December 2006
Protect yourself from foodborne illness
People tend to associate food poisoning with restaurants, and given the headlines over the past few weeks it's easy to see
why. In mid-December dozens of confirmed cases of E.coli O157:H7 infection in several states were linked to the fast-food
chain Taco Bell. And the outbreak came just weeks after smoothie giant Jamba Juice announced that drinks containing strawberries
sold at its stores in Arizona, southern Nevada, and Southern California may have been contaminated with the bug Listeria monocytogenes.
However, you don't need to go much farther than your own kitchen to contract a foodborne illness; most cases of food poisoning occur at home. Below are a few pointers to help you protect yourself and your family:
Foods that appear fresh aren't necessarily safe. That's because the microorganisms that cause food poisoning are different from those that cause spoilage. Assume that all raw meat, fish, and eggs are contaminated, and handle them carefully. When shopping, place meat in separate plastic bags (and store it that way in the refrigerator) to keep its juices away from other foods. And minimize bacterial growth by keeping temperatures down: Choose cold foods last and bag them together; if they'll be unrefrigerated longer than an hour, pack them in a cooler.
Freezing kills only some of the bacteria. If food defrosts at a warm temperature, the surviving organisms resume multiplying even faster than before. That's because freezing breaks down the cell walls, giving bacteria easier access to the nutrients-and it's the strongest organisms that survive. So thaw foods in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Or defrost them in a microwave or in a watertight plastic bag submerged in cold water; food thawed in those ways should be cooked immediately. In addition, don't refreeze foods that have thawed, and don't buy foods that may have been refrozen; signs of refreezing include crystals on the container and clumping of the foods inside.
Rinsing raw meat is more likely to contaminate the kitchen than decontaminate the food. However, if rinsing is needed to remove bits of packaging, do it carefully. Try to handle raw food in just one part of the kitchen--say, on a cutting board used only for such food. Mop up spilled juices with paper towels. Then wash with hot soapy water any faucets, sink handles, counters, and utensils that you touched while handling the food. (And wash your hands, too.) Don't put cooked meat back on the same plate that held it raw, and boil leftover marinade for a full minute if you wish to use it as a sauce for cooked food.
However, you don't need to go much farther than your own kitchen to contract a foodborne illness; most cases of food poisoning occur at home. Below are a few pointers to help you protect yourself and your family:
Foods that appear fresh aren't necessarily safe. That's because the microorganisms that cause food poisoning are different from those that cause spoilage. Assume that all raw meat, fish, and eggs are contaminated, and handle them carefully. When shopping, place meat in separate plastic bags (and store it that way in the refrigerator) to keep its juices away from other foods. And minimize bacterial growth by keeping temperatures down: Choose cold foods last and bag them together; if they'll be unrefrigerated longer than an hour, pack them in a cooler.
Freezing kills only some of the bacteria. If food defrosts at a warm temperature, the surviving organisms resume multiplying even faster than before. That's because freezing breaks down the cell walls, giving bacteria easier access to the nutrients-and it's the strongest organisms that survive. So thaw foods in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Or defrost them in a microwave or in a watertight plastic bag submerged in cold water; food thawed in those ways should be cooked immediately. In addition, don't refreeze foods that have thawed, and don't buy foods that may have been refrozen; signs of refreezing include crystals on the container and clumping of the foods inside.
Rinsing raw meat is more likely to contaminate the kitchen than decontaminate the food. However, if rinsing is needed to remove bits of packaging, do it carefully. Try to handle raw food in just one part of the kitchen--say, on a cutting board used only for such food. Mop up spilled juices with paper towels. Then wash with hot soapy water any faucets, sink handles, counters, and utensils that you touched while handling the food. (And wash your hands, too.) Don't put cooked meat back on the same plate that held it raw, and boil leftover marinade for a full minute if you wish to use it as a sauce for cooked food.
