Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill: Food Safety for Families

FoodSafety.gov organizes home food safety into four steps: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill. They are easy for children to remember, and each one has jobs kids can help with as they grow. This guide explains each step, lists the official cooking temperatures, and suggests what children ages 6 to 12 can do.

Safety: Children learn food safety best by doing it alongside an adult. An adult handles raw meat, poultry and seafood (children 9–12 may help only with an adult right beside them; see Kitchen Jobs by Age), all heat, and all knife work unless an older child is directly supervised. Children who crack eggs wash hands right after. Before children help prepare or taste food, check for food allergies, including for visiting children, and follow each child’s allergy plan.

1. Clean

Germs can spread to hands, cutting boards, counters and food. FoodSafety.gov’s Clean step includes:

• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before, during and after preparing food. (See our step-by-step handwashing activity.)
• Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counters with hot, soapy water.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables under running water. Don’t use soap or produce wash. Scrub firm produce, like potatoes or melons, with a clean brush.
• Produce labeled pre-washed doesn’t need washing again.

Don’t wash raw meat, poultry, eggs or seafood. It can feel like the careful thing to do, but FoodSafety.gov advises against it. Cooking to the right internal temperature is what makes these foods safe.

2. Separate

Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs away from foods that won’t be cooked, like salad, fruit or bread.

• Use one cutting board and plate for raw meat, poultry and seafood, and a different one for ready-to-eat foods.
• Wash anything that touched raw meat, eggs or flour before using it again.
• Keep eggs in their carton in the main part of the fridge.

Raw flour belongs in this step too. The CDC warns that raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs, so no one should taste raw dough or batter. That includes homemade play dough made with raw flour.

3. Cook

You can’t tell if food is cooked safely by looking at its color. Use a food thermometer in the thickest part of the food. These safe minimum internal temperatures come from FoodSafety.gov’s chart:

FoodSafety.gov also says to keep hot food at 140°F or above, and when microwaving, to heat to 165°F and follow the stand times on the package.

4. Chill

Cold slows the growth of germs. FoodSafety.gov advises:

• Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F or below. A fridge thermometer helps you check.
• Refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if it has been somewhere above 90°F, like a hot car or picnic.
• The “danger zone,” where germs grow fastest, is 40°F to 140°F.
• Thaw food in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
• Freezing doesn’t kill germs, so thawed food still needs the same care.

For more on fridge storage and packed lunches, see Storing Leftovers and Lunchbox Safety.

What kids can do at each step

Every child is different. Use these as starting points, and add jobs as your child shows careful habits. The age bands loosely follow the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ “Teaching Kids to Cook” guidance.

Ages 6–8

• Clean: Wash hands on their own and remind others. Rinse produce in a colander. Wipe the table before a meal.
• Separate: Sort groceries into “goes in the fridge,” “goes in the freezer” and “goes in the cupboard.” Set out the ready-to-eat plate and cutting board.
• Cook: Watch an adult use a food thermometer and read the number aloud. Match the number to the chart.
• Chill: Help put cold groceries away first. Help put leftovers in the fridge right after the meal. Remember, the 2 hours start when food is cooked or comes out of the fridge, not when the meal ends.

Ages 9–12

• Clean: Wash dishes and boards in hot, soapy water. Scrub firm produce with a brush.
• Separate: Choose the right board for each job and explain why. Wash hands after cracking eggs.
• Cook: With an adult right there, check the temperature of cooked food with a thermometer. Learn the key numbers in the chart above.
• Chill: Check the fridge thermometer and record it. Pack leftovers into containers and label them with the date.

Make it a family game

• Call out a kitchen moment (“Raw chicken just touched this plate!”) and have children name the step that helps.
• Put the Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill checklist on the fridge and let children tick off a step each time they help.
• Older kids can quiz adults on the temperature chart.

Talk about it

• Why don’t we wash raw chicken before cooking it?
• Which foods need their own cutting board?
• How can we tell if food is cooked safely if we can’t tell by color?
• What should we do with food that has been sitting out since lunch?

The FDA lists children under 5, older adults, pregnant people, and people with weakened immune systems as being at higher risk of foodborne illness. If anyone in your household is in one of these groups, ask a doctor about extra food safety steps.