1. Food Safety

2. Overview  How times have changed  Why some people face risks  Recognizing foodborne illnesses (food poisoning)  Food safety at home  Special foods and advice  Eating out or take out

3. What is a food borne illness?

4. How food becomes unsafe  Time-temperature abuse  Food is not stored at the proper temperature  Food is not cooked or reheated enough to kill pathogens  Cross-contamination  Contaminated ingredients are added to food that is already cooked  Food handler touches contaminated food and then touches ready-to-eat food  Poor personal hygiene  Fail to wash hands correctly after using the restroom  Cough or sneeze on food; working while sick  Poor cleaning and sanitizing  Equipment and utensils not washed, rinsed and sanitized  Food-contact surfaces wiped clean rather than being washed

5. Foods most likely to become unsafe  Milk dairy products  Meat; beef, pork, lamb  Poultry  Shell eggs  Fish, shellfish, crustaceans  Baked potatoes  Rice, beans, vegetables  Tofu/soy products  Sprouts  Slices fruits and vegetables Why?  Pathogens grow well on these foods  Time and temperature control are needed to limit pathogen growth  TCS foods; require time and temperature control for safety

6. Prevention and Food Safety  “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”  Preventing growth of dangerous microorganisms in food helps to reduce thousands of illnesses and deaths each year

7. How Have Times Changed? Then:  Food used to be produced close to where people live  More people prepared and ate their food at home  The way food is purchased and distributed has changed Now:  Food in grocery stores come from all over the world  Nearly 50% of money spent on food goes towards “eating out” or “take out” New and dangerous bacteria and viruses have been discovered over the years

8. Populations that are more at risk  Some people are more likely to face risks:  Pregnant women  Preschool-age children  People with chronic illnesses and weak immune systems  People with cancer or on chemotherapy  People with HIV/AIDS  Elderly people  Older adults (usually age 65+)  These populations have a higher risk of getting a foodborne illness

9. Why Some People Face Risks  Everyone’s health is different  Those previously listed affect their ability to fight off disease  Our immune systems weaken with age  Some diseases also weaken our immune systems  Stomach acid decreases with age – stomach acid plays an important role in reducing bacteria in our intestinal tracts, therefore, reducing our risk for illness  Diabetes, cancer treatments, and kidney disease can increase risks for foodborne illness

10. Recognizing Foodborne Illness  It’s often difficult to recognize foodborne illness  We’re not able to see, smell, or taste the bacteria  Sometimes people think their illness was caused by their last meal  There is a wide range of time between eating food with harmful bacteria and the onset of illness  Harmful bacteria usually takes 1-3 days to cause illness, but you could become sick anytime from 20 min to 6 weeks after eating!

11. Signs of Foodborne Illness  It’s important to know that foodborne illness is often confused with other types of illness  Some signs may be:  Nausea  Vomiting  Diarrhea  Stomach cramps  Flu-like symptoms – fever, headache, body aches By following basic rules of food safety, you can prevent foodborne illness for yourself and others!

12. Food Safety at Home Basic Rules: 1. Clean 2. Separate 3. Cook 4. Chill Fight BAC!  Fight BAC! Is a national education campaign designed to teach everyone about food safety

13. Basic Step #1: Clean  Wash hands and surfaces often  Bacteria can be found throughout the kitchen – cutting boards, utensils, sponges, counter tops  Wash hands with warm water and soap before and after handling food, using the bathroom, handling pets, changing diapers, etc.  Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot water and soap after preparing each food  Diluting bleach with water can be used as an effective sanitizer

14. Basic Step #1: Clean, continued  Replace worn down cutting boards on a regular basis  Especially boards that are plastic, non-porous, or have hard-to-clean grooves  Consider using paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces  If you use cloth towels, be sure to wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine to kill bacteria  Always rinse raw produce in water; if necessary, use a small vegetable brush to remove dirt

15. Basic Step #2: Separate, Don’t Cross-contaminate!  Cross-contaminate is the scientific word for how bacteria can be spread from one food product to another  Be extra careful with raw meat, poultry, and seafood  Keep these foods and their juices away from foods that aren’t going to be cooked  Use a different color-coded cutting board for raw meats, and separate one for non-meat foods  Avoid putting clean food on an unwashed plate that held raw food

16. Basic Step #3: Cook to Proper Temperatures  Foods are safely cooked when they are heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria in food  Use a clean food thermometer to measure internal temperatures of cooked foods – this ensures that your foods are cooked all the way through!  When cooking in a microwave, make sure there are not cold spots in food where bacteria can survive

17. FoodInternal Temperature Ground meats: beef, veal, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey 160°F Raw beef, veal, pork145°F Poultry (turkey, chicken)165°F Eggs160°F Leftovers165°F FishUntil meat flakes with a fork Internal Cooking Temperatures

18. Step #4: Chill  Refrigerate foods quickly – bacteria in food can double every 20 minutes at room temperature  Make sure your home refrigerator is set to 40°F or below; freezer 0°F or below  Refrigerate or freeze perishables or prepared food and leftovers within 2 hours  Don’t thaw foods at room temperature  Marinate foods in the refrigerator  Don’t pack your refrigerator too full. Cold air needs to circulate and keep food safe!

19. How Long Can Food Last in the Refrigerator? The maximum amount of time a food can last in the refrigerator is up to 7 days  But remember, different foods will have different guidelines  Visit www.fightbac.org for more specific information on storage informationwww.fightbac.org

20. Fresh Produce  All produced purchased pre-cut or peeled should be refrigerated for safety as well as quality  Produce cut or peeled at home should be refrigerated within two hours  Any cut or peeled produce that is left at room temperature for more than 2 hours should be thrown away

21. Re-heating Ready-to-eat Foods  Even some refrigerated, pre-cooked foods can become re-contaminated with bacteria after they have been processed and packaged  These foods include: hot dogs, lunch meats, col cuts, other deli-style meat and poultry products that are kept refrigerated  Reheat these foods until they’re steaming hot!

22. Be Safe When Eating Out or Ordering “Take-Out”  Keep in mind that hot or cold ready-prepared meals are perishable and can cause illness when mishandled  When you go out to eat, look at how clean things are before you sit down; if it’s not up to your standards, you might want to eat somewhere else  Always order your food cooked to a safe internal temperature, especially for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs  Proper handling is essential to ensure the food is safe!

23. The “2-hour rule”  Harmful bacteria can multiply in the “temperature danger zone” or “TDZ” – between 40 and 140°F  Discard any perishable foods left at room temperature longer than 2 hours (this also applies to cold and hot foods that are purchased at the store)  If you are not eating within 2 hours, and you want to keep your food hot and temperature safe, you can keep it in your oven at 140-200°  But remember: your food will taste better if you don’t keep it in the oven for too long!

24. Restaurant Leftovers  Care must be taken when handling leftovers  If you will not be arriving home within 2 hours of being served, it is safer to leave the leftovers at the restaurant  Remember that keeping leftovers in your car can make bacteria grow rapidly

25. Questions/Comments Remember… An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! If you’d like to know more about food safety, visit the following websites:  www.foodsafety.gov www.foodsafety.gov  www.fightback.org www.fightback.org  www.fsis.usda.gov www.fsis.usda.gov