{"id":10515,"date":"2014-06-26T16:37:59","date_gmt":"2014-06-26T20:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=10515"},"modified":"2014-06-26T16:39:39","modified_gmt":"2014-06-26T20:39:39","slug":"celebrate-independence-by-supporting-maryland-farmers-this-july-fourth-holiday-consumers-reminded-to-keep-food-safety-practices-in-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2014\/06\/26\/celebrate-independence-by-supporting-maryland-farmers-this-july-fourth-holiday-consumers-reminded-to-keep-food-safety-practices-in-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Independence by Supporting Maryland Farmers this July Fourth Holiday; Consumers Reminded to Keep Food Safety Practices in Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left\" align=\"center\"><b style=\"line-height: 1.5em\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/03\/agday.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"8924\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2014\/03\/13\/maryland-celebrates-national-agriculture-week-seven-ways-you-can-get-involved-with-maryland-agriculture\/attachment\/agday\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/03\/agday.jpg?fit=448%2C336&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"448,336\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"agday\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Colorful basket of fresh MD agricultural products.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/03\/agday.jpg?fit=448%2C336&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-8924\" alt=\"agday\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/03\/agday-300x224.jpg?resize=300%2C224&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/03\/agday.jpg?resize=300%2C224&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/03\/agday.jpg?w=448&amp;ssl=1 448w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>ANNAPOLIS, MD<\/b><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em\">\u00a0\u2013 With Fourth of July picnics and cookouts just a week away, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) suggests citizens celebrate America\u2019s independence by indulging in delicious, locally grown food \u2013 from locally produced meat, locally grown produce, and, of course, ice cream from one of the eight dairy farms on Maryland\u2019s Ice Cream Trail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBuying locally grown products this Fourth of July holiday is a great way to show your patriotism and support of Maryland agriculture,\u201d said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance. \u201cBuying locally is a key to ensuring a smart, green and growing future for Maryland families. It preserves farmland, protects the environment, keeps our money in Maryland, and provides fresh, nutritious food for a healthy diet. And it\u2019s delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To find a local farmer or producer near you to provide fresh meats, cheese, bread, fruits, vegetables, ice cream and more for your meals this holiday weekend and every day, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marylandsbest.net\/\">www.marylandsbest.net<\/a>.\u00a0 For information on Maryland wines, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marylandwine.com\/\">www.marylandwine.com<\/a> and for more on Maryland beer, visit: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marylandbeer.org\/\">www.marylandbeer.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Follow Basic Food Safety<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>In addition to buying locally, MDA reminds consumers to follow basic food safety guidelines to help keep family and friends healthy.<\/p>\n<p><b>General guidelines<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Start with the basics \u2013 always wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before, during, and after handling food.<\/li>\n<li>Use separate clean utensils, cutting boards and serving dishes for raw and cooked foods, and wash thoroughly with warm, soapy water before re-using.\u00a0Never serve grilled or cooked food on the same dish that held uncooked eggs, raw meat, poultry or fish.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>For fresh produce<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cut away any damaged or bruised areas before preparing and eating.<\/li>\n<li>Gently rub produce while holding under plain running water.\u00a0There&#8217;s no need to use soap or a produce wash.<\/li>\n<li>Wash produce before you peel it so dirt and bacteria aren&#8217;t transferred from the knife onto the fruit or veggie.<\/li>\n<li>Use a vegetable brush to scrub firm produce, such as melons and cucumbers.<\/li>\n<li>Dry product with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce bacteria that may be present.<\/li>\n<li>Throw away the outermost leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Meat thermometer guidelines<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use a meat thermometer to ensure food reaches safe internal temperatures. Checking the color of the meat is not enough.\u00a0 For example, hamburgers should be cooked to 160\u00b0 F, poultry to 165\u00b0 F, pork to 160\u00b0 F and large cuts of beef to 145\u00b0 F for medium rare, and 160\u00b0 F for medium.<\/li>\n<li>Insert a meat thermometer horizontally into the center of the burger, steak or poultry for 10-15 seconds to register the internal temperature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Additional food safety guidelines<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Carry food in a cooler with a cold pack and keep it in the shade with the lid on.\u00a0 The temperature inside the cooler should be 41\u00b0F or less.<\/li>\n<li>Never leave perishable food out of the refrigerator for more than two hours. When outdoor temperatures reach 90\u00b0 F, food shouldn\u2019t be left out for more than an hour. If foods are left out for this long in these instances, throw them away.<\/li>\n<li>Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For more information, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foodsafety.gov\/\">www.foodsafety.gov<\/a>, call the U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry toll-free hotline at 800-535-4555, or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Information Line at 888-SAFE-FOOD.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">###<\/p>\n<p>Follow MDA on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mda.state.md.us\/mdagdept\">@MdAgDept<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANNAPOLIS, MD\u00a0\u2013 With Fourth of July picnics and cookouts just a week away, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) suggests citizens celebrate America\u2019s independence by indulging in delicious, locally grown food \u2013 from locally produced meat, locally grown produce, and, of course, ice cream from one of the eight dairy farms on Maryland\u2019s Ice Cream<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2014\/06\/26\/celebrate-independence-by-supporting-maryland-farmers-this-july-fourth-holiday-consumers-reminded-to-keep-food-safety-practices-in-mind\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10515"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10517,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10515\/revisions\/10517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}