GOOD TO KNOW: Avoid foodborne illness – fight bac!

The U.S. food supply is among the safest in the world, but organisms that you can’t see, smell, or taste – bacteria, viruses and tiny parasites are everywhere in the environment. These microorganisms – called pathogens – can invade food and cause illness, sometimes severe and even life-threatening illness, especially in young children, older adults, and persons with weakened immune systems. In pregnant women, foodborne illness can endanger their unborn babies.

The most common symptoms of foodborne illness are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, head- or muscle-aches, and fever. Symptoms usually appear 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food but may occur between 30 minutes and four weeks later. Most people recover within four to seven days without needing antibiotic treatment.

If symptoms are severe or the ill person is very young, very old, pregnant, or already ill, call your doctor immediately.

Who is at risk?

Young children, pregnant women, older adults and persons with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk for foodborne illness. Immune systems may be weakened by medical treatments, such as steroids or chemotherapy, or by conditions, such as ATDS, cancer or diabetes. You are also at increased risk, if you suffer from liver disease or alcoholism or if you have decreased stomach acidity (due to gastric surgery or the chronic use of antacids).

Everyone should follow these four simple steps to food safety.

Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.

Bacteria, viruses, and parasites can be spread throughout the kitchen and get into cutting boards, utensils, and countertops.

• Wash your hands with hot, soapy water before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and handling pets.

• Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food.

• Important! Rinse raw produce in water. Don’t use soap or detergents. If necessary, use a small vegetable brush to remove surface dirt.

Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate.

Cross-contamination is the word for how bacteria, viruses, and parasites can be spread from one food product to another. This is especially true when handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. So keep these foods and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods.

• Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery shopping cart and in your refrigerator.

• If possible, use a different cutting board for raw meat, poultry and seafood products.

• Always wash hands, cutting boards, dishes, and utensils with hot soapy water after they come in contact with raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs.

• Use separate plates for cooked food and raw foods.

Cook: Cook to proper temperatures.

Food safety experts agree that foods are properly cooked when they are heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill the harmful pathogens that cause foodborne illness.

• Use a clean thermometer that measures the internal temperature of cooked food to make sure meat, poultry, and casseroles are cooked properly.

• Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. If you use recipes in which eggs remain raw or partially cooked, use pasteurized eggs.

• Fish should be opaque and flake easily with a fork.

• When cooking in a microwave oven, make sure there are no cold spots where pathogens can survive. For best results, cover food, stir, and rotate for even cooking. If there is no turntable, rotate the dish by hand once or twice during cooking.

• Bring sauces, soups, and gravy to a boil when reheating. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to at least 165° F.

Chill: Refrigerate properly.

Refrigerate foods quickly because cold temperatures keep harmful pathogens from growing and multiplying. So, set your refrigerator no higher than 40°F and the freezer at 0°F. Check these temperatures occasionally with an appliance thermometer.

• Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within two hours or sooner.

• Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the refrigerator, under running cold water, or in the microwave.

• Marinate foods in the refrigerator. • Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator. • Don’t pack the refrigerator. Cool air must circulate to keep food safe.
Learn more about Fight BAC! at: www.fightbac.org.
For more information:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Meat and Poultry Hotline
(800) 535-4555,
TTY: (899) 256-7076
U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, Food
Information Hotline
888 SAFEFOOD
www.foodsafe.gov

If you have any additional questions, you may call Pat Hafermann, elderly benefits specialist with the Aging and Disability Resource Center, at (920) 467-4100 or (800) 596-1919.

Resource: “U.S. Department of Agriculture” February 2009