Got Gastroenteritis? How to Avoid Foodborne Illness - Page 2
4. Yes or No: After her party, Linda throws away the dip from the vegetable platter, but enjoys munching on the leftover baby carrots and celery sticks. Has Linda put herself at risk for a long night of an upset stomach?
The correct answer is: Yes.
By eating those veggies, Linda is at risk of gastroenteritis. Cutting or peeling fruit and vegetables is equivalent to breaking the seal on a container. Once that seal is broken, bacteria will begin to grow on the cut or peeled surface of the vegetable.
In small quantities, bacteria typically won't cause problems, but because bacteria multiply rapidly when temperatures are between 40°F and 140°F, never trust any cut produce that has been left out for more than two hours, or one hour in warm weather. That includes such items as fresh salsa and freshly chopped herbs such as cilantro or basil.
Most people don't measure their refrigerator temperature and don't know what it should be.To inhibit the growth of most bacteria on cut produce and other foods, the internal temperature of your fridge should always stay below 40°F (5°C). Putting large containers of hot food directly into the fridge or freezer before it has sufficiently cooled can disrupt the temperature within the refrigerator and increase the risk of rapid bacterial growth for all foods. Instead, divide hot leftovers into smaller portions in shallow containers so they can cool down as quickly as possible.
When the time comes to eat these leftovers, remember that the sniff test isn't a reliable way of checking the safety. Bacteria that cause food-borne illness do not always cause bad tastes and odors in food. A safer rule of thumb is to discard any leftovers that are more than three days old, or that have not been properly stored or refrigerated.
5. Chris doesn't have time to cook the fish that he has been defrosting in the refrigerator for almost two days. What should he do?
- throw it away
- keep it thawed until he has time to prepare and eat it
- put it back in the freezer
The correct answer is: put it back in the freezer.
It's safe for Chris to refreeze fish, poultry, and meat as long as they were defrosted in the refrigerator and not in the microwave or at room temperature. However, if the food was thawed out of the fridge or in the microwave, then do not refreeze it.
Because seafood is a common source of food-borne illness, it's wise to be cautious when buying and preparing fish. Thoroughly cook all foods, but be particularly careful with oysters, clams, or mussles, which carry the greatest health risks from undercooking.
If you're making sushi, buy seafood from reputable sources and store it in the coldest part of the refrigerator, usually under the freezer compartment or in a special meat drawer. Avoid packing it in tightly with other items to allow air to circulate freely around the package.
Have questions? Ask a food safety expert at Food Safety Answers.
You Can Never Be Too Safe
Although the food industry and regulatory agencies do have effective surveillance and investigative methods, you cannot rely on only these systems to keep your food safe. Think of proper food handling as wearing a seatbelt. Because you never know when you are going to encounter dangerous food borne pathogens, treat all foods as if they may contain them.
Thoroughly cooking food, storing it at appropriate temperatures, preventing cross-contamination from meats and poultry to other foods, and keeping hands, tools, and kitchen surfaces sanitized can help keep a few bacteria from growing to a dangerously high number of pathogens.
Top 5 Riskiest Foods for Foodborne Illness
• Raw meat and poultry
• Raw eggs
• Unpasteurized milk
• Raw shellfish
• Raw fruits and vegetables, alfalfa sprouts, and other raw sprouts
