11 common cooking habits that can actually be dangerous

If you spend enough time in the kitchen, you're bound to have a few mishaps. Hopefully, they'll just make fun stories for later and won't compromise your health and safety. To avoid the common cooking mistakes that can turn out to be dangerous, read about these habits that you need to break. Your leftovers need to be finished sooner than you think.According to the government's food safety protocol, your leftovers may have a much shorter shelf life than you thought. Food poisoning sends more than 100,000 Americans to the hospital each year and can lead to long-term health issues, so if something seems funky, err on the side of caution. Most meats should only stay in the fridge for a few days and even unopened packages should be tossed after two weeks. Meat-free items like pizza should only be kept for three to four days. Washing raw chicken can actually spread germs.USDA spokesperson Marianna H. Gravely told BuzzFeed that washing your raw chicken or any other meat can actually spread potential bacteria in the meat juices to other foods and surfaces via water splatter. "Some of the bacteria are so tightly attached that you could not remove them no matter how many times you washed it," Gravely told BuzzFeed Food. Thankfully, cooking meat is enough to kill any bacteria if the internal temperature reaches 165F. Leaving the kitchen is the best recipe for disaster.According to the National Fire Protection Association, the number one cause of home fires and injuries are due to unattended cooking. Set timers so you don't forget about the rice on the stove and be on alert if you're extra sleepy or you've consumed alcohol. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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