13 Things You Should Know About Food Poisoning

1 It’s impossible to tell whether beef is ready by looking at it.

- Andrea Bennett

“There’s a slogan at Health Canada,” says Jeffrey Farber, a food-science professor at the University of Guelph. “Your burger’s done at 71!” (That’s degrees Celsius, to be precise). Home chefs should use a meat thermometer.

2 If you like your steak medium rare, don’t fret—you can get away with cooking it to 63 C. “The process of grinding meat can introduce bacteria from the grinding surface,” says Farber, while more intact cuts only have bacteria on the surface.

3 Keep your fridge at 4 C, says Lawrence Goodridge, the Ian and Jayne Munro chair in food safety at McGill University. “Anything above that and bacteria can potentially grow.” When food is kept between 4 C and 60 C, bacteria may double in as little as 20 minutes.

4 Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking—that even goes for pizza, rice and vegetables. Reheat those meals to 74 C, says Goodridge. Bacteria can grow while food is in the fridge, so don’t eat leftovers cold.