Thank you for taking the Food Safety Challenge!

Scroll down the page to view each food safety question, followed by the correct answer.

If you are viewing this page because you have seen our display at one of the Central Arkansas public libraries, you can also pick up one of our food safety brochures. Ask for it at the front desk of the library.

Click here to download the Let's Get Cooking! brochure to your computer.

Vegetarians don’t have to worry about food poisoning.

Answer: False. Any kind of food, even fruit and vegetables, can become contaminated with bacteria that can make you sick.

Some bacteria can survive freezing temperatures.

Answer: True. Freezing bacteria does not kill them, it just slows the growth process.

Plastic or glass cutting boards don’t hold harmful bacteria on their surfaces like wooden cutting boards do.

Answer: False. Any kind of cutting board can harbour bacteria. Always wash used cutting boards with hot and soapy water, and do not use a cutting board you used to cut up raw meat to dice salad ingredients!

If you eat locally grown, organic food, you are less likely to have food poisoning.

Answer: False. Any food, regardless of the source, can become contaminated with a foodborne bacteria before you eat it.

Food that is contaminated with germs or toxins will usually look bad, smell bad, or taste bad.

Answer: False. You cannot see, smell, or taste the bacteria that might be in food that will make you sick if you eat it.

You don’t have to wash your hands before you eat if you use hand-sanitizing gel.

Answer: False. While it is true that hand-sanitizing gel is able to kill most of the germs on your hands, they do little to break the surface tension between bacteria and your skin. Some bacteria and germs will still be present. Nothing can substitute for cleaning your hands with soap and water.

It is necessary to wash fruit or vegetables if you are going to peel them.

Answer: True. There is always a chance that any fruit or vegetable has harmful bacteria growing on the peel. Washing the food before peeling them will lessen the chance of bacteria being spread to every piece of the food as you peel it.

You should store leftovers as quickly as possible and not allow them to cool to room temperature before placing them into the refrigerator.

Answer: True. Today's refrigerators can handle the heat, so it is best to store leftovers in the refrigerator as quickly as possible to stop the growth of any foodborne bacteria.

It is best to store leftovers in shallow containers (less than 2 inches tall) than in tall containers.

Answer: True. It takes a tall container of warm food longer to cool down than a shallow container. It is important to thoroughly chill the food as quickly as possible.

It is safe to eat food that has been stored in a lunch box all day.

Answer: False. Food inside a lunch box, even one with an ice block, should be thrown away when you return home.

If your food is cold when you put it inside a lunchbox, you do not need to put a frozen ice brick inside with the food.

Answer: False.

After they come in contact with uncooked meat, is important to wash countertop surfaces with soap and warm water or an
anti-bacterial cleaning spray, and not use that cleaning cloth to clean anything else.

Answer: True. Proper cleaning of countertops will help keep harmful bacteria from being spread to other food that you will prepare later. Each time you clean the countertop, and wash the cloth in the laundry before using it to clean anything else.

Never thaw frozen meat or poultry at room temperature.

Answer: True. Bacteria multiply rapidly in meat and poultry that is left out on the kitchen counter to thaw. Instead, thaw food in the refrigerator overnight.