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Foodborne
Illness Never Takes A Vacation
As the song
says, "Summertime and the livin' is easy." Although life's
just as hectic in July as in January, enjoying a picnic on the beach
or grilling up steaks on the deck seems to make it more relaxing,
even if we're fooling ourselves.
With summer
food safety, no one can afford to relax too much, because nasty
foodborne bugs never take a holiday. The results of serving an undercooked
burger, or vegetables contaminated with raw meat juices can be a
lot more serious than an upset stomach.
Young children
and elderly adults have become critically ill and sometimes died
from kidney failure after contracting E. coli O157:H7, otherwise
known as Hamburger Disease. Eating undercooked meat (especially
ground beef) is a common means of exposure. Serving a hamburger
that's still pink inside is inviting trouble.
Following
are some other summer food safety tips to keep illness from raining
on your picnic or barbecue:
Food safety
starts at the supermarket. Don't place frozen foods into your shopping
cart until just before you reach the checkout stand. A hot car is
no place to leave groceries, even if they are out of the sun. Get
them into your fridge or freezer immediately.
Defrost meat
in the refrigerator, or in cold water if it's in a sealed package.
Never leave frozen meat on a countertop to defrost, because bacteria
can have their own party before you have yours. Marinate steak or
other raw meat in your refrigerator.
Cross-contamination
sounds like a mouthful - a mouthful you'll want to avoid. If you've
used a cutting board to slice up raw chicken or beef, carefully
wash it with hot, soapy water before re-using it to cut up vegetables
or bread. Otherwise, bacteria can be transferred onto these foods.
Cross-contamination can also occur when someone handles raw chicken,
for example, and then goes on to touch other food, plates, or utensils
without thoroughly washing their hands with hot, soapy water. Washing
your hands is also vital after using a toilet and before handling
food.
Cook meat thoroughly
and use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature. It's
unsafe to serve chicken pieces that haven't reached at least 170
degrees Fahrenheit (77 degrees Celsius). Burgers and pork must be
heated to at least 160 degrees F (71 C) and steaks, roasts and chops
should reach a minimum of 145 degrees F (63 C). Partially pre-cooking
meat in your microwave is fine, as long as you don't let it sit
around before it's barbecued.
Serve hot foods
hot and cold foods cold. Keep meat hot on the barbecue until it
is served, and cold items such as salads refrigerated. Use convenient
freezer packs to transport perishable foods in coolers to picnic
spots.
In these days
of soaring food prices, leftovers look more appealing than ever,
but if food has been left to sit for an hour in hot weather, don't
take a chance by serving it again. Get it off the table and into
the fridge right after dinner.
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