The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reminding Illinoisans to pay attention to the safe handling and preparation of food. September is National Food Safety Education Month (sometimes also referred to as Food Safety Awareness Month). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that annually, 48 million people in the U.S. – roughly one in six Americans — contract some form of foodborne illness, resulting in symptoms that can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, fever, and chills. Of those cases, 128,000 lead to hospitalization, and an estimated 3,000 deaths annually are attributed to foodborne illness.

Clean: Wash your hands and surfaces frequently.

• Germs that cause food poisoning can survive in many places and spread easily. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water or cold water before, during, and after preparing and before eating.

• Make sure everything touching food is clean, including hands, surfaces, cutting boards, utensils, and coolers.

• Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water.

Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate.

• Raw meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood and eggs can spread germs to ready-to-eat food unless you keep them separate.

• Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood and eggs separate from ready-to-eat foods while shopping and when storing them in a refrigerator or cooler.

• Use separate cutting boards and plates for fruits and vegetables and for raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs.

You can learn more about food safety education at Food Safety (illinois.gov). IDPH also offers food safety information and coloring pages for kids in a downloadable format at ABCS of FOOD SAFETY (illinois.gov).