Protect yourself from food-borne illnesses
Q: It seems like there have been a lot of food recalls and alerts for meats and vegetables lately. Is there any way to avoid these risks?
Janine R., Largo, Fla.
A: Contamination of meats, seafood, dairy products and produce with bacteria, viruses and fungi that cause mild to severe illness is something food growers, manufactures, sellers, government agencies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working to avoid. But it’s not always a successful battle against the clever adaptability and persistence of those microbes.
The most common sources of food-borne illness are norovirus, salmonella, clostridium perfringens, campylobacter and staph. Less common but more likely to cause hospitalization are botulism, listeria, E. coli and vibro. Listeria-related recalls in November of this year included fresh onions, frozen cauliflower and cooked shrimp and chicken. You can stay current with such notices at cdc.gov/foodsafety. You can also take steps to protect yourself.
1. When preparing and eating meats and poultry:
• Never wash raw poultry or meat before cooking.
• Use a meat thermometer to determine when the internal temperature is at a safe level. Info is at foodsafety.gov/food-safetycharts.
• Store leftovers at 40 degrees or colder within two hours after preparation.
2. When preparing fruits and vegetables:
• Keep them safe from cross-contamination from animal products.
• For leafy greens: Discard outer and damaged leaves; rinse greens under running water and gently rub surfaces. Wash in a salad spinner three times (even triple-washed packaged greens).
• Store produce in a fridge that’s 40 degrees or below.
• Before peeling, scrub the rind or skin with a clean produce brush under running water.
3. When eating dairy products: Do not eat unpasteurized products. 4. When eating eggs:
• In recipes that call for raw eggs, use pasteurized eggs.
• Cook eggs until whites and yolks are firm.
• Don’t eat raw dough or batter.
5. When eating seafood and shellfish:
• Cook seafood to 145 degrees, and heat leftover seafood to 165 degrees.
• Do not eat raw or undercooked fish or shellfish.
Q: My husband and I are considering using in vitro fertilization to become pregnant, but that story about the couples who gave birth to each other’s baby is horrifying. Is there any way to protect against that sort of mix-up?
Charna L., San Francisco
A: In 2017, 498 fertility clinics in the United States performed assisted reproductive technology procedures and 448 (90 percent) provided data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (More on that later.) In vitro fertilization was the most common type of assisted reproductive technology used — it accounted for 99 percent.
One CDC review found that 55 percent of one-time IVF procedures resulted in a live birth; two IVF cycles were successful 65 percent of the time. And while recognized mix-ups make headlines — and are inexcusable — they’re not common.
However, there are steps you can take to make sure your facility is using the very strictest and most effective ART technologies and management techniques. Remember, no authority or agency tracks or polices embryo mix-ups and freezer meltdowns, and there is no consolidated oversight of IVF or similar procedures.
1. Not all clinics report their procedures and outcomes to the CDC annually — and you have to wonder why one wouldn’t do that. So, ask to see your clinic’s latest report to the CDC. Not up to date? Don’t use that facility.
2. Ask if they’re members of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. That organization establishes ethical guidelines and programs for laboratory accreditation. Not a member? Another red flag.
3. Search FDA.gov to see if there have been recorded violations or other concerning statistics for the facility.
4. Ask the facility specifically how the genetic material is organized and what they do to avoid errors. For example, more than one IVF container should never be open at once in the same room. And two people should supervise all handling of IVF products every time. Barcode matching procedures are also an important safeguard.