Clean
Begin with clean hands, surfaces, tools, and containers. Do not treat a tidy-looking surface as proof that it is safe.
Food With Care · cards 15–21
Carefully prepared
never means guaranteed.
Food sharing calls for current guidance, honest labels, controlled handling, and a willingness to stop when safety cannot be established.
Separate
Keep raw items and their tools away from ready-to-eat food. Prevent leaks and cross-contact during preparation, packing, and transport.
Cook
Use current official temperature guidance and a suitable food thermometer where applicable. Appearance alone is not a reliable test.
Chill
Protect time and temperature from preparation through handoff. If control was lost or cannot be established, stop rather than guess.
Three honest practices
Label what is known. Name what is uncertain.
Allergen honesty
Use current package labels and disclose known ingredients. Do not promise “allergen-free” unless a qualified controlled process supports that claim. Cross-contact uncertainty is a reason to pause.
Packaging that protects
Use intact food-appropriate containers, separate items that can leak, and make storage or handling needs clear without collecting a recipient's health information.
Transport without guessing
Plan timing, temperature control, vehicle cleanliness, secure placement, and a prompt handoff. When the chain cannot be checked, choose a safer alternative.
Pause or stop
Care includes declining an unsafe handoff.
- Ingredients or allergen information are materially uncertain.
- Packaging is damaged, leaking, unsuitable, or cannot be closed securely.
- Required time or temperature control was lost or cannot be verified.
- A person requests a change the preparer cannot safely or confidently provide.
- Current rules, venue requirements, or qualified guidance conflict with the plan.
- Someone may need medical, poison-control, or emergency help.
Use current official sources. In an emergency, contact the appropriate local emergency service; this app does not provide emergency response.