How can food handlers prevent cross-contamination?

Preventing cross-contamination is crucial in food safety to avoid the transfer of harmful bacteria and pathogens from raw foods to cooked or ready-to-eat foods. The correct answer emphasizes the importance of keeping raw and cooked foods separate. This practice helps ensure that any contaminants present on raw foods, such as meat, poultry, or seafood, do not come into contact with cooked foods that are ready to be served.

By maintaining separation, food handlers can mitigate the risk of foodborne illnesses, which often occur when pathogenic microorganisms are transferred from one food item to another. This can be implemented through various methods, such as storing raw meats on lower shelves in refrigerators, using separate cutting boards for raw and cooked foods, and ensuring that different utensils are used for each food type.

In contrast, the other options do not effectively address cross-contamination. Using the same utensils for all types of food would increase the risk of transferring bacteria. Washing hands only after handling raw meat does not account for the need to wash hands before and after handling different types of food. Rinsing vegetables briefly under water also does not adequately prevent cross-contamination, as this may not remove all contaminants and does not isolate raw foods from cooked foods.