Standard: food sanitation (hands, food utensils, surfaces)
Standard: safe food preparation, serving, storing

Food Safety in the United States
The United States has two main government agencies that oversee the safety of the food supply-the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These agencies have enormous jobs ensuring the safety of the food supply for the 250 million people in the United States. The FDA conducts tests, sets safety standards and enforces laws regulating food quality and processing. When a manufacturer makes a request to put food additives or color additives into a food, the FDA reviews the safety of the chemicals to ensure that they are safe. The FDA also reviews, approves and regulates drugs. The USDA has the responsibility of regulating and inspecting all meats and poultry during slaughter and processing to ensure their quality and safety.

Although the United States has the safest food supply in the world, there are still many opportunities for the food to become contaminated with bacteria. Knowledge about food safety hazards is the best line of defense.

What is Food Borne Illness?
Food borne illness is a disease that is transmitted to humans by food and is caused by bacteria present in the food. If the food is eaten, bacteria may continue to grow in intestines and cause illness. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, fever, cramps, upset stomach, and in most severe cases, death. Symptoms can appear hours or even days after the contaminated food has been eaten. The most common causes for food borne illness are improper holding temperatures, poor personal hygiene, inadequate cooking, contaminated equipment and food from an unsafe source. Common types of bacteria causing infections include: Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli and Listeria.

Salmonella: This bacterium is spread through indirect or direct contact with intestinal contents or excrement of animals, including humans. It may be spread to food by hands that are not washed after using the toilet or it may be spread to raw meat during processing.

Campylobacteriosis: Caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacteria c. jejuni. C. jejuni is commonly found in the intestinal tracts of healthy animals (especially chickens), untreated surface water, along with raw milk, hamburger, and shellfish.

Listeriosis: Caused by the bacteria Listeria has the ability to survive for long periods under adverse conditions. This bacterium is frequently carried by humans and animals.

E. Coli: Is a microorganism most associated with ground beef, but can also be carried in raw milk, unpasteurized apple juice and cider, dry cured salami, sprouts and untreated water.

Preventing Food Poisoning

Wash

• Always wash hands in hot, soapy water before handling, preparing or serving food and after using the bathroom.
• Always wash cutting boards, utensils and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item.
• Use paper towels instead of cloth towels to dry hands and clean up surfaces. Cloth towels may harbor bacteria, thereby spreading it to hands and surfaces.

Don't cross-contaminate.

• Separate raw meat, poultry and seafood from other food in the grocery cart.
• Store raw meats, poultry and seafood in the bottom of the refrigerator so that juices from the meats don't leak onto other foods.
• Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat.
• Cross-contamination spreads bacteria from one food to another.

Cook thoroughly

• Don't eat raw meat or eggs
• Cook roasts and steaks to at least 145 degrees F.
• Cook ground beef to at least 160 degrees F. Don't eat ground beef that is still pink inside.
• Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm.
• Make sure that there are no cold spots in food when cooking in a microwave oven. Bacteria can survive in those spots.
• Refrigerate as soon as possible.
• Keep your refrigerator at no more than 40 degrees F and your freezer at 0 degrees F or below.
• Refrigerate perishables, prepared food and leftovers within two hours.
• Never defrost food on the kitchen counter. Use the refrigerator, cold running water or the microwave.
• Leaving foods out at room temperature for extended periods of time is dangerous, because microbes can grow on foods and cause illness. Many bacteria thrive at room temperature.

Use good sense when shopping

• Don't buy foods in dented, rusty, bulging or leaky containers. Damaged containers may have small holes that allow bacteria to enter. Some food bacteria can cause cans to bulge.
• Don't buy cracked eggs. Cracked eggs are more susceptible to bacterial growth, and they may leak on to other foods, contaminating them with Salmonella or other bacteria.
• Always pick the frozen and perishable foods last and get them into the freezer or refrigerator as soon as possible. Allowing foods to sit for long periods of time at room temperature may allow bacteria to grow and multiply.

If there is ever a doubt, throw it out. Don't take any chances with food-it's not worth the risk.

• If you don't know how long a food has been sitting out, throw it out.
• If you don't know how old a food is and can't find a date on the packaging, throw it out.
• If a food smells funny or looks funny, throw it out.

Prepared for HealthTeacher by Lisa Ford