When it comes to reducing the chance of foodborne illness, experts generally center advice around four concepts: clean, separate, cook and chill.

“Make sure you’re starting with clean hands,” said Melissa Wright, food safety extension specialist at Virginia Tech. “Use warm water and soap, and wash your hands for 20 seconds. You also want to have clean utensils and a clean kitchen.”

The next piece of advice: separate.

“We want to make sure that you keep things separate, things that are raw,” Wright said. “We don’t want to have any cross contamination that could possibly occur.”

Wright also recommended using separate cutting boards for each type of meat you are preparing.

Then, the cooking itself.

“The biggest thing people really forget about is to cook things thoroughly and to use a f

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