Top 10 Food Safety Mistakes Families Make
For most of us, food safety once meant little more than making sure that the potato salad at the Labor Day picnic hadn't spoiled. But nowadays it seems everyone experiences vague feelings of uneasiness when ordering sushi at a restaurant or choosing take-out at the supermarket - and justly so.
Recent statistics may help bring the problem home: More than 30 million cases of food-borne illness occur each year, estimates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and this number is expected to be even higher in a new report the agency is releasing later this 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. A new strain of Escherichia coli, which has been traced to burgers, produce and unpasteurized juice, now sickens approximately 20,000 Americans and kills 500 annually.
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 (which reduces stomach acid, giving the bugs a better chance to survive), as well as those with cancer, AIDS or a donor organ, says David Acheson, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at New England Medical Center in Boston and author of Safe Eating. The good news: If you banish these 10 most common food safety faux pas using our fast fixes, you and your family will be protected against food-borne illness before you sit down to your next meal.
BAD HABIT: REQUESTING A DOGGIE BAG
After food is cooked, served, moved around your plate and left to sit unrefrigerated while you finish your cappuccino and then wait for the check and drive home, the bacterial count is pushing the safety envelope, says Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D., a Newton, MA - based microbiologist and author of How to Prevent Food Poisoning. In general, you have about 90 minutes to two hours from the time food is served to get it into your fridge. (Ditto for meals you make at home.) Reheat leftovers to 160 degrees F and eat them within 24 hours.
FAST FIX: If you usually don't clean your plate, try sharing an appetizer and entree with your dinner companion or, if the restaurant allows it, ordering a half-portion. That way, you won't have too much left over and be tempted to take a doggie bag home.
BAD HABIT: 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. A common scenario: If you use your cutting board to remove fat from chicken and then immediately begin chopping carrots on it, the vegetables may become contaminated with salmonella. Toss the carrots into your salad and, before you know it, all of your vegetables are contaminated with bacteria from the chicken.
FAST FIX: Keep raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood - and the utensils that have come into contact with them - separate from other food during meal preparation, advises Bessie Berry, manager of the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline in Washington. Use wet disposable paper towels to clean up meat and poultry juices, and wash food thermometers with hot, soapy water after each use.
BAD HABIT: 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. If you don't wash your hands, not only can you spread bacteria around the kitchen, but you can also infect yourself if you touch your nose or mouth.
FAST FIX: Wash your hands with soap (any kind will do) and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after preparing food and after handling dirty dishes, going to the bathroom, wiping your nose or changing your child's diaper.
BAD HABIT: 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.
FAST FIX: Wash all of your produce - even if it says it has been pre-washed - in cool water for at least 30 seconds, using the sprayer attachment of your faucet. Scrub produce that has edible skin, such as apples and pears, with a produce brush.
BAD HABIT: UNDERCOOKING BURGERS
There's no guarantee that the ground beef you buy is free of E.coli.
FAST FIX: 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. Use a food thermometer to check other meat and seafood as well (steaks and seafood need to reach 145 degrees F; poultry requires an internal temperature of 160 degrees F).
BAD HABIT: WIPING COUNTERS WITH A SPONGE
Researchers at the University of Arizona in Tucson recently tested the bacteria levels of household sponges. They found that 20% of the sponges contained bacteria that could cause food-borne illness. When cleaning counters and appliances, you may be spreading bacteria all over.
FAST FIX: Toss the sponge in the dishwasher daily. Not planning on doing dishes? If you use the nonabrasive, cellulose sponges, you can microwave them on high for 60 seconds to kill bacteria, suggests Linda Harris, Ph.D., a professor of food microbiology at the University of California at Davis.
BAD HABIT: 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, says Al Burns, sanatorium supervisor for the Vermont State Health Department in Burlington.
FAST FIX: Opt for the grilled chicken sandwich instead because it's more likely to be cooked fresh, says Burns. At fast-food restaurants, request that your chicken or burger be prepared without the mayo or special sauce, so it will be made to order, suggests Dr. Acheson.
BAD HABIT: EATING COOKIE DOUGH
Raw eggs, an ingredient in most homemade cookies and cakes, may be contaminated with salmonella.
FAST FIX: Resist licking the bowl and satisfy your craving with store-bought cookie dough and cookie-dough ice creams, which are made with pasteurized eggs.
BAD HABIT: BAGGING YOUR MEAT AND SEAFOOD WITH OTHER GROCERIES
Their juices may leak and contaminate other foods, says Berry. Even if you don't spot a leak, the outside of the package may have been contaminated at the packing plant.
FAST FIX: 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. Place packages in your car's back seat rather than the trunk (which gets much hotter) and, when you arrive home, refrigerate or freeze them immediately.
BAD HABIT: 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, says Dr. Scott.
FAST FIX: Snoop around. 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, says Dr. Scott. 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, says Burns.
THE CHEESE CHECKUP
You shell out $15 for a pound of cheese, eat a few pieces and forget about it until you clean out the refrigerator a month later. Is it still good? "It depends on the type of cheese," says Dr. Acheson. You can cut mold off a hard cheese, like cheddar, particularly if the mold is blue. But soft cheeses with spots of mold are more likely to have mold throughout and should be discarded.
5 SIGNS YOUR RESTAURANT FOOD IS SAFE
More than 70% of food-borne illnesses result from meals eaten outside the home; the main culprit is restaurants. We asked experts for five signs that you can dine worry free:
A posted inspection report. You can check local restaurants' safety records by contacting your state department of health or agriculture.
A clean bathroom. The condition of the restroom is a good indicator of the cleanliness of the entire restaurant, says Al Burns.
Disinfectant spray and disposable paper towels. Staff should clean tables with these items rather than with a rag, which can spread bacteria.
A cold glass display panel. At sushi bars and deli counters, a cold panel is a sign the ingredients have been kept at temperatures chilly enough to discourage bacterial growth.
Chilled plates. Cold foods such as salad should be served on cool plates.
-by Elizabeth Hiser, r.d. - American Health, 1999