Food Safety For Desktop Diner

When you're at work, eating a meal can be just another task to juggle during a busy day of e-mails, phone calls, meetings and deadlines. And as more employees multi-task their way through breakfast, lunch and dinner, "desktop dining" has quickly become a mainstay of corporate culture.

Give bacteria the pink slip by following workplace food safety tips from the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods Foundation:

• Wash hands before and after digging into your desktop dish. If you can't get to a restroom to wash hands with soap and water, keep moist towelettes or an anti-bacterial hand cleaner at your desk.
• From the time you make your lunch at home -- assuming it contains perishable food items, as many brown bags do -- don't let more than two hours pass before you put it in the refrigerator. Also, don't let lunchtime leftovers remain unrefrigerated for more than two hours.
• Keep perishable foods properly refrigerated below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Not sure what the temperature in the office fridge is? Do yourself and your co-workers a favor by bringing in a refrigerator thermometer from home to keep track.
• If you bring leftovers for lunch, re-heat them to the proper temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Don't forget that the same food safety tips apply to carry-out and fast food, which also can be susceptible to bacteria if not handled properly.

For more desktop dining tips, visit www.homefoodsafety.org.