2008 Woodie Awards
How to make your food safe
Katrina Hartwood
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Life
Not feeling very well and you think what you ate is to blame? Foodborne illnesses can be blamed for some digestive problems experienced after eating.
Although there is no guaranteed way to completely avoid contaminated food, many things can be done, both in the home and while eating out, to greatly decrease the chances of contracting a foodborne illness.
It is important to remember that a foodborne illness takes from many hours to a day to manifest more than recognizable symptoms. If you immediately feel ill after eating, there might be other issues, like a food allergy or intolerance, or your digestive system might have become too overwhelmed with what you put into it.
Because a food borne illness can take a bit longer to develop, it is often difficult to pinpoint what the contaminated food was, and where it was eaten. Most people do not have to worry about a foodborne illness becoming life threatening. Children, the elderly and individuals with decreased immune function are at a higher risk for developing life-threatening complications from a foodborne illness.
Kitchens responsible for feeding large amounts of people, such as the cafeteria, have strict rules that enforce proper handling of food to ensure the food is safe to be eaten. Although we expect this of food service operations and demand that our food is safe to eat, safe food handling and cooking practices may not be used as frequently if at all in our homes.
The following tips from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are easy ways to ensure the food you prepare and eat at home is safe to be eaten.
1. Make sure to wash your hands, utensils and cutting boards before and after contact with raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs.
2. Keep raw meat and poultry apart from foods that won't be cooked. Make sure the knife and cutting board used to cut raw meat are washed prior to cutting anything that will not be cooked (such as vegetables for a salad). Make sure raw meat, poultry, seafood and their juices are kept apart from other food items in your grocery cart. Setting a package of raw meat on a head of lettuce can transfer the potentially dangerous bacteria from the meat to the lettuce. Also, make sure that raw meat products are put in a separate bag at the grocery store to avoid contaminating fresh, ready to eat, products. When storing the food at home, make sure that raw meat is on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to prevent any of the juices dripping onto ready to eat foods.
Although there is no guaranteed way to completely avoid contaminated food, many things can be done, both in the home and while eating out, to greatly decrease the chances of contracting a foodborne illness.
It is important to remember that a foodborne illness takes from many hours to a day to manifest more than recognizable symptoms. If you immediately feel ill after eating, there might be other issues, like a food allergy or intolerance, or your digestive system might have become too overwhelmed with what you put into it.
Because a food borne illness can take a bit longer to develop, it is often difficult to pinpoint what the contaminated food was, and where it was eaten. Most people do not have to worry about a foodborne illness becoming life threatening. Children, the elderly and individuals with decreased immune function are at a higher risk for developing life-threatening complications from a foodborne illness.
Kitchens responsible for feeding large amounts of people, such as the cafeteria, have strict rules that enforce proper handling of food to ensure the food is safe to be eaten. Although we expect this of food service operations and demand that our food is safe to eat, safe food handling and cooking practices may not be used as frequently if at all in our homes.
The following tips from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are easy ways to ensure the food you prepare and eat at home is safe to be eaten.
1. Make sure to wash your hands, utensils and cutting boards before and after contact with raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs.
2. Keep raw meat and poultry apart from foods that won't be cooked. Make sure the knife and cutting board used to cut raw meat are washed prior to cutting anything that will not be cooked (such as vegetables for a salad). Make sure raw meat, poultry, seafood and their juices are kept apart from other food items in your grocery cart. Setting a package of raw meat on a head of lettuce can transfer the potentially dangerous bacteria from the meat to the lettuce. Also, make sure that raw meat products are put in a separate bag at the grocery store to avoid contaminating fresh, ready to eat, products. When storing the food at home, make sure that raw meat is on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to prevent any of the juices dripping onto ready to eat foods.
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