Which of the following is an essential practice for preventing cross-contamination?

Preventing cross-contamination is critical in food safety to avoid foodborne illnesses. Keeping raw meats separate from ready-to-eat foods is an essential practice because raw meats can carry harmful pathogens that can contaminate foods that are consumed without further cooking, like salads, fruits, and cooked foods. By ensuring that these two categories of food are stored and handled separately, you're minimizing the risk of transmitting harmful bacteria from raw meats to foods that are ready to eat and thereby protecting public health.

Using the same cutting board for all food types, washing hands only before cooking, and storing chemicals next to food items all pose risks of cross-contamination. For example, if the same cutting board is used without proper cleaning between raw and cooked foods, pathogens from raw ingredients can contaminate ready-to-eat foods. Therefore, maintaining segregation between raw and prepared foods is a fundamental and vital practice in food safety management.