Killers in the kitchen

Food is essential to our wellbeing, but it can also make us ill, and, in extreme cases, kill us.

A combination of summer heat, poor hygiene practises and in some cases, compromised immunity, can result in food poisoning, whether it be mild or life-threatening.

Globally, between one in three and one in four people get food poisoning and everyone is at risk simply because we must eat.

Dr Thiriloshani Padayachee, associate director of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology at the Durban University of Technology, says public awareness of food poisoning in South Africa is poor.

"Globally, food safety receives much attention and is a high priority," she says, "but not in South Africa."

Accurate statistics are hard to come by. Food poisoning is a notifiable disease, but our surveillance system is not effective, according to South Africa's Food Advisory Consumer Service.

The country reports just a few hundred cases of food poisoning a year, whereas the incidences are more likely to be in the region of hundreds of thousands of cases, it says.

Padayachee says she too believes it is under-reported and believes that the incidence is high because our climate provides the two most important growth factors that micro-organisms need to proliferate: warmth and moisture.

What causes it?

Food poisoning is caused by bacteria and viruses. Bacteria may grow in the food so that when it is eaten, they colonise the gut lining and cause food poisoning symptoms. Dysentery bacteria are usually carried in food only a few dysentery bugs are needed to cause severe illness.

Diarrhoea-type food poisoning usually takes between 24 and 72 hours to set in after contaminated food is eaten, so if you get food poisoning, think back to the foods you have eaten in the past couple of days and don't just blame the symptoms on the last thing you ate.

Viruses don't grow in food, but are passed on from people to food, frequently because of a lack of personal hygiene.

"All foods carry some level of micro-organisms unless they are said to be sterile," says Padayachee.

"If you provide the correct environment for these organisms, they will proliferate to levels that are not safe for human consumption and may then have the potential to cause disease."

The vast majority of micro-organisms do no harm. Many are beneficial and some of our favourite foods and drinks are made by using microbes bread, wine, beer, cheese, yoghurt and salami. But some foods, experts say, have more potential than others to carry food poisoning organisms.

How to prevent it

The International Food Information Council says most food-borne illness can be prevented through some simple food handling and storage steps.

Think about food safety at each step from shopping, cooking, cleaning and storing leftovers. Here's what you should do:

When you shop

# Take food straight home to the refrigerator.

# Don't buy anything you won't use before the use-by or sell-by date.

# Buy perishable foods last and take them straight home to the refrigerator.

Street vendors

Street food is not necessarily a poor choice in terms of food safety, according to the department of health's research into the safety of street food.

Durban dietician Carol Browne advises people to look for a vendor who has a clean surrounding area, who is wearing an apron and who cooks all the food from scratch on a daily basis.

If you are buying fruit, buy something that can be peeled, like a banana or orange. If you can wash it, you can buy fruit that does not need peeling.

At home

# Refrigerate or freeze perishables, ready-to-eat foods and leftovers within two hours of buying or preparation. Set the fridge on a cold temperature.

# Freeze fresh meat, poultry or fish immediately if you can't use it within a few days.

# Put packages of raw meat, poultry or fish in a shallow pan before refrigerating so their juices won't drip on to other food.

# If possible, leave a product in its wrapping; if a package is too large, divide the contents into smaller portions, and wrap and freeze what you don't plan to cook right away.

# Wash hands and sanitise food-contact surfaces often.

# Wash your hands with hot soapy water before and after preparing food. Be sure to wash your hands after using the toilet, changing nappies and playing with pets.

# Wash kitchen towels and sponges often in the hot cycle of your washing machine to kill bacteria or put sponges in the dishwasher daily.

# Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food item.

# To kill bacteria, sanitise food-contact surfaces and cooking utensils with a solution of 1-3 tablespoons of household chlorine bleach per 4.5 litres of water.

Separate

# Cut vegetables or salad ingredients first, then raw meat and poultry.

# Wash cutting boards, utensils and counter tops with hot soapy water after cutting raw meat and poultry products and before slicing vegetables or salad ingredients.

# Keep raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods.

# Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, eggs or seafood unless the plate has been thoroughly cleaned between uses.

# Do not use a sponge to soak up meat and poultry juices. Use disposable paper towels.

Cook at proper temperatures

# Thaw food in the fridge or microwave, not on the kitchen counter; marinate in the fridge.

# Use a clean meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of cooked foods to make sure meat, poultry, casseroles and other foods are cooked all the way through.

# Cook beef, veal and lamb roasts and steaks to an internal temperature of at least 60C, which is slightly pink in the centre. Pork chops, roasts and ribs should be cooked to at least 71 degrees Celcius.

# Cook whole poultry to at least 74C for food safety. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook poultry to higher temperatures. Use a food thermometer to assure that meat and poultry have reached a safe minimum temperature.

# Cook fish until it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

# Cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm.

Reheat sauces, marinades, soups and gravy to a rolling boil. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to at least 70C.

Microwaving

# Always follow the manufacturer's microwave instructions thoroughly.

# Cover the dish with a lid or plastic wrap to allow steam to build in the product. Use a food thermometer to read temperatures at different locations in the product.

# Arrange food evenly to ensure uniform cooking.

# Stir, rotate or turn foods midway during the process to eliminate any possible cold spots.

# Observe the standing time as cooking continues and is completed during this time.

When you serve food

# Use clean dishes and utensils to serve food, not those used in preparation.

# Never leave perishable food out of the fridge for more than two hours. Depending on the outside temperature, if food is left out at a picnic or in a hot car it may be safe for only 30 minutes.

How to handle leftovers

# Divide large amounts of leftovers into small, shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator.

# Remove stuffing from meats and poultry and refrigerate it in a separate container.

# Don't eat cooked or perishable foods that have been kept in the fridge for too long (no more than two to three days). Never taste food that looks or smells strange to see if you can still use it. When in doubt, throw it out.

During Power outages

# Keep refrigerator doors closed, as a power outage of up to four hours should not cause food spoilage, and a freezer should keep frozen food safe for at least a day. It is a good idea to have available alternative snacks that do not need refrigeration.

# Fill plastic containers with water, leaving some space inside each container for expansion during freezing in a deep-freeze or the freezer compartment of your fridge. This frozen water will help keep food cold during a power outage.

# Keep adequate stocks of essential foodstuffs that do not need to be refrigerated such as tinned foods.

If you think you have food poisoning

# Consult your healthcare professional, hospital or clinic.

# Any instance of diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain, or headache lasting longer than two days should be reported to a doctor.

# Most food-borne micro-organisms take about one to three days to cause symptoms. However, some can cause symptoms rapidly and some can take a week or more to cause symptoms.

When you call or visit your doctor, be prepared to recount all the foods you have consumed over the past week or more.

If you are HIV positive

# People with HIV should be extra careful with the food they eat, according to a study published on the online course Food Safety for High Risk Populations.

# Studies have shown that illnesses caused by listeria are 300 times more frequent in people with Aids than other people. A person with Aids is 12 to 20 times more likely to get a salmonella infection.

# Risky foods for those with compromised immune systems are: raw and undercooked animal products, including raw or undercooked meat, fish and poultry, as well as raw eggs, raw milk and raw shellfish. Other risky foods include unpasteurised fruit juice and raw sprouts.

# Some hot dogs and luncheon meats, soft cheese made with raw milk, refrigerated pates and meat spreads and refrigerated cooked or smoked seafood and fish, should also be treated with caution.

# The best way to reduce your risk of listeria is to make sure your fridge temperature is less than 4.4C and to store refrigerated perishable foods for four days or less.

Original Article