Do you ever think about your freezer? Most of us just open the door and toss in our frozen foods, yet food borne illnesses strikes roughly 48 million Americans yearly, and much of that has to do with poor food storage procedures. When you consider how many different types of food we keep in our freezers (yes, even that frozen meat full of ice crystals), you may reconsider exactly how you’re using your freezer space. From meats, desserts, crock pot leftovers, and peas for swollen knees and sore necks, freezing keeps our foods mostly safe. Yet, are you taking the proper steps to maintain frozen food safety: 1. Temperature The recommended temperature for freezing food is easy, it’s 0 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. And keeping foods below 0 ensures their safety. The issues arise when thawing frozen foods. For instance, bacteria is ripe for sticking to foods as we thaw them for consumption.While you may safely thaw certain foods (i.e., baked goods and bread) at room temperature on your counter, you should never do so with frozen meat. Instead use the fridge or microwave and a covered container to safely thaw meat, or thaw it in a pinch by running cool water over it.

As humans, food is ingrained in our upbringing as a way to show love, comfort and belonging to those most special to us. Since we all love our pets, it’s no surprise that we get almost as much joy from giving treats to our cats as our cats get from eating them! However, just like humans, cats run the risk of health problems like heart disease and diabetes when they consistently eat too much of the wrong kinds of food. Show your cat how much you care by following these simple tips for feeding her treats: 1. Feline-formulated treats Perhaps over the years your cat has developed a taste for cheese or lunch meat, but that doesn’t mean that human food is a good choice for your kitty’s digestive system. Feeding him table scraps may not only upset your cat’s stomach; it can also contribute to chronic issues like cat obesity and heart disease. Treats that marketed exclusively for cats have been specifically designed to be compatible with a domestic cat’s diet and should your only choice when it comes to treats. 2. Maximize nutritional value Tossing a treat to your feline friend is not only a way to make her purr, it’s also an opportunity for you to supplement her regular diet with some additional nutrients.

If your pet cat has an underlying condition like diabetes, and if the cat hasn’t been treated for it in a long time, then there really is no time like the present to take it to the vet. Some cat owners may prefer to wait till the yearly checkup. However, not treating fast enough for feline diabetes can be life threatening for the cats, especially if it has been diagnosed since a few years. Here are a few tips to help loving cat owners manage feline diabetes: 1. Wellness checkups Diabetes is a serious health issue not just for human beings but for animals as well. In fact, 1 in 200 cats will become diabetic at some point in life. Even sadder is the fact that this number has been increasing at an enormous rate in the past five years or so. Fortunately, there are a lot of information that you can get equipped with to keep your cat healthy and well. One thing to do is to have a good working relationship with your cat’s veterinarian, so instead of taking the cat to the clinic once a year, try twice or thrice per year to keep its chart up-to-date.

Pets have become a beloved part of our lives, with more couples in modern times choosing to have dogs or cats over children. We treat them with love, care, and respect as we would our own children, and when they get sick, it turns our lives upside down. However, an animal becoming sick is often very different from a human. One common cause for an ill pet in your home is the presence of fleas or ticks. Fleas and ticks in your house can lead to an unfortunate sequence of events including excessive itching that leads to infected sores, weight loss, internal problems, anemia, and/or Lyme disease. With flea and tick combat products being an unnecessary expense, it may be more viable to look toward natural cures or treatments for this issue: 1. Baking soda If your flea infestation problem is rooted in carpets or rugs in your home, baking soda can be an effective method to deal with it. With a small brush, you can rub baking soda into your carpet or rug and vacuum it afterwards. After this, you should be quick and thorough in your disposal of the contents of the vacuum bag. 2. Lemon Lemon is a handy fruit to have around the house as it can be used for cleaning and for treatments.

Food safety is a simple practice that keeps our food safe, thus keeping us safe from food poisoning like eColi or salmonella. While there are certain food storage rules that are widely known, many folks don’t realize the ideal temperature for a refrigerator should be maintained at 40 °Fahrenheit or that raw meats and poultry should be stored always sealed to prevent meat juices from contaminating other fridge contents. Here are several fridge safety tips to live (and eat) by: 1. Food storage We come in contact with E.coli through animal or human feces and water. However, food spoilage can also be preventable in the household. How we are storing our food, specifically a roll of hamburger meat or a carton of eggs, should keep these foods securely stored away from other foodstuffs. For instance, sealed containers stored in the door or a drawer of the refrigerator is best to keep bacteria and water and juices foods from contaminated other fridge contents. 2. Temperatures All food has the potential to be exposed to salmonella or E Coli. But temperature goes a long way to keep these foods safe. In addition to packaging (i.e., air tight containers or plastic wrap) the temperature needs to be set to keep cold foods cold and cooked foods from wasting.