What You Need to Know About Food Safety

When most people think about contracting an illness, the meals that they prepare probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, foodborne illnesses are unfortunately common, with 1 in 6 Americans contracting a foodborne illness each year. In most cases, these foodborne illnesses won’t lead to anything more than a day or two of uncomfortable symptoms. In rare cases, though, foodborne illnesses can sometimes lead to severe complications and even death.

The silver lining is that foodborne illnesses can almost always be avoided with proper food safety practices. To help educate people about the precautions they need to take in the kitchen, the month of September has been declared “National Food Safety Education Month“. At St. Jude Labs, we want to help promote the mission of National Food Safety Education Month by taking a look at common foodborne illnesses and the food safety measures that are able to prevent them.

Common Types of Foodborne Illnesses

“Food poisoning” is the term that many people use to describe foodborne illnesses, but there are actually several different types of diseases that you can contract from food that is not properly prepared. In the United States, the most common types of foodborne illnesses include:

• Norovirus: Responsible for 5.4 million cases each year, Norovirus affects more Americans than any other type of foodborne illness. Norovirus causes stomach flu-like symptoms and is commonly contracted from eating unwashed fruits and vegetables and undercooked shellfish.
• Salmonella: Salmonella causes 1.2 million cases of illness and 450 deaths in the United States each year. Salmonella can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, and fever, and the disease is most commonly contracted from eating undercooked poultry.
• Clostridium perfringens: Clostridium perfringens is responsible for 1 million cases of food poisoning in the US each year and is most commonly caused by storing food at unsafe temperatures. Outbreaks of clostridium perfringens typically occur in places that serve large groups of people such as hospitals, schools, prisons, and catered events.
• Campylobacter: Campylobacter is most commonly caused by consuming undercooked poultry and causes 1.3 million illnesses in the US each year. Campylobacter can sometimes lead to a severe neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
• E. coli: E. coli is responsible for 176,000 cases of food poisoning in the US each year and is commonly caused by consuming undercooked ground beef or unwashed fruits and vegetables.
• Listeria: Listeria only causes 1,600 cases of illness in the US each year. However, Listeria is the most lethal foodborne illness and is responsible for 250 deaths in the US each year.

Food Safety Tips for Preventing Foodborne Illnesses

All of the foodborne illnesses we’ve covered are bugs that you would certainly rather avoid. Thankfully, the odds of catching a foodborne illness are quite low if food is properly stored and prepared. The storage and preparation of the food you eat outside your home may not be under your control, but you can avoid contracting foodborne illnesses from the food you prepare yourself by following these food safety tips:

• Thoroughly Wash Fruits and Vegetables: Unlike meat, fruits and vegetables don’t have to be cooked to a safe temperature, but they do need to be washed before preparation.
• Avoid Cross Contamination: Any utensil or dish that touches raw meat must be washed before it is used to prepare other foods. You will also want to wash your hands after handling raw meat and disinfect any surface in your kitchen that raw meat touches.
• Cook Meat to a Safe Temperature: Poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 ºF, and pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 ºF. The safe temperature for beef depends on the product. Steaks and other whole cuts can be safely consumed quite rare as long as the outside is thoroughly cooked, while it’s best to cook ground beef to a temperature of at least 145 ºF.
• Store and Thaw Meat Properly: The 2-hour rule says that meat should not be left out of the refrigerator for longer than two hours. It’s also important to take precautions when thawing meat, as heating meat without cooking it by using thawing methods such as placing it in hot water will cause bacteria to multiply exponentially faster. Instead, meat should be thawed in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in a microwave.

Conclusion

Food poisoning is a highly unpleasant experience at best and a potentially fatal condition at worst. This September, be sure to educate yourself on proper food safety practices so that you can avoid having your delicious meal turn into a nightmare.