The Most Common Food Safety Mistakes Home Cooks Make, According To Experts

lisegagne via Getty Images Don't even think about washing raw chicken in your kitchen sink. “While restaurants have a bigger impact because they serve a larger group of people, obviously you don’t want to prepare food at home and make a family member or get sick.” According to Joshua Resnick, lead chef at the Institute of Culinary Education who is fully certified in food protection by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, “Pathogens don’t care where they are; they will grow the same way at a home kitchen as they do in a professional kitchen. According to Mitzi Baum, CEO of STOP Foodborne Illness, a national public health nonprofit advocating for safe food and food safety culture change nationally, “The first step and first line of defense to food safety is washing your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water when cooking; this will reduce the incidence of cross-contamination to utensils, towels, countertops and foods.” Washing your hands is an easy and simple prevention method to reduce pathogens. “If these foods are held at a warm temperature for too long, the harmful bacteria will grow quickly.” If you’ve had a partially thawed piece of meat, you may think it is still safe. “Even if the middle isn’t thawed, the meat on the outside is exposed to this temperature for an extended period and can make your food unsafe to eat,” Resnick said.