Safe Cook: How You Could be Making Your Family Sick

Night Out

Whether we are eating out at a great steakhouse downtown or the mom and pop pizza joint down the road, we assume we are not going to get sick from the food. In the rare event we do get sick, we vow to never eat there again and cannot even hear the brand name of the place without getting nauseous.

Food Establishments

What you may not know is chances are good that you did not get sick from a restaurant’s food. It is possible, but not likely since all food establishments are governed by the state and county health departments in the area. Law requires a Food Service Sanitation Certificate holder to be on staff 24/7 to monitor safe food handling, receiving and storage practices. Most establishments require all managers to obtain this license upon promotion. Certificate holders are also required to attend a refresher course every 5 years and pay a fee to renew their license.

Home Cooking

So if the restaurants are not the probable source of my food illness, you ask, who is responsible? The probable case… you or whomever prepares your meals in your household. Most food borne illness (meaning: illness passed through food) is the result of improper handling, heating or cooling of the food. Most of us have not attended sanitation classes in order to have the proper food handling knowledge to keep our family safe from food borne illness.

“That’s How We’ve Always Done It” and “Mom always said…”

Mom wasn’t always right. We know what we are taught and take it as truth, especially when we grew up cooking with Mom in the kitchen. Common poor food handling practices have been handed down through generations:

1) Eating morning-after pizza that has been left out on the counter all night.

Food, whether raw or cooked, has two hours “shelf life” out of heat or refrigeration. (Shelf life refers to the time before expiration) After a refreshing 8 hours of sleep, there are billions of harmful bacteria on the pizza that can make you really sick. I know what you’re thinking. “We’ve been doing this for years and no on e has ever gotten sick.” We don’t think we’re sick until its shooting out of both ends but that’s not the case. A minor case of diarrhea is usually the ignored symptom of this kind of food poisoning.

2) Pulling the roast or chicken out of the freezer to thaw on the kitchen counter “It will ready to cook when I get home from work.”

Even though parts of the chicken may still be frozen when you get home, the outer layer has been sitting at room temperature for 6 or so more hours than the limit of 2 hours. Millions and billions of bacteria that may not be able to be “cooked off”.

3) Potato/Macaroni salad and mayonnaise for the burgers are left out in the sun all day during a family BBQ.

Billions of bacteria! The mayo is the culprit here. Keep coolers with ice around. Keep the bowls and mayo bottle in small ice bins, or keep an ice chest to return the items to after service. Keep the 2 hour rule in mind. Also, the 2 hours will not apply if the sun is hot. The shelf life gets shorter.

4) Eating cold spaghetti and meatballs out of the can.

Our friend botulism. Cook canned food to 160 degrees F. and hold for 15 seconds. Botulism is scary because it build spores that cannot be killed by heat. Very serious. Cook your food.

5) Save on dishes, use the same cutting board and knife to prepare the raw chicken and the salad.

Food borne illness from cross contamination. If the bacteria from the uncooked chicken gets on the salad, and you’re not going to cook the salad, its like eating raw chicken when you eat the salad. No good.

6) Olive and Vegetable Oils can be kept forever.

Oils have a shelf life. Check the expiration date. You may have to throw out a $12 bottle of olive oil, but do it for the sake of your family’s health.

7) Save the tuna in the can, in the refrigerator.

Under refrigeration in the can and with the combined exposure to the air, the tuna absorbs the can’s material. Tin will make you really sick. Instead, make sure to store in a separate, closed container.

Children, Elderly, Pregnant and Ill

Be extremely careful when preparing food for children, elderly, pregnant or ill family. Their bodies are not able to fight off a minor food poisoning. They can get deathly ill from a “minor” food handling mistake. Other requirements for this group are:

1. No soft cooked or raw eggs
2. No rare meat
3. Cook all meats thoroughly, cook it until it is dry and serve with gravy if you have to.
4. Follow all safe food handling procedures.

Certification

To put your mind at ease, it would be a great idea to look for a Food Sanitation class in your area and get certified yourself. Your county’s health department and local junior college will have these classes. They are usually one or two days long and can be taken on the weekend.

This site is not all inclusive of the proper food handling procedures. There are many more. But these are the basics that apply to home cooking.

Pass this site along to your family and friends for their safety too.