The Poughkeepsie Journal has provided a rundown on the foodborne illnesses that abound in our daily lives, including E.coli and salmonella.
“There are 76 million cases of food-borne illness reported a year, with 5,000 resulting in death,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington. “Your risk of dying is low, but your risk of getting sick is one in four. Sickness is very painful and results in doctor visits, lost work and extreme discomfort.”
Sam Beattie, Ph.D., Food Safety Extension Specialist at Iowa State University, offers some tips to avoid infection:
- Wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds.
- Prevent cross-contamination – don’t let raw meat, fish or poultry touch foods that won’t be cooked, such as lettuce.
- Never use the same knife or cutting board without washing it first.
- Cook foods to proper internal temperature (160 degrees Fahrenheit for ground meats, pork; 170 for poultry breasts; 180 for whole poultry; 145 for whole cuts of meat; 165 for leftovers, casseroles and ground poultry.
- Avoid temperature abuse. Keep it hot, keep it cold, and get it cold fast.