What is the most important thing to do when cooking?

The way we cook our food is just as important as the way we prepare and store it. Improper cooking is a common cause of food poisoning. Cross-contamination of raw foods with cooked foods, such as hands, cutting boards, or utensils, can also cause food poisoning. Most foods, especially meat, poultry, fish and eggs, must be cooked well to kill most types of bacteria that cause food poisoning.