National food safety education month emphasizes the need to learn to handle and prepare food properly at home, to handle and serve take-out meals, and safety issues in using leftovers in order to prevent a food borne illness. 

A food borne illness is a disease that is transmitted to humans by food. Many people get sick each year from the food they eat. They often think they have the flu, but the real problem is food borne illness caused by bacteria in the food they ate a few hours or several days ago. The United States has one of the safest food supplies in the world. However, there are more than two million cases of food borne illness each year. These reported cases are just the tip of the iceberg.

The populations most at risk for contracting a food borne illness are infants and young children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Infants and children, in particular, produce less acid in their stomachs, making it easier for them to get sick. For pregnant women, the fetus is at risk because it does not have a fully developed immune system. The immune system of the elderly is often weakened due to poor nutrition, lack of protein in the diet, and poor blood circulation.

The U.S. Public Health Service classifies moist, high-protein and/or low acid foods as potentially hazardous. High protein foods consist, in whole or in part, of milk or milk products, shell eggs, meats, poultry, fish, shellfish, and edible crustacea (shrimp, lobster, crab). Baked or boiled potatoes, tofu and other soy protein foods, plant foods that have been heat-treated, and raw seed sprouts (such as alfalfa or bean sprouts) also pose a hazard. These foods can support rapid growth of infectious or disease-causing microorganisms.

It is well to remember that most food borne illness can be avoided if food is handled properly. The Centers for Disease Control compiled statistics from the five-year period 1988 - 1992, which showed the following practices were contributing factors of confirmed food borne outbreaks in the U.S.

• Improper holding temperatures 37%

• Poor personal hygiene 22%

• Inadequate cooking 17%

• Contaminated equipment 10%

• Food from unsafe source 7%

• Other 7%

Food becomes hazardous by contamination. This is the unintended presence of harmful substances or microorganisms in food. Food can become contaminated from chemical, physical or biological sources. Chemical hazards include substances such as cleaning solutions and sanitizers. Physical hazards are foreign particles, like glass or metal. The biological hazards come mainly from microorganisms. 

Of all the microorganisms, bacteria are the greatest threat to food safety. Bacteria can live in hotter and colder temperatures than humans, but they do best in a warm, moist, protein-rich environment that is pH neutral or low acid. There are some exceptions, but most bacteria grow fastest in the temperature range between 40 degrees and 140 degrees-THE DANGER ZONE. Under the right conditions, bacteria can double every 10 to 30 minutes. A single cell can become billions in 10 to 12 hours. 

Staphylococcus is the leading cause of food poisoning. This bacterium is most commonly found on skin and in the nose. It is often transferred to food through improper handling. Symptoms of food poisoning range from nausea and vomiting to diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain.

The second most common cause of food poisoning is salmonella. This bacterium is found in the intestinal tracts of animals. Be suspicious of undercooked poultry or meat, unpasteurized milk and eggs.

Tips for safer food:

GOOD HYGIENE
Proper hand washing is critical to prevent the spread of bacteria. Wash hands thoroughly with soap, hot water, and a nail brush prior to touching food. Wash hands in-between touching different ingredients during food preparation.

PREVENT CROSS CONTAMINATION OF FOOD
Do not touch raw foods, such as chicken, and then touch food that will not
be cooked, like salad ingredients. Keep work surfaces and equipment clean by using the "clean-as-you-go" method. Use a scrub brush as much as possible. Avoid sponges. Always clean food contact surfaces when working with different food items, particularly between preparing raw and cooked food items. 

SHOPPING FOR FOOD
Buy perishable food, such as meat, eggs, and milk last. Shop for groceries when you can take food home right away so that it does not spoil in a hot car.

Pack frozen and refrigerated items together to maintain the cold 
temperature.

Avoid raw or unpasteurized milk.

Select fresh produce items (not overripe, too limp, too wet, or bruised or injured). 

Choose fresh raw meat, fish and poultry (good color, firm texture, absence of slime and strong odor). Pay close attention to sell-by/use-by dates on these products. Place these items in a plastic bag to prevent drippings from getting on other purchases. 

Do not purchase unsealed, broken packages or cans with swollen or dented 
seams.

Do not wash fruits and vegetables until ready to use.

PREPARATION OF FOOD
Double wash raw fruits and vegetables prior to consumption.

Food items that need to be cold should be no more than 2 inches thick and
put in refrigerator as soon as possible after preparation.

When making cold combination dishes, immerse food such as hot macaroni or cubed potatoes in water with ice for rapid cooling.

For cooked foods, pasteurize to sufficient times and temperatures to ensure the destruction of pathogenic vegetative cells. Cover foods cooked
in a microwave oven to ensure uniform heating of the surface.

COOKING GUIDELINES

Eggs
Cook eggs until they are firm and not runny
Do not eat raw or partially cooked eggs.
Avoid eating other foods that include raw or partially cooked eggs.

Poultry
Cook poultry until it has an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.
It is done when the juices run clear and it is white in the middle.
Never eat rare poultry

Fish
Cook fish until it is opaque or white and flaky.

Meat
Cook ground meat to 160 degrees F.
It is done when it is brown inside. This is especially critical with hamburger meat.

SERVING FOOD
Serve food as soon as possible after cooking. Keep hot food above 130 degrees for safety. If temperature is less than 130 degrees, use it within
four hours or discard it. "If in doubt, throw it out."

LEFTOVERS
Cool and store leftovers as soon as possible. Very hot items can be cooled at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes to 130 degrees F prior to being refrigerated. Frequently stir to accelerate the cooling at this stage.
Place the hot items in a thin layer (no more than 2 inches) to prevent spore outgrowth. Put container on wire refrigerator shelf to allow air to flow across the bottom. This allows food to cool twice as fast as sitting on a solid shelf.

Use ready-to-eat foods and leftovers, if they have been handled carefully, within 7.5 days, when stored at 40 degrees F in a refrigerator.

If a toxin was produced in a cooked food due to improper handling, reheating will not make it safe. Never use your nose, eyes or taste buds to judge the safety of food.

PICNICS
Use disposable towelettes to clean hands if no facilities are available.

Plan your menu around safe food handling. Do not use recipes that contain raw eggs.

Precook foods in plenty of time to chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Use
an insulated cooler with sufficient ice to keep food at 40 degrees F. Don't
put the cooler in the trunk - keep it inside the air-conditioned car. Use a
separate cooler for drinks. Keep the cooler in the shade.

When marinating raw meat, fish, or poultry, do it in the refrigerator. Don't reuse the marinade from raw meat unless you boil it for several minutes to destroy any bacteria from the raw meat.

Cook hamburgers to 160 degrees F. The center will be gray or brown and
the juices will run clear. Do not put cooked food on the same platter, which held the raw meat.

Perishable leftovers should be refrigerated or stored on ice within two hours of cooking. When you return home, if there is still ice in the cooler and the food is refrigerator-cool to the touch, the leftovers should be safe to eat.

TAKE-OUT FOOD
If hot food is not kept above 130 degrees F, it should be eaten within 4 hours. If you want to save it, it must be placed 1 inch deep in a container and put in the refrigerator within two hours after you receive it.

If you need a longer time period to get food home or before food is consumed, choose cold food that you can eat cold or can reheat.

DINING OUT SAFELY
Most restaurants follow the 1976 FDA Food Service Sanitation Ordinance,
however, this has little to do with food safety. If the outside of the 
restaurant is not maintained, and the dining area is not clean or the
restrooms need attention, it is a risk to eat at that restaurant. Even if the
facility looks clean but the hot food is served cool or the cool food is warm, do not eat this food. You are putting yourself at risk for becoming
ill.

If you take your leftover food home in a "doggie bag", it must be eaten within two hours or put in the refrigerator in a thin layer less than 1 inch
thick as soon as you return home. 

 

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