(QUINCY MA) – The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company is partnering with the Food Marketing Institute and the Partnership for Food Safety Education to promote Project Chill, a national food safety education program developed to educate consumers on the importance of maintaining home refrigerator temperatures at 40 °F or below.

Project Chill is an extension of the popular and effective Fight BAC! public food safety education campaign featuring the four basic messages: Clean, Cook, Separate, and Chill. Stop & Shop also reminds consumers to following the four Fight BAC! rules for safe grilling and summer food preparation as the Memorial Day weekend approaches.

Stop & Shop will promote Project Chill through in-store radio spots and its website (www.stopandshop.com) starting in late May, and will communicate additional food safety messages to customers in the supermarket’s weekly ad circular.

According to the United States Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, refrigeration at 40 °F or below is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. The best way to make sure your refrigerator is maintaining the recommended temperature of 40 °F or below is to check it with a refrigerator thermometer. As part of Project Chill, certified refrigerator thermometers are available for sale at most Stop & Shop locations for a cost of $9.99. These thermometers, by Farberware, are available in the housewares department at most stores.

“You need to use certified refrigerator thermometers to make sure home refrigerators maintain temperatures of 40 °F or less,” stated Paulette Thompson, Health and Wellness Manager for Stop & Shop. “Keeping your refrigerator at the proper temperature reduces the risk of food-borne illnesses.”

For more information on Project Chill and other food safety tips, visit our website at www.stopandshop.com.

Consumers also need to think about food safety as they prepare for cookouts over the Memorial Day weekend. When grilling foods, cook ground beef to 160 °F, steaks to 145 °F and chicken to 180 °F. A quick response food thermometer is the best way to make sure foods are cooked properly. Using a thermometer is the only way to tell if meat and poultry have reached a safe temperature.

Follow the four Fight BAC! rules and put them into practice at your cookout:

• Clean – wash hands, food surfaces and utensils often with hot soapy water.
• Separate – don’t cross contaminate by using plates or utensils for raw and cooked food. Use a clean plate for those cooked burgers coming off the grill.
• Chill – keep foods in the refrigerator or a cooler filled with ice.
• Cook to proper temperatures – use a thermometer to get to the right temperature and not overcook.

About the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, based in Quincy, Massachusetts, employs more than 58,000 associates and operates 360 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey.