Cantaloupe Crisis Coverage

Greetings on this fine Black Friday, or the more aptly named National Turkey Sandwich With Everything Day. The Cantaloupe Crisis Coverage team has had all week off for fall break, but the foodborne illness obsession has not paused for a second (at least not for me). Although my Thanksgiving plate was decidedly free of cantaloupe yesterday, I took great care to apply the things I have learned about contamination to our meal--and it was trickier than expected. Over the past few weeks I have been learning the best ways to ward off bacteria, including:

• Never leave food out on the counter while cooking. Always keep meat, eggs and dairy refrigerated as soon as possible after leaving the grocery store and don't take them out until you use them.
• Keep raw meat far from anything that won't be cooked to the same temperature, especially fruits and salads that will be served cold.
• Use a meat thermometer to make sure everything reaches the right temperature.
• Time cooking so everything is served while it's hot (or cold, depending on what you're going for).

These tips are easy, but take a little time to get used to if you're not used to much forethought. They are very important in avoiding contamination though.  Which brings me to today. I was comfortable with how well everything turned out for Thanksgiving dinner thanks t some pretty nerdy color-coded scheduling on Google calendars, but as I was making my sacred turkey leftovers sandwich today I realized that all that planning the day before was useless if I was going to eat half-cold bacteria-infested stuffing on a stale piece of bread.  I look forward to putting all of these helpful tips on a colorful infographic fit to be affixed to my fridge so that I never forget how to avoid contamination whether I'm cooking the most elaborate meal of the year or grabbing myself a slice of cantaloupe. It will be just one of many great tools on our website, so be sure to check back as we gather them all together, and hopefully we'll never have anything but happy eating. But now, knowing all of this, there is just no way I'm eating this sandwich.