All that may come as little comfort to the 76 million people annually that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates suffer upset stomachs, diarrhea, vomiting and other symptoms from various food-borne illnesses. Up to 5,000 deaths, including one so far from the recent E. coli outbreak in spinach, are also blamed on tainted food and drink each year.

Fresh eggs "will last three to five weeks in the refrigerator," [Diane Van] says, provided that you keep them inside the refrigerator and not in its door. But once you've hard-boiled those eggs, use them within a week. Egg substitutes will last about 10 days unopened, "but once opened, you should use them within three days," Van says.

* Cook with a food thermometer. It's the only sure way to know that your food has reached the proper temperature to kill food- borne bacteria. Figure 160 degrees for meat, 165 degrees for poultry and leftovers. Don't want to bother? Consider that not using a food thermometer "often results in inadvertently overcooking food," Van says. "If you use a food thermometer, the food is often juicier." And safer.