Food Safety

Spring Clean Your Way to a Safer Kitchen

When you're shaking off the winter with spring cleaning, it's a great time to target harmful bacteria that can lurk on kitchen surfaces and even in your refrigerator. Salmonella, Staphyloccus, E. coli and Listeria are just some of the bacteria that may be hanging out in your kitchen. While you can't see or smell BAC! -- short for bacteria -- they are everywhere, and they especially like moist environments. A clean and dry kitchen helps Fight BAC!® and protect you and your family from foodborne illness.

Some cleaning tips you should practice year round to make your kitchen and your meals safer include:

Always clean surfaces thoroughly with hot, soapy water. After thoroughly washing surfaces with hot, soapy water, you can sanitize them with a diluted chlorine bleach solution or a disinfectant kitchen cleaner. Use just 1 teaspoon bleach to 1 quart of water. Let the solution stand on the surface for a few minutes; then blot dry with clean paper towels.
Disinfect dishcloths often. Launder dishcloths and towels frequently using the hot water cycle of the washing machine. Then be sure to dry them in the dryer. Dishcloths harbor bacteria and, when wet, promote bacterial growth. Also, consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. When done, throw away the towel.
Rid your fridge of spills, bacteria, mold and mildew. Clean your refrigerator weekly to kill germs that could contaminate foods. To tackle bacteria, mold and mildew, clean interior refrigerator surfaces with hot, soapy water. Rinse with a damp cloth; dry with a clean cloth. Manufacturers recommend against using chlorine bleach as it can damage seals, gaskets and linings.
Clean your kitchen sink drain and disposal once or twice a week by pouring a solution of 1 teaspoon of chlorine bleach in 1 quart of water down the drain. Food particles get trapped in the drain and disposal, creating the perfect environment for bacterial growth.

Fight BAC!® is a national consumer education campaign sponsored by the Partnership for Food Safety Education, a coalition of industry, government and consumer groups. The campaign is designed to teach consumers about the importance of food safety and reduce the incidence of food borne illness.

Resources
If you have more questions or concerns about food safety, contact:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854). The TTY number for the hearing impaired is 800-256-7072. Or visit www.fsis.usda.gov.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Information Line at 888-SAFE-FOOD. Or visit online at www.cfsan.fda.gov.

Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education
For further Food Safety Information, please visit: www.fightbac.org

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Flu and Food Borne Illness Prevention

Influenza Prevention
During the winter months, we all find ourselves battling various infections and colds, but without a doubt the flu is among the most dreaded. There are simple steps that can be taken to help protect against the infamous influenza virus. Typically, the flu is transmitted through the air by coughs or sneezes from infected people and this makes it particularly hard to avoid.

Hand washing is a simple step that each of us can take to decrease our likelihood of acquiring the virus. Coming in contact with objects that have been contaminated by the influenza virus is almost unavoidable and washing your hands properly and frequently will reduce the opportunities for infection.

The Basics of Proper Hand Washing

Wet hands under running water (as hot as you can comfortably stand)
Apply soap and work into a lather
Wash every surface of hands, including backs of hands and under fingernails
Rinse hands under running water
Dry hands with paper towel and discard towel
Minimum time to wash hands is 20 seconds

Also, being proactive and making the time to get your flu shot will help give your immune system the boost it needs to successfully fight off the flu virus. This is especially true if you are in one of the following high risk groups:

Children aged 6 months until their 5th birthday
Pregnant women
People 50 years of age or older
People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
People who live with or care for those at high risk

Food borne Illness Info

Food borne Illness: How to Keep From Getting Sick
"It must have been something I ate," is often the explanation for what many people call the "stomach flu". Scientists however, have a different name for this problem. They call it food borne illness and estimate that each year 76 million cases of it strike people in the United States.

But you don't have to be one of the unlucky ones. Most cases of food borne illness can be prevented through some simple food handling and storage steps. All it takes is a little know-how and such everyday weapons as soap and water, a refrigerator and a food thermometer to check the temperature.

What is a Food borne Illness?
Food borne illness is the sickness that results from eating foods that are contaminated with harmful bacteria and other microorganisms. Although you may not see, smell or taste these "bugs", under the right conditions, they may be present on the foods when they are purchased or get into food during preparation, cooking, serving or storage.

Common symptoms of food borne illness include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, headache and vomiting. These symptoms may come on as early as a half hour after eating contaminated food or may not develop for up to two weeks.

They usually last only a day or two, but in some cases can persist a week or more. For most healthy people, food borne illnesses are neither long-lasting nor life-threatening. However, the consequences can be severe and may require hospitalization and even lead to death in the very young, the very old and those with weakened immune systems.

How to Keep Foods Safe
Because bacteria can survive on raw foods despite aggressive controls at the processing and retail levels, food safety experts urge consumers to think about food safety at each step in the food handling process -- from shopping or bringing takeout foods home to storing leftovers. This means consumers should always follow these four simple steps:

Clean -- Wash hands, utensils and surfaces with hot soapy water before and after food preparation, and especially after preparing meat, poultry, eggs or seafood to protect adequately against bacteria. Using a disinfectant cleaner or a mixture of bleach and water on surfaces and antibacterial soap on hands can provide some added protection.

Separate -- Keep raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods; never place cooked food on an unwashed plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, eggs or seafood.

Cook -- Cook food to the proper internal temperatures (this varies for different cuts and types of meat and poultry) and check for doneness with a food thermometer. Cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm.

Chill -- Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food and leftovers within two hours and make sure the refrigerator is set at no higher than 40°F and that the freezer unit is set at 0°F.

IN SHORT... FIGHT BAC!®
Food Borne Illness Info Source: The Partnership for Food Safety Education
For more information on Food Safety, please visit: www.fightbac.org

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