To prevent cross-contamination, which safety practice is recommended when handling raw meat and ready-to-eat foods?

• A. Keep them separate
• B. Store together
• C. Marinate together
• D. Cook together

Answer: (A)

Keeping raw meat separate from ready-to-eat foods is essential because raw meat can carry bacteria like Salmonella or E. coli that can spread to foods you don’t cook before eating. This transfer can happen through shared cutting boards, knives, countertops, or even your hands. By using separate cutting boards and utensils for raw meat and for ready-to-eat foods, storing raw meat away from other items in the fridge (ideally on a lower shelf in a sealed container to prevent drips), and cleaning and sanitizing surfaces between tasks, you greatly reduce the risk of contaminating foods that won’t be cooked. Cooking all foods to safe temperatures helps kill pathogens, but if contamination already occurred on surfaces or tools, it can still cause illness, so prevention through separation is the strongest safeguard.