Every
year, an estimated 7 million Americans suffer from cases
of
foodborne illness. Some cases are
violent and even result
in
death. Of course this is commonly known
as "food poisoning."
The
culprit is food that has dangerously high levels of bacteria
due
to improper cooking or handling.
Food
safety is usually taken for granted by the buying public but
everyone's
attention was recently directed to food poisoning
involving
some meat that was undercooked. It was
determined that
the
problem never would have happened if the meat had been cooked
properly. E.Coli 0157.H7 is a potent virus, but it can
be
completely
destroyed when the meat is fully cooked.
It
is important for consumers to take an all-around safety approach
to
purchasing, storing and preparing both traditional and new meat
and
poultry products. Ultimately, consumers
and food handlers bear
the
responsibility for keeping food safe once it leaves the store.
According
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 85 percent
of
foodborne illness cases could be avoided each year if consumers
would
handle food properly. The most common
foodborne illnesses
are
caused by a combination of bacteria, naturally present in the
environment,
and food handling mistakes. Ironically,
these are
also
the easiest types of foodborne illnesses to prevent. Proper
cooking
or processing of raw meat and poultry kills bacteria that
can
cause foodborne illness.
When
you're out, grocery shop last, take food straight home to the
refrigerator. And never leave food in a hot car! Don't buy anything
you
won't use before the use-by date. Don't
buy food in poor
condition. Make sure refrigerated food is cold to the
touch. Frozen
food
should be rock-solid. Canned goods
should be free of dents,
cracks
or bulging lids which can indicate a serious food poisoning
threat.
The
performance and maintenance of your refrigerator is of the
utmost
importance. Check the temperature of
your refrigerator with
an
appliance thermometer. To keep bacteria
in check, the refrigerator
should
run at 40 degrees F; the freezer unit at 0 degrees F.
Generally,
keep your refrigerator as cold as possible without
freezing
your milk or lettuce.
When
you prepare food, keep everything clean and thaw out any frozen
food
you plan to prepare in your refrigerator.
Take it out of the
freezer
in advance and place it in the refrigerated section of your
refrigerator. Always wash your hands in hot soapy water
before
preparing
and handling any food as well as after you use the
bathroom,
change diapers, handle pets, etc.
Remember, too, that
bacteria
can live in your kitchen towels, sponges and dish cloths.
Wash
them often and replace the dish cloths and sponges you use
regularly
every few weeks.
Be
absolutely sure that you keep all raw meats, poultry and fish
and
their juices away from other food. For
instance, wash your
hands,
your cutting board and knife in hot soapy water after
cutting
up the chicken and before dicing salad ingredients. It is
best
to use plastic cutting boards rather than wooden ones where
bacteria
can hide in grooves. Don't take your
food out of the
freezer
and leave it on the kitchen counter to thaw.
This is
extremely
dangerous since the bacteria can grow in the outer layers
of
the food before the inside thaws. It is
wise to do your
marinating
in the refrigerator too.
