Keeping Food Safe

As a chef and a certified and registered Servsafe instructor of food safety, I teach my students how to avoid food borne illness in food service.  As a home cook instructor, I emphasize many of the same skills which can be used in the home kitchen to prevent loved ones from suffering the symptoms of food borne illness.  Research studies have determined that most food borne illnesses have their origin in the home, not in restaurants, and that the symptoms are commonly dismissed as 24 hour flu.  And, furthermore, that foodborne illness which may result in a tummy ache for a teen, can result in dehydration and death in the elderly, pregnant women, infants and, in general, anyone having a compromised immune system. 

But sometimes no matter what we do, contaminated food enters our homes without us knowing.  A couple of weeks ago while shopping with a student at an Ingles grocery store, I entered the produce aisle and there in the lettuce section, in front of me was a single pack of Tanimura & Antle Field Fresh Wrapped Single Head Romaine.  I immediately suffered the bells and whistles in my head, resulting from a recollection of a recent food safety recall for the very same lettuce because of possible contamination with e coli bacteria.  There it was, right there in front of me, in easy reach at my local Ingles grocer.  If I had not been alerted to the recall, I may very well have taken that home with me.

Food borne illnesses from e coli, salmonella and listeria (bacteria and viruses referred to as pathogens) have become more and more common recently and the only way to know about the possible contamination is to stay informed.  Shocking, but true, listeria contamination resulted recently in a massive recall of onions and associated deli products made with those onions as an ingredient.  I find the best way to stay informed about possible food contamination is to go to www.foodsafety.gov and register for automatic alerts.  You will be alarmed at the frequency of the alerts, but you will be informed. 

In addition to knowing where your food comes from and possible contaminations, here are five more preventative actions you can take to keep your family safe:

Personal hygiene, especially hand washing, is the one best preventative measure.   Hand washing means soap and hot water, scrub for 10 to 15 seconds, rinse and dry with a paper towel.  Your skin has a high concentration of staph and touching skin, hair, nose and mouth guarantees the spread of bacteria and viruses lurking on your skin unless hands are washed frequently.  Hand sanitizers should not be used in place of hand washing. 

Sanitizing with a solution of bleach and water can reduce pathogens on work surfaces, utensils, dishes, glassware and sinks.  Using soap alone will only clean the surfaces, not sanitize.

Time and temperature can be used to your advantage to control pathogens.  Don’t give them time to reproduce by providing optimum temperatures.  Pathogens in foods that require refrigeration, multiply fastest in temperatures between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit.    Make sure your refrigerator stays at 40 degrees or below, and the less time refrigerated foods are exposed to room temperatures the better.  The four hour rule should always apply, that is, if a food which requires refrigeration is at room temperature for 4 hours (cumulative), toss it! 

Cooking temperatures are as important as cooling temperatures.  You can find tables on many websites that will tell you the safe temperatures for serving cooked meats, eggs, fish etc., in order to prevent food borne illness.  In addition, thawing should always be done in the refrigerator, under cold running water or as part of the cooking process.  Never leave foods that require refrigeration on a kitchen counter to thaw. 

Cross contamination (passing pathogens from one surface to another) can occur when using the same utensils or surfaces for preparation of foods that need refrigeration before cooking, and foods that are eaten raw.  Always wash foods to be eaten raw, and always prepare them on sanitized surfaces with sanitized utensils.

For more on food sanitation and safety, you can purchase my book As Good As It Gets, Cooking Skills for Life, Volume 1 at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  

EAT SMART, America!

Buon Appetito e Buona Salute, Chef AngelaB