When you are preparing to enjoy a meal with your family or friends, getting sick will probably be one of the last things on your mind. However, if you have ever had a foodborne illness, referred to as gastroenteritis, you know you would do anything to prevent it.
Unfortunately, symptoms can range from inconvenient nausea to severe organ failure or even death. The CDC reports that foodborne illness causes 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3000 deaths in the U.S. each year.
This article will discuss ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
In the video below, Amanda Haney talks about foodborne illnesses and highlights exactly how to prevent them.
Continue reading for more information.
What are foodborne illnesses?
The two most common foodborne illnesses are from bacteria and viruses. “Food poisoning” is commonly used to describe illness from the overgrowth of bacteria on foods. Eating these foods can cause an infection from salmonella or e. Coli.
The “stomach flu” is a popular term used to describe a stomach virus transmitted from person to person through cooking, preparing, or eating foods. The stomach flu is not the flu at all because the influenza virus does not cause it. In fact, norovirus is the most common virus that causes gastroenteritis.
The good news is, foodborne illnesses are entirely preventable with proper hygiene and safe food handling practices.
Here are 4 steps to keep you and your family protected from foodborne illnesses
1) Clean
Wash hands in warm, soapy water at least 20 seconds before food prep. Also, wash hands after handling meat, poultry, or fish. Keep countertops, and kitchen equipment clean with hot, soapy water.
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2) Separate
Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent cross-contamination. This includes in your shopping cart, grocery bags, and in the refrigerator. When grilling, never place the cooked foods on a plate that held raw meat. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat and produce. Try assigning a specific color cutting board to meat so they never mix!
3) Cook
Cook foods thoroughly to destroy bacteria. You can’t see if the meat is finished from appearance, so always use a meat thermometer!
Correct temperatures are 145 °F for fish, 145 °F for pork, beef, or lamb, and 165 °F for chicken or turkey. Keep foods hot until serving and do not leave at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
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4) Chill
Refrigerate using shallow containers to reduce the temperature quickly. Use a thermometer to ensure your refrigerator is always set at 40 and your freezer is set at 0.
Always marinate food in the refrigerator.
Never defrost food at room temperature. Three safe ways to defrost food are in the refrigerator, in the microwave, or in cold water.
Next time you are preparing a meal, remember clean, separate, cook, and chill. These 4 simple steps will help keep you and your family healthy and safe!
Insightful post indeed!
In my opinion, Wash hands and food contact surfaces and utensils regularly, among undertakings, and on the off chance that they have gotten debased. Successful cleaning includes eliminating soil and garbage, scouring with hot lathery water and washing, utilizing consumable/drinking water. Disinfecting includes the utilization of high warmth (e.g., a dishwasher) or synthetic compounds (e.g., chlorine dye) to lessen or dispose of the quantity of microorganisms to a protected level.