Foodborne illness outbreaks are teachable moments: people are paying more attention to a particular topic.

Listeria in Blue Bell ice cream is one of those moments in the news cycle where people may pay attention.

So what does the U.S. Institute of Food Technologists tell people?

IFT Spokesperson Kantha Shelke, PhD, CFS offers four tips consumers can use to avoid getting sick from Listeria:

• cook animal products thoroughly to make sure bacteria is killed;
• wash raw vegetables and fruits very well in order to reduce bacterial pathogens;
• keep uncooked meat and any utensils or cutting boards that touch the uncooked meat separate from cooked products and anything else you might be eating raw like fruits and vegetables; and,
• avoid raw milk or food products that have been made with raw milk as they don’t adhere to proper temperature and hygiene standards.

It’s reworded cook-clean-chill-separate dogma and would do nothing to prevent Listeria in ice cream.