Cleanliness key to reducing risk of food-borne illnesses

There is nothing that can destroy the holiday season quite like an FBI — a foodborne illness. You can’t see them coming into your home. You can’t see, hear, or smell them once they’re in your home. But microorganisms can contaminate many types of food and cause illnesses, from those with flu-type symptoms to extremely serious problems and even death.

About 1 in 6 Americans gets sick each year from food poisoning due to microorganisms. This puts an estimated 128,000 people into the hospital, and about 3,000 die.

Question: If you survive food poisoning, are the effects only temporary?

Answer: In normal healthy people, usually the effects are a miserable experience followed by recovery. However, this is not always the case. Some types of infections like E. coli can cause kidney failure, especially in children. Others like shigella or salmonella can cause a type of arthritis in which people experience pain in their joints, along with irritated eyes and painful urination. This can become a chronic arthritic condition. Serious brain and nerve damage can occur from listeria infection, especially in infants.

Q: What can you do to minimize the risk of food poisoning?

A: Over the past few years there have been many messages relating to safe food handing. In case you slept through the past few years, the big four messages are:

Clean. Keep hands, food preparation surfaces and utensils, and fruits and vegetables clean.

Separate. Keep meat, poultry, seafood and eggs separate from other foods during shopping, preparation and storage.

Cook. Cook food to safe temperatures that destroy microorganisms and keep food hot between cooking and serving.

Chill. Refrigerate perishable leftover foods as soon as possible, at least within 2 hours.

Q: What else helps to reduce the risk of food contamination with disease-causing bacteria?

A: Have plenty of dish and hand soap on hand. Keep sponges and dish rags clean. Consider having separate knives, cutting boards and sponges used specifically for meat, poultry and fish.

Warmth and time are the primary promoters of bacterial growth in foods. So, controlling time and temperature all the way from shopping to consuming can make a big difference.

Before shopping, make sure there is room in your refrigerator or freezer to quickly put the perishable foods away when you get them home. It’s a good time to get the old stuff that is questionable out of there. “When in doubt, toss it out.” If you still need more room in the fridge, foods like canned soda and beer can safely be kept cold in an ice chest with ice.

At the store, shop as quickly as possible to minimize the time that food spends between the store fridge and yours. Plan your shopping path so you can put perishable foods in your cart last and keep in mind how long it can take to check out at the counter and get out of the parking lot. Using insulated shopping bags and having an ice chest in the car can help too. Shop close to home when possible and consider making special shopping trips specifically for the more risky perishable foods.

After shopping, go directly home. Children, pets and perishable food should not be left alone in the car.

Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., are nutritionists in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii-Manoa. Dobbs also works with University Health Services.