Making food safety a priority
Food is attached to so many pleasurable memories and is the center of our social gathering this holiday season. As we gear up to the big feast, I would like to heighten your awareness of the danger of food poisoning. Though our food supply is perhaps among the safest in the world, according to the National Institute of Health, 48 million people in the US alone get sick from contaminated food every year. That is the equivalent of sickening one in six people each year resulting in hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths.
There are many food-born disease-causing organisms and chemicals:
• Bacteria and viruses — most common cause of food poisoning.
• Parasites — parasites live on other living organism known as hosts including protozoans, roundworms and tapeworms.
•Mold, toxins and contaminants — less common, and can be linked to natural or chemical toxins.
•Allergens — food allergy is an abnormal response to a food triggered by your body’s immune response. Common foods that are highly allergenic to the sensitive ones are nuts, milk, eggs and seafood.
Symptoms of food poisoning can be mild to severe. Common symptoms include:
• Upset stomach.
• Abdominal cramps.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Diarrhea.
• Fever.
• Dehydration.
Harmful microorganisms may be present in the food you buy. Raw meat may become contaminated during slaughter. Fruits and vegetables may become contaminated when they are growing or when they are processed. Contamination can also happen in your kitchen as you prepare them. Handling food safely can help prevent foodborne sickness. If you are cooking for the big feast, here are some safety tips from the US Department of Agriculture experts:
• Clean refrigerator spills right away, especially juices from hot dog and lunch meat packages, raw meat and uncooked poultry.
• Clean the refrigerators inside walls and shelves with hot water and liquid soap, then rinse.
• Store leftovers in shallow containers then cover with airtight lids, plastic wraps, or aluminum foil. Use leftovers within three to four days.
• Use precooked or ready-to-eat food as soon as possible. Do not store the product in the refrigerator past the use-by date; follow USDA refrigerator storage time guidelines:
•Hotdogs — store opened packages one week or less and unopened packages, two weeks or less.
• Lunch and deli meat — store factory-sealed unopened packages two weeks or less. Store opened packages and meat sliced at a local deli no longer than three to five days.
• Wash hands often with soap and warm water, especially after touching hot dogs, raw meat, chicken, turkey, seafood, or their juices.
• Use clean dishes, spoons, knives, and forks.
• Wash counter tops with hot soapy water and clean spills right away.
• Wash cutting boards with hot, soapy water after each use. Use one cutting board for fresh produce and bread and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
•Do not cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that is not to be cooked.
While you shop, buy perishable foods last and go directly home from the grocery store. Refrigerate or freeze within two hours. Prepare for and anticipate the holiday season with love and of course safety in mind. I wish you a safe and merry gathering with your loved ones.