Food Safety is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4
Food poisoning is common, and most of us have eaten bad food at some point and had the symptoms of nausea & vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps or discomfort. In more rare cases, food poisoning can lead to fever, bleeding in the intestines and even death. It is usually caused by bacteria or other germs, or chemical contamination of food.
The good news is that food poisoning can be largely avoided, using the same basic strategies that local public health departments use to keep our restaurants safe. Toronto Public Health has created a 4-part framework for food safety based on the strict standards they apply to businesses that sell food. This framework applies to any setting where food is prepared, including your kitchen at home:
1. Clean Hands and Surfaces
You may be tired of hearing about handwashing, but the fact is that it works! The idea is to reduce the amount of bacteria and other germs on your hands so you don’t contaminate the food. Similarly, it’s important to keep surfaces like countertops, cutting boards, knives and towels clean, and to stop using them or wash them when they are dirty.
2. Separate the Raw from the Cooked
Cooking higher-risk foods like meat, poultry and seafood helps to kill bacteria and other germs in the food. But if relatively clean, cooked foods come in contact with raw, uncooked foods (or their juices), the cooked food can become contaminated and make you sick. It’s best to keep cook foods away from the area where you prepared raw foods, and clean up those preparation areas promptly.
3. Cook Thoroughly
Heat kills germs, but the heat must be high enough, and the heat must be applied to the food for long enough. You generally need to cook meats, poultry and seafood to between 70 to 82 degrees Celsius (158 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit – for the specifics, seehttp://www.toronto.ca/health/he/fp_cook.htm ). To ensure thorough cooking, a probe thermometer placed in the middle of the food can be helpful.
4. Chill Foods For Storage
As food cools down after cooking, bacteria and other germs can grow and multiply. The “danger zone” is generally between 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) and 4 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit). So if you need to store leftovers, keep them in the refrigerator or freezer.
Being mindful of these guidelines can be especially important during the holidays, at parties and other large gatherings where you are serving food. Preparing large amounts of food, cooking it thoroughly, and storing that food for later consumption are essential.
For details on food safety at home and a free downloadable pamphlet from Toronto Public Health, see: http://www.toronto.ca/health/he/bs_index.htm
To see the detailed food safety guidance that restaurants and other food establishments must follow, go to: http://www.toronto.ca/health/he/sfhg_index.htm
For the latest food recalls, allergy alerts and health hazard alerts related to food, and to sign up for free, real-time e-mail notifications of food recalls and alerts by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, go to:http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/recaltoce.shtml
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Dr. Karl’s Take Home Message:
1. You can reduce your risk of food poisoning through safe food handling techniques
2. Preparing and serving and storing large amounts of food for large gatherings can present a higher risk of contamination of the food, so taking extra care is advisable.
3. Safe food handling techniques are important because, although most of the time food poisoning causes a short, mild illness, it can sometimes cause severe symptoms and in some cases, death.
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