What are the four basic habits?
Food safety agencies describe four steps: clean, separate, cook and chill. Clean hands, surfaces and produce. Separate raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood from ready-to-eat foods. Cook to the safe internal temperature and check with a thermometer. Chill leftovers and perishables promptly.
These apply to everything you grow, raise and preserve, as well as to what you buy. Habits work better than rules you must remember. Put a hand-washing station near the door where chores end and the kitchen begins, keep a thermometer on a hook near the stove, and keep a notepad on the refrigerator for dates. Making the safe choice the easy choice is the best way to keep a busy household safe.
How do you keep hands and surfaces clean?
Wash hands with soap and water before handling food, after handling raw meat or eggs, after the barn or garden, and after using the bathroom or touching pets. Wash boards, knives and counters with hot soapy water after raw food, and sanitize as your health department advises.
Barn and garden clothing and boots do not belong in the kitchen. Change or wash up first. Keep soap, paper towels and a clean towel at the sink nearest the door, and replace cloths often. Teach everyone in the house, including guests, where to wash up first.
- Wash hands often and well
- Keep barn boots and chore clothes out of the kitchen
- Wash boards and tools after raw meat
- Use clean cloths and replace them often
How do you handle eggs and poultry?
Eggs from backyard flocks can carry bacteria on the shell and inside. Collect often, discard cracked eggs, and keep eggs cold. Wash hands after handling poultry, eggs and chicks, and keep birds out of the house. Public health agencies warn that live poultry can carry germs that make people sick, so teach children to wash hands after handling birds.
Cook eggs and poultry thoroughly, and ask your extension office or vet about flock health. Children enjoy helping with the flock, and they should learn to wash hands properly afterward, every time. Keep chick and poultry handling away from places where food is prepared or eaten, and do not let young children kiss or snuggle birds.
What about meat, dairy and produce?
Keep raw meat cold, thaw in the refrigerator and cook to the target given by the USDA for each kind of meat. Raw milk and raw milk products carry risk, particularly for young children, pregnant people, older adults and anyone with a weakened immune system. Rules for selling raw dairy vary by state.
Wash produce under running water before eating or cutting, and be careful with produce grown near animal manure. Ask your extension office about safe composting and garden practices. If you have questions about a particular food, such as home-raised meat or backyard eggs, your extension office can often point you to a current fact sheet and may offer local classes on safe handling.
How do you chill and store food?
Keep your refrigerator cold enough, as your extension office advises, and check it with an appliance thermometer. Do not leave perishable food out for long. Divide large amounts of hot food into shallow containers to cool quickly.
Label leftovers with the date and use or discard them promptly. After a power outage, check current guidance from the USDA or your extension office before deciding what to keep. Test your habits now and then. Check the temperature of your refrigerator, look at what is stored in the back and see whether any leftovers have been forgotten. A short monthly check keeps small lapses from becoming illness.
What about home preserving?
Canning, fermenting, drying, curing and smoking have their own risks, including botulism. Use only current tested recipes from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning or your extension office. Do not use old family recipes or untested ones.
If a jar looks wrong, smells off or has a bulging lid, do not taste it. Dispose of it safely.
Who is most at risk, and when should you call a doctor?
Young children, pregnant people, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to become seriously ill from foodborne illness. Serve them with extra care. If someone has severe or lasting symptoms after eating, such as high fever, bloody stool, signs of dehydration or trouble seeing or swallowing, contact a doctor or emergency services. Your local health department can advise on reporting suspected foodborne illness.
Key takeaways
- Clean, separate, cook and chill apply to home-grown food as much as store food.
- Wash hands after chores, poultry and eggs, and keep barn clothes out of the kitchen.
- Use tested recipes for any home preserving.
- Seek medical care for serious symptoms and tell your health department.
Sources and further reading
Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Homestead & Small Farm Editorial Team. See our editorial policy.