Proper Storage: Always store your raw meats on the bottom most shelf of your fridge, this will prevent food contamination should the packaging ever leak. Last thing you would want is raw meat drippings on your fruits and cooked foods. Make sure your fridge is anywhere between 34 - 40 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Handling: Always separate raw meats from other foods when cooking, especially on cutting boards and utensils. Never place cooked meat on a surface that was in contact with raw meat unless its been cleaned with hot, soapy water.
Cooking Guidelines: Washing meat is pointless unless your trying to remove particulate, all it will do is contaminate other surfaces with the splash. The only way to kill contaminates is to cook food to a proper food temperature. When you get your food, freeze it unless you plan to cook it within the next 3-5 days. Fresh beef, lamb, pork, and veal, should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees, while poultry is safe at 165 degrees, and ground meats should be cooked to 160 degrees.
You might be wondering why some animals can eat raw meat and not get sick, that might be because they have stronger appendix than us. According to newer studies, the appendix protects the good bacteria in your digestive tract from the bad bacteria. The reason we cook our food other than it tastes good, it kills harmful bacteria and parasites that might have made its way onto or inside your food. Generations of cooking our food means we were ingesting less and less food borne bacteria, making our appendix weaker as humanity grew. Some meats are safer to eat raw or near raw like sushi or steak, but it is always best to make sure food is cooked to a proper internal temperature.
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