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| 15 Ways to Make Your Food Safer |
Food Safety Strategies
From The Market to the Table
Tainted animal feed. Spinach scares. Peanut butter
recalls. Food safety has been big news lately, which is
making many people think twice about what's on their
plates.
First, the facts. The FDA says some U.S. hogs,
poultry, and farmed fish recently ate animal feed
containing Chinese ingredients tainted with an
industrial chemical called melamine. But the FDA says
people who ate meat from those animals are likely at
"very low" risk of melamine-related health problems.
The source of the salmonella outbreak in Peter Pan
and Great Value peanut butter has been found, and
maker ConAgra plans to start shipping Peter Pan
Peanut Butter to retailers this summer. And Last fall's
E. coli outbreak in fresh bagged spinach is over.
Despite the spate of food safety snafus, America's
food safety system works, CDC senior epidemiologist
Linda Demma, PhD, tells WebMD.
"I certainly don't think it's broken. I think we can
improve, but I don't think it's broken," says Demma,
who works in the enteric disease epidemiology branch
of the CDC's division of foodborne, bacterial, and
mycotic diseases.
"All the food safety agencies are working very hard to
collaborate and come up with some ideas on how to
improve the meat and produce industry as a whole,"
Demma says, adding that food industries "are being
very cooperative."
In light of food safety issues, the FDA recently created
a new FDA job -- assistant commissioner for food
protection -- and appointed David Acheson, MD,
FRCP, to fill that post. Earlier this year, the FDA
issued new guidelines for the fresh-cut produce
industry, which market packaged, minimally processed
fresh fruits and vegetables.
While food safety controls are being tweaked, here
are 15 tips on making your food safer, from the
market to the table.
1. Consider your source. Eating locally grown food is
becoming more popular, but that doesn't necessarily
mean it's safer than supermarket produce.
"Just because you grow it in a farm down the street, it
doesn't make it any safer or worse than any other
produce that you get," Suresh Pillai, PhD, tells
WebMD.
Pillai is a professor of food safety and environmental
microbiology at Texas A&M University.
Locally grown food "is pretty much on par with what
you would find in a supermarket," in terms of food
safety, Demma agrees. "Of course, there [are] other
reasons to buy and eat locally," she says.
At farmers markets, you may get the chance to meet
and talk with the people who produced your food.
Farmers markets have become more common, with
4,385 U.S. farmers markets in 2006, up from 1,755
farmers markets in 1994, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Eating food shipped from overseas? The melamine-
tainted animal feed ingredients came from China. But
that doesn't mean that all imported food is suspect.
"The assumption that the imported products are
unsafe is absolutely not true," Pillai says. "In fact,
there are as many outbreaks associated with foods
grown in the United States. So blaming it on imported
products, I think, is a cop-out."
2. Map your supermarket route. Don't cruise the store
aisles aimlessly. Gather nonperishable items first,
fresh or frozen goods last. That strategy minimizes
the time that perishable goods sit in your shopping
cart instead of in a freezer or refrigerator.
3. Be choosy. Select fresh produce that isn't bruised
or damaged. Check that eggs aren't cracked. Look for
a clean meat or fish counter and a clean salad bar.
Don't buy bulging or dented cans, cracked jars, or jars
with loose or bulging lids. If fresh-cut produce (such as
half a watermelon or bagged salad mixes) is on your
shopping list, choose those that are refrigerated or
surrounded by ice.
4. Pack it up. At the grocery store, bag fresh fruits and
vegetables separately from meat, poultry, and
seafood products.
Bring an ice chest to keep frozen or perishable items
if it will take more than an hour to get those items
home.
No ice chest? If it's hot outside, put the groceries in
the air-conditioned passenger area of your car instead
of putting them in the trunk, which may not have air-
conditioning.
5. Keep your kitchen clean. Wash your cutting boards,
countertops, refrigerator, pots, and utensils regularly in
hot, soapy water, especially after they've been in
contact with raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
6. Check your cutting boards. They shouldn't have lots
of cracks and crevices where bacteria can lurk.
7. Sanitize. The FDA recommends periodically
sanitizing your cutting boards, countertops, and
kitchen sink drain with a homemade mixture of one
teaspoon of chlorine bleach to one quart of water.
Sponges and dishcloths can house bacteria, so wash
them weekly in hot water in the washing machine.
8. Store your food properly. Refrigerate frozen and
perishable items as soon as possible.
Don't store foods near household chemicals or
cleaning products. Some produce -- like onions and
potatoes -- don't need to go in the refrigerator, but
don't store them under the sink, where they could be
damaged by leaky pipes.
9. Check the refrigerator and freezer temperature. Set
the refrigerator temperature to 40 degrees Fahrenheit,
set the freezer to zero degrees Fahrenheit.
Use a refrigerator thermometer to check those
temperatures periodically.
10. Wash your hands. Before you handle food, lather
up with soap and hot water, washing your hands for at
least 20 seconds. Repeat after handling produce,
meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
11. Wash fruits and vegetables in running water. A
small scrub brush may help, but don't use soap or
other detergents to wash produce.
What about produce washes? "All of these solutions
and washes may have some applications but studies
show that washing with water is as safe as anything
else," says Pillai, who calls water the "most effective,
the safest, and the cheapest" way to wash produce.
12. Thaw foods in the refrigerator, not on the
countertop. It may take longer, but it's safer.
13. Cook foods thoroughly. Use a meat thermometer
to make sure meat is fully cooked. Never put cooked
meats on an unwashed plate or platter that has held
raw meat.
14. Store leftovers safely. Refrigerate leftovers in tight
containers as soon as possible and use them within
three days. When in doubt, throw it out.
15. Maintain perspective. "There's no such thing as a
zero risk," says Pillai. ”There's no such thing as a
sterile product."
Everyone in the U.S. should get more education about
food safety "so the responsibilities are being spread
all across from the proverbial farm to fork," says Pillai.
While you can't control everything that affects your
food, "you should not lose a sense of reality," says
Pillai. "I still believe that we have one of the safest
supplies of food in the world."
Published May 10, 2007.
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SOURCES: WebMD Medical News: "Tainted Animal Feed May Be in Fish." WebMD
Medical News: "Peanut Butter Salmonella Source Found." WebMD Medical News:
"E. coli Spinach Outbreak Hard to Trace." Linda Demma, PhD, senior
epidemiologist, Enteric Disease Epidemiology Branch, Division of Foodborne,
Bacterial, and Mycotic Diseases, CDC, Atlanta. Suresh Pillai, PhD, Professor of
Food Safety and Environmental Microbiology, Chairman of the Biotechnology
Program, and Director of the National Center for Electron Beam Food Research,
Texas A&M University. U.S. Department of Agriculture: "Farmers Market Growth."
FDA's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition: "Consumer Advice and Publications
on Food Safety, Nutrition, and Cosmetics." National Digestive Diseases Information
Clearinghouse: "Bacterial and Foodborne Illness."
