Food Safety Month Hopes to Cut Illness from Food Preparation

September is National Food Safety Month, and health officials are stressing the importance of proper food handling, both in restaurants and in the home. Diseases from food – foodborne illnesses – present a major health problem in the United States, according to Steve Paige, director of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Bureau of Environmental Health Services. "Each year between 6.5 and 33 million people become ill from so-called ‘food poisoning,' and about 9,000 of these die. About one-fourth of these illnesses are a result of our own home cooking," said Paige.

Nationally President Clinton has begun a $43 million farm-to-table campaign for safe food. All along this food chain, improper food handling contributes to most foodborne illness. This kind of illness can be avoided, but people have to be alert to the potential dangers that lurk in food. KDHE's goal for Food Safety Month is to reinforce this food safety awareness among food service workers and educate the public about food safety at home.

Time and temperature sources
Mary Glassburner is a KDHE inspector and trainer who trains personnel from restaurants and supermarkets throughout the state on food safety. "There are three main causes of foodborne illness," says Glassburner. "The first two are improper cooling and improper cooking. Together these fall under the ‘time and temperature,' category and account for 56 percent of the foodborne illnesses. Another 30 percent is due to improper handwashing."

Improper temperatures and handwashing allow the bacteria that cause two-thirds of all foodborne illnesses to prosper and multiply. These bacteria thrive at temperatures ranging between 40 and 140 degrees and flourish when cooked food cools on the counter, frozen food thaws outside the refrigerator, buffet food rests at low temperatures for hours, meats and poultry are undercooked, and utensils are used on raw meat, and then used on ready-to-eat foods such as vegetables or dairy products.

Glassburner said following three main rules will stave off many foodborne illnesses:

• Keep food clean. This means washing hands frequently, using clean towels, sponges, cooking dishes, and utensils, and sanitizing counters and cutting boards between food preparation steps.

• Keep hot food hot. Cook food to the proper temperature and hold it at temperatures higher than 140 F. Do not let food stand at room temperature.

• Keep cold food cold. After cooking, cool foods that are to be stored or served cold to 40oF or below within two hours. Keep the refrigerator at 36oF or colder.

Recipe for food safety

KDHE and the Industry Council on Food Safety offer the following recipe for safe food preparation for National Food Safety Month.

Ingredient #1: Personal hygiene

• Wash hands with hot soapy water before and after handling food. Be sure to wash between your fingers and pay special attention to your nails.
• Avoid handling food when ill or if you have cuts or sores on your hands.

Ingredient #2: Avoid cross-contamination

• Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other food in your grocery shopping cart. Place a plastic bag over these in the cart and in the grocery bag.
• Store raw meat, poultry, and seafood on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to keep juices from dripping on other foods.
• Wash and sanitize cutting boards and knives before, during, and after food preparation, especially after preparing raw meats.
• Never put food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood.

Ingredient #3: Time and temperature rules

• Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food, and leftovers within two hours. This applies to doggy-bag food from restaurants. If you can't refrigerate it quickly, leave it.
• Never defrost or marinate food on the kitchen counter. Use the refrigerator, cold water, or microwave to defrost. Throw away marinating liquid; it could contain harmful bacteria.
• Cook food to the proper internal temperature; check for doneness with a thermometer.

High-risk foods

KDHE offers a smorgasbord of safety hints for handling foods at home. Some foods are more susceptible to disease-producing organisms; these high-risk foods include raw or soft-cooked eggs, raw fish and shellfish, and rare meats and poultry. Other foods that are most likely to allow dangerous bacteria to grow include:

• soy protein, tofu, and other moist soy protein products, or food that contain them;
• milk, sour cream, eggs and soft cheeses such as cottage, ricotta, Brie and cream cheese.
• homemade mayonnaise and salad dressings;
• liquid non-dairy creamer,
• cooked pasta and rice,
• cooked potatoes and cooked beans,
• seed and bean sprouts.
• cut melons
• Cooking and pasteurization
• Never eat raw meat, poultry, or eggs or drink unpasteurized milk or cider.
• Cook ground meats until no pink color remains in the center and the juices are clear.
• During broiling, grilling, or cooking, turns meats over at least once.
• Don't partially cook a turkey or roast one night and then "finish" it the next day.
• Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. Keep raw eggs maintained under adequate refrigeration.
• Check all internal cooking temperatures with a clean thermometer.
• Put cooked leftovers immediately in shallow containers in the refrigerator.

Eating out

KDHE's Bureau of Environmental Health Services' job is to make sure that restaurants and supermarkets observe strict regulations for food safety. Although customers can't supervise the cooking and kitchen cleaning process at a commercial establishment, Glassburner says there are certain precautions they can take at restaurants:

• If hot food is barely warm when you get it, send it back;
• If the food is undercooked, send it back;
• If you see a food handler or server not wash their hands at appropriate times, smoking on the job, or eating while working, mention it to the manager.
• If you have a problem with the food, let the manager know; don't ignore it.

Symptoms of foodborne illness vary, but usually include one or more of the following: diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, headache, or fatigue. There also can be mild fever, sweating, chills, muscle pain, dizziness, and vision problems. Symptoms may occur as little as two hours after eating or as long as 48-72 hours after eating the contaminated food.

Although some people may have no symptoms after eating contaminated food, others may become very ill. The effect depends on the type of bacteria or toxin, how extensively the food was contaminated, how much food was eaten, and how susceptible the person is to bacteria. If symptoms are severe, or if they involve infants, the elderly, or an already-ill person, the person should be taken to a doctor or hospital immediately. If it possibly came from a restaurant or food service, the local health department or KDHE inspector should be notified. Any food should be saved for testing by the health department, marked "dangerous," and put in the refrigerator out of children's reach.

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