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Home >> Lifestyle: Cooking
Basics:
Safeguarding
Your Food
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 bacterium, 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 days.
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.
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