Food Safety and Dining Out

"Going out to eat? When choosing a restaurant, look for one that keeps food safety on the menu. Read on for more tips to stay healthy while dining out.

Food Safety Tips for Eating at Restaurants

• Check inspection scores. Check a restaurant’s score at your health department’s website, ask the health department for a copy of the report, or look for it when you get to the restaurant.
• Look for certificates that show kitchen managers have completed food safety training. Proper food safety training can help improve practices that reduce the chance of spreading foodborne germs and illnesses.
• Look for safe food-handling practices.  Sick food workers[272 KB] can spread their illness to customers. Most kitchens are out of the customer’s sight, but if you can see food being prepared, check to make sure workers are using gloves or utensils to handle foods that will not be cooked further, such as deli meats and salad greens.
• Order food that’s properly cooked. Certain foods, including meat, poultry, and fish, need to be cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful germs that may be present. If you’re served undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs, send them back to be cooked until they are safe to eat.
• Watch out for food served lukewarm. Cold food should be served cold, and hot food should be served hot. If you’re selecting food from a buffet or salad bar, make sure that the hot food is steaming, and the cold food is chilled. Germs that cause food poisoning grow quickly when food is in the danger zone, between 40˚F and 140F˚.
• Ask your server if raw or lightly cooked eggs are used in foods such as Caesar salad dressing, custards, or hollandaise sauce. Raw or undercooked eggs can make you sick unless they’re pasteurized to kill germs.
• Take care of your leftovers quickly. Get them to the fridge within two hours, or just one hour if it’s a hot day.  Eat them within three to four days. Throw them out after that time..."
  Food safety