Which of the following is a correct cross contamination prevention practice?

• A. Use separate chopping boards for raw meats and ready-to-eat foods
• B. Reuse the same cutting board for raw meats and ready-to-eat
• C. Store raw meat on the top shelf
• D. Thaw foods at room temperature

Answer: (A)

Cross contamination prevention is about stopping pathogens from raw foods, especially meat, from reaching foods that won’t be cooked before eating. Using separate chopping boards for raw meats and ready-to-eat foods creates a physical barrier, so bacteria on raw meat don’t get transferred to foods you’ll eat raw or after only minimal processing. This simple separation reduces the risk at the point of preparation, even if some surface residues remain after cutting.

The other options fail this barrier concept: reusing the same cutting board merges the contamination pathways, raw meat stored on the top shelf can drip onto other foods, and thawing at room temperature allows bacterial growth, increasing the chance that contamination causes illness.