Center for Evidence to Practice working to improve behavioral health

Many people have daydreamed about being a superhero. Who
wouldn’t want to have the power of flight or super strength? Well, those kinds
of powers may be out of our reach, but there’s one that isn’t: being a food
safety superhero. With September being Food Safety Education Month, it’s a
great time to learn about preventing foodborne illnesses and how to keep food
safe.

Much like Batman and his familiar rogues’ gallery of
villains — the Joker, Catwoman and the Penguin, just to name a few — the
kitchen also has its common culprits when it comes to food poisoning and
foodborne illnesses. When contaminated and consumed, these foods can make a
person very sick. Let’s take a closer look at the usual suspects.

First, a little sanitation: Always wash your hands with soap
and warm water before handling food and immediately after handling any raw
food. Wash your counter tops, cutting boards, dishes and utensils with soap and
hot water between the preparation of raw foods and cooked or ready-to-eat
foods.

Chicken, beef, pork
and poultry

• The bad guys: campylobacter, salmonella, Clostridium
  perfringens, E. coli, yersinia and other bacteria


• How to fight back:
  Never wash raw poultry or meat, since this increases the chances of spreading
  bacteria to other foods and surfaces. Cook your poultry and meat thoroughly to
  a safe internal temperature using a cooking thermometer and these
  charts. Don’t rely on the meat’s color or juices to tell you if it’s fully
  cooked. Refrigerate any leftovers within two hours of preparation at a
  temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. Divide larger cuts into small
  quantities for refrigeration, as this helps the meat cool quickly and prevent
  bacteria from growing.

Seafood and raw
shellfish

• The bad guys: Vibrio, salmonella, listeria, norovirus and other bacteria


• How to fight back:
  Cook raw seafood to proper temperatures, usually an internal temperature of 145
  degrees. Other ways to tell if seafood is done are if fish flesh is opaque and
  separates easily with a fork; shrimp, scallop, crab and lobster flesh become
  firm and opaque; and the shells of clams, mussels and oysters open during
  cooking (unopened ones should go in the trash). Don’t eat seafood if it smells
  sour, rancid or like ammonia. Cooked seafood should be refrigerated if it’s
  been out for more than two hours or for more than an hour when temperatures are
  90 degrees or higher. Refrigerate at 40 degrees or colder.

Fruits and vegetables

• The bad guys: salmonella,
  E. coli and listeria


• How to fight back:
  Wash your hands and all utensils and food prep surfaces before and after
  preparation. Under running water, wash or scrub your produce and cut away any
  damaged or bruised areas, then dry with a clean paper towel. Keep produce
  separate from raw meat, poultry and seafood. Refrigerate your prepared fruits
  and veggies within two hours, or one hour if it’s 90 degrees or hotter outside.
  Store in a clean container in a refrigerator at 40 degrees or colder.

Sprouts

• The bad guys:
  salmonella, E. coli and listeria


• How to fight back:
  Cook sprouts such as alfalfa or bean thoroughly to kill off any germs.

Raw milk, raw milk
soft cheeses and other raw milk products

• The bad guys: campylobacter,
  cryptosporidium,
  E. coli, listeria and salmonella


• How to fight back:
  Choose products that have been pasteurized — if the label says “pasteurized,”
  it’s safe to consume. These products include milk, yogurt, ice cream and soft
  cheeses like queso fresco, queso blanco, brie, Camembert and feta.
  Pasteurization is a process that heats raw milk to a specific temperature just
  long enough to kill off germs. This process doesn’t destroy enough of the
  nutritional benefits of raw milk to make raw milk worth the risk. Refrigerate
  milk products at 40 degrees or colder. Keep your eye on the expiration date. If
  a product is past this date, throw it out to reduce your chances of getting
  sick.

Eggs

• The bad guy: salmonella


• How to fight back:
  Buy and use pasteurized eggs and egg products from stores and suppliers, and
  never buy cracked or dirty eggs. Cook your eggs thoroughly, until the whites
  and yolks are firm. If your recipe calls for raw or undercooked eggs, such as
  Caesar salad dressing or eggnog, make sure you only use pasteurized eggs and
  egg products. No matter how tempting it may be, do not taste or eat raw batter
  or dough that contains eggs. Eggs and any foods containing eggs should be
  refrigerated shortly after cooking. Refrigerate eggs at 40 degrees or colder.

Raw flour

• The bad guys: E.
  coli and other bacteria


• How to fight back:
  Most flour is a raw agricultural product, which means it hasn’t been treated to
  kill bacteria. When you cook with flour, the heat from cooking kills off the
  bacteria. That’s why you shouldn’t eat raw dough or batter. It’s delicious, but
  it’s not worth the risk. Just don’t do it.

Now that you’re armed with information, you can take the
fight to foodborne illnesses. It’s in your power to protect yourself and your
loved ones from sickness.