September is National Food Safety Month (and National Corndog Month, but I guess that's not exactly nutrition-blog worthy), so I thought I would highlight the need for food safety measures. When most people think of food safety, they think of restaurants and grocery stores, but many (perhaps even MOST) cases of food-borne illness happen at home. Case in point, when I was finishing my undergraduate degree in nutrition (and coincidentally enrolled in aServSafe food safety class) I gave myself the worst case of food poisoning I have ever experienced. Despite the fact that I got an A in the course (so I know how to safely prepare food!), I made a few cardinal mistakes in making a simple soup from leftovers. First of all, it is not a good idea to leave your leftover Thanksgiving turkey carcass languishing in a stock pot in the back of the fridge for a week. However, this was a transgression that could have been overcome had I not sampled the soup in preparation several times before it came up to temperature. Needless to say I was laid out by what I assume to be clostridium perfringens. Not fun. Learn from my mistakes and practice good food safety at home.
The website for the American Dietetic Association suggests the following measures to help prevent food borne illness:
*Wash your hands often- before cooking, after handling raw meat, wiping your nose, etc. etc. etc. Use antibacterial soap and scrub well (hum a verse of the birthday song to get in a good 20 seconds). Use a nailbrush to clean potentially harmful bacteria lurking under fingernails.
*Keep a clean workspace- don't reuse cutting boards after using with raw meats (wash and disinfect them), don't have your space cluttered with non-food items like your purse or beverage and wash your counters before preparing food.
*Wash all utensils, cutting boards and dishware in hot, soapy water before and after use.
*Wash towels and dishcloths often, using hot water in the washing machine. Sterilize sponges by microwaving or in the dishwasher on an NSF cycle... or throw them out!
*Maintain proper temperature in your refrigerator and freezer (and when cooking). Temps from 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit are the "temperature danger zone" where bacteria breed the best. Invest in thermometers to check your fridge temp and meat thermometers for cooking.
(www.eatright.org)
