It would be fair to say I am slightly obsessive about raw meat safety. In the process of making meatballs I probably wash my hands no less than 5 times. I cringe when I see a chef on TV just wipe their hands on a dishtowel after working with raw meat or, even worse, when I'm at someone's house and they do that. Soap and water are our friends!
When I shop it makes me crazy when raw meat or poultry gets bagged together with my
Anyway, on to the three things that work for me:
First, since I am often distracted when they are bagging my purchases and may not catch them in time, I try to put the raw meat and poultry on the counter last, so that there is at least a chance they will bag them separately.
I have a different method when I shop Aldi because there you bag your own groceries and use your own bags (unless you want to buy bags, which I do not). I have a few different types and colors of bags. I only have one white bag though so I always use that bag for raw meat. Since I'm bagging my own groceries I can make sure to separate raw meat from cookies, fresh veggies, yogurt, etc. If all of your bags are the same you could tie a ribbon around one to designate it as your raw meat bag.
Third, when I don't use reusable bags, I always save and reuse the plastic bags, except the ones that had eggs and raw meat in them, those get thrown away just in case I end up re-using the bag for something other than trash in the future.
Protecting myself and my family from salmonella and e-coli works for me!
For more great tips check out: We Are That Family.
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7 comments:
Bummer about your baggers not being very helpful. I guess you don't live near a Dierberg's? They are always so nice and helpful.
Great idea about keeping the bags separate. I use cloth bags at Target, but I won't let them put my milk in them. I use plastic for those types of things.
Resident germaphobe here. Can you see me waving at you from NE Ohio?
I put my frozen/cold things on the belt last and all together. I also (though I hate it) use bags for my meat and my produce. That way, all the icky uckies on the cart don't transfer over to my not-covered produce. Eee-ghad!
I'm thankful that our baggers bag the groceries and offer to help you out EVERY TIME you are at the store. We go to a locally owned grocer, so it might depend upon where you go. If you shop big box or big discounter, that may be where the lack of help has gone. Prices drop and service often does, as well. (An observation, sorry!)
I have noticed that I do separate the cleaners from the food and sometimes the green packers haven't quite gotten into that rhythm yet. They get a little miffy if you mention to keep the cleaners separate, but sometimes I find them mingled in with the bread and such.
I love my reusable bags and do wash them from time to time. I have so many of them that Hubs insists that I'm trying to collect the whole set! :)
I know it's not very green, but I still put the meat in a plastic bag as I pick it up from the meat isle & the store I go to has disinfecting wipes available to wash your hands after you handle the meat.
I've decided I prefer the self check line....it is a bit of a hassle if I have all the little kids with me, but things get processed in the right order & I know what is being put with what. If I use plastic bags for all my groceries I throw away the ones that had meat or eggs too....I often reuse those plastic bags for packing Hubby's lunch.
Wow I am so proud of you!!! You are # 63 I think! LOVE IT! You are full of great advice!
Good ideas. I am OCD about that too! I also rewash/re-use plastic bags, but the rule around here is that the washed ones only get used for raw meat. Everything else gets a new one, though we try to use Tupperware more often.
Thanks for checking out my Works-For-Me-Wednesday, and kuddos to you for planning to put your kids in the same room. There are some rough nights at first, but it's SOOO worth it in the end. And, by the way, my husband custom built those shelves for less than $150!!
I always try to put the meat and frozen foods last when checking out because I want to put them in the cooler I keep in the trunk of the car. Even though I do that, sometimes I still find my meat packed in with other items!
I do try to group "like" items together when unloading my cart, but I have to admit I'm probably one of those people who would make you squirm a bit. I guess I just don't THINK about the germs that much? I do make sure to wash my hands with soap after handling raw meat though!
Great idea for keeping things separate in the bags. Love the idea of using different colors.
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