Food safety once meant little more than making sure the potato salad at the Labor Day picnic hadn’t spoiled. But nowadays it seems everyone experiences vague feelings of uneasiness when it comes to food safety. Recent statistics show that more than 30 million cases of food-borne illness occur each year. As many as 9,000 Americans die each year from food-borne illnesses, and related complications such as kidney failure, paralysis and arthritis are on the rise.
At the greatest risk of contracting food-borne illnesses are children under the age of five, pregnant women, senior citizens and people who regularly take heartburn medication, as well as those with a weakened immune system. There are 10 common food safety mistakes that families make.
Mistake #1 – Requesting a Doggie Bag
After food is cooked, served, moved around your plate and left to sit unrefrigerated, the bacterial count is pushing the safety envelope. In general, you have about 90 minutes to 2 hours from the time food is served to get it into your fridge. Always reheat leftovers to 160 degrees F and eat them within 24 hours and share an appetizer and entree or order a half-portion.
Mistake #2 – Helping Bugs Relocate
Research shows that the unintentional transfer of bacteria from one food to another is the chief food safety mistake made by consumers. Always keep raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood – and the utensils that have come into contact with them – separate from other food during meal preparation. Use wet disposable paper towels to clean up meat and poultry juices, and wash food thermometers with hot, soapy water after each use.
Mistake #3 – Forgetting to Wash Your Hands
More than 55% of households polled for a Food Technology survey on safety practices are regularly guilty of this error. Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
Mistake #4 – Not Cleaning Produce
An increasing amount of fruits and vegetables are imported from countries that don’t have food-safety standards as strict as ours. In fact, the typical food item in your grocery store has traveled nearly 1,000 miles. Wash all of your produce – even if it says it has been pre-washed – in cool water for at least 30 seconds.
Mistake #5 – Undercooking burgers
There’s no guarantee that the ground beef you buy is free of E.coli. Insert a food thermometer into the thickest part of your burger. All of the E.coli is destroyed when the temperature rises to 160 degrees F, which means the meat is medium-well to well-done.
Mistake #6 – Wiping Counters with a Sponge
Recent research shows that 20% of sponges contain bacteria that could cause food-borne illness. When cleaning counters and appliances, you may be spreading bacteria all over. Toss the sponge in the dishwasher daily. If you don’t run your dishwasher on a daily basis, microwave sponges on high for 60 seconds to kill bacteria.
Mistake #7 – Ordering a Chicken Salad Sandwich
Family members at high risk for food-borne illness should avoid this dish because it’s often made with leftover chicken, which significantly increases the chance of food-borne illness. Opt for the grilled chicken sandwich instead because it’s more likely to be cooked fresh.
Mistake #8 – Eating Cookie Dough
Raw eggs, an ingredient in most homemade cookies and cakes, may be contaminated with salmonella. Resist licking the bowl and satisfy your craving with store-bought cookie dough and cookie-dough ice creams, which are made with pasteurized eggs.
Mistake #9 – Bagging your Meat and Seafood with Other Groceries
Juices from these items may leak and contaminate other foods. Use plastic produce bags to cover the package before putting it into your cart. At the checkout, ask for meat and seafood to be bagged separately.
Mistake #10 – Buying Take-Out from Your Supermarket without Looking at How It’s Stored
Rotisserie chickens can harbor salmonella, while foods in the salad bar can be contaminated with salmonella, E.coli and listeria. Rotisserie chickens should either be refrigerated within two hours of cooking or kept in a heated rotisserie unit at a minimum temperature of 160 degrees F. If the chicken is unrefrigerated, look for a stamp that states the time it was removed from the oven. At salad bars, containers of cut vegetables and prepared salads should be immersed in ice up to the rim of the container and protected by a glass or Plexiglas barrier.
Watch for these mistakes and take steps to fix them to avoid food-borne illness and keep you and your family safe and free from sickness.
