1. Always wash hands before and after handling food.
2. Don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food and each other. After cutting raw meats, wash hands, cutting board, knife, and countertops with hot, soapy water.
3. Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator.
4. Sanitize cutting boards by using a solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach in 1 quart of water. Basics for Handling Food Safely - Thawing

Refrigerator: The refrigerator allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing meat and poultry juices do not drip onto other food.

Cold Water: For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag. Submerge in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook immediately after thawing.

Microwave: Cook meat and poultry immediately after microwave thawing.