinate in the refrigerator too. When thawing food in microwave ovens, be sure to use microwavable containers.

It takes thorough cooking to kill harmful bacteria. You're taking chances when you eat meat, poultry or fish that are raw or only partly cooked. Hamburger that is red in the middle, and rare and medium-rare steak and roast beef are undercooked from the safety standpoint.

Red meat is done when it's brown or grey inside. Poultry is cooked when its juices run clear. Fish flakes with a fork.

When you cook ahead, divide large portions of food into small, shallow containers for refrigeration. This ensures safe, rapid cooling.

Safe microwaving.

A great time-saver, the microwave has one food safety disadvantage. It sometimes leaves cold spots in food. Bacteria may survive in these spots. So ...

Cover food with a lid or plastic wrap that is approved for microwaving. The steam can aid thorough cooking. Leave a small section uncovered so steam can escape, and don't let the wrap touch the food.

Stir and rotate food for even cooking. No turntable? - Rotate the dish by hand once or twice during cooking.

Observe the standing time called for in a recipe or package directions. Food finishes cooking during the standing time.

Use a meat thermometer to check that food is done. Insert it at several spots.

Use clean dishes and utensils to serve food, not those you used when preparing the raw food.

Never leave perishable food out of the refrigerator for more than two hours. Bacteria that can cause food poisoning grow quickly at warm temperatures.

Pack lunches in insulated carriers with a cold pack. Warn children never to leave lunches in direct sun or on a warm radiator.

Carry picnic food in a cooler with a cold pack. When possible, put the cooler in the shade. Keep the lid on as much as you can.

Party time? Keep cold party food on ice or serve it on platters from the refrigerator

Divide hot party food into smaller serving platters. Keep platters refrigerated until it's time to warm them up for serving.

Divide large amounts of leftovers into small, shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator. Don't pack the refrigerator - cool air must circulate to keep food safe.

With stuffed poultry or meats, remove stuffing and refrigerate it in separate containers.

Microwave leftovers with an approved lid or plastic wrap for thorough heating.

Never taste food that looks or smells strange to see if you can still use it. Throw it out.

Is it mouldy? The mould you see is only the tip of the iceberg. Its poisons are found under the surface of the food. You can sometimes save hard cheese and salamis and firm fruits and vegetables by cutting the mould out - remove a large area around it. But most mouldy food should be discarded.

Is it food poisoning?

If you or a family member develops nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever or cramps, you could have food poisoning. It's not always easy to tell - symptoms can appear anywhere from 30 minutes to two weeks later

Most often, though, people get sick within four to 48 hours after eating bad food. In more serious cases, food poisoning victims may have nervous system problems like paralysis, double vision or trouble swallowing or breathing. If symptoms are severe or the victim is very young, old, pregnant or already ill, call your doctor or go to the hospital right away.

For more information on food handling, call your local health department listed in the blue pages of your telephone directory.

Household chemicals like cleaning compounds should be stored separately and away from food. Household pesticides should not be stored in the kitchen or in other areas where food is stored.

Caution: All household chemical containers should be properly labelled and identified.

Without power, a full upright or chest freezer will keep everything frozen for about 2 days. A half-full freezer will keep food frozen 1 day.

If power will be coming back on fairly soon, you can make the food last longer by keeping the door shut as much as possible. Ice can keep the freezer cold. If power will be off for a longer time period, take food to friends' freezers. If in doubt, throw it out.

Your refrigerator-freezer combination.

Without power, the refrigerator section will keep food cool 4-6 hours, depending on the kitchen temperature. Ice can keep food on the refrigerator shelves cooler

Thawed food? Food still containing ice crystals or that feels refrigerator-cold can be refrozen. Discard any thawed food that has risen to room temperature and remained there 2 hours or more. Discard anything with a strange colour or odor immediately.