1. One of the simplest measures that any person can take to prevent the spread of food borne illness is to properly wash his or her hands before preparing or eating any meal. 2. All the cases of food borne illnesses could be prevented by better hand-washing by food handlers. 3. Hand sanitizer is a helpful follow-up to hand-washing and it should be used to replace this valuable technique. 4. In cases of suspected food spoilage, food should never simply be tasted, smelled, or eye-balled in order to determine its safety. 5. However, some foods may look and smell fine, but if they have been stored at room temperature for over 20 hours, microscopic bacteria may have been allowed to grow. 6. It is safe to let meats thaw on the counter all day. 7. It is also important to make sure that raw meats are cooked to the appropriate internal temperature before they are consumed. 8. It is sufficient to judge the doneness of meat by its internal color. 9. Cross contamination occurs when a person handling raw meats, eggs, fish, or other foods containing harmful pathogens touches cooking utensils, cutting boards, or cooking surfaces and spreads the pathogens to ready-to-eat foods in the process. 10. Leftovers are ideally stored in the refrigerator in shallow containers (2 inches tall or less) so that the cooling process can be accelerated and the buildup of harmful bacteria can be prevented.