We hope that everyone will join us for another “tasteful”
Pathfinder Produce fresh fruits and veggie market, this Thursday, May 22, from
2 to 5 p.m.at the Village Commons. Please be advised that as we are finishing
up our blacktop re-coating, many cars will be parked on the east side of the
Village, so please be careful.
*****
Food is all around us. Bacteria, viruses and other
contaminants also are all around us.
If we’re not careful in the kitchen, it’s all too easy for
food and contaminants to co-mingle. When this happens, it’s possible for
you to become ill or have members of your family get sick. Food safety is
always an appropriate topic to review, especially as we are approaching the
summer cookout-picnic-fair food season.
This week I attended a food safety seminar at one of our
local county Health Departments. The staff of the Division of
Environmental Health offers classes to non-profit organizations, municipalities,
and business owners to help keep the public safe, but they offered information
that is easy to incorporate into your cooking routines at home. I highly
recommend attending a class, especially if you belong to a club, church or
other organization that has food-based events.
The instructors pointed out that the number one cause of
food borne illness is having someone who is sick preparing food. They mentioned
a “worst case scenario” that occurred at a restaurant near Syracuse in 2006,
through which over 1,000 people became ill. Although the root cause of
the outbreak of airborne norovirus was unknown, according to press reports it
was believed that sick employees contributed to the severity of the outbreak.
This week’s class covered the essentials:
- Know where your food is coming from and don’t use any food that is suspect.
- Cooks in any setting need to practice scrupulous environmental and personal hygiene, wearing food service gloves or using clean utensils whenever handling ingredients or finished plates of food.
- Frequent and thorough hand-washing and changing soiled gloves go a long way to stop the spread of contaminants.
- Food service staff need to properly heat and cool foods.
- Food service staff also need to prevent the cross contamination between foods and chemicals, and different types of foods at all stages (storage, preparation, holding and serving). If you want to see videos on classic cross contaminations watch these video by Eastern Food Safety: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3cRjvCd_hU or www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cxTPUl22o0.
Hot foods need to get hot quickly, without interruption to
the initial cooking process. According to the experts, crock pots are not
a way to cook foods as they do not get hot enough to kill all harmful bacteria
(165°F). They suggest cooking foods on the stove top and then transferring them
to crock pots. Health guidelines indicate that foods should be discarded
after two-hours of their initial heat up to 120°F. (120°F is not the maximum
heating temperature – different foods have different recommended internal
temperatures they should reach to kill harmful pathogens).
Heated foods that need to be stored should be cooled from
120°F to 70°F within two hours, and then go down to 41°F within another four
hours for proper storage. The Environmental Health staff recommended
dividing foods into smaller portions and using ice baths to bring them down
within the allotted time window.
Likewise, cold foods need to be kept cold to keep
toxin-producing bacteria “in limbo.” Raw or uncooked foods must be kept
below 41°F unless being used promptly to prepare menu items. Cooling food
that has been allowed to get too warm isn’t helpful, as the bacteria have
already produced toxins in the food and are potentially dangerous.
I can see many people rolling their eyes, and saying “Yes, I
learned this years ago in Home Economics. Why are you reminding me of
this?” To this I reply, “Where are your eggs stored in your
refrigerator?”
I learned that foods that are eaten raw, pre-cooked or
ready-to-eat need to be stored near the top of the refrigerator. Foods
that are more susceptible to pathogens need to be stored farther down. Poultry
and eggs need to be stored on the lowest shelf of the unit because they need to
be heated to the highest internal cooking temperature to insure that all
bacteria are killed (165°F). In commercial units, food should be stored
in this order, top to bottom: pre-cooked/ready to eat, whole fish, whole meats,
ground meat, poultry and eggs. (I would think the residential
refrigerator could use a redesign, based on this information!)
While all of this sounds like a lot to remember, it isn’t;
it comes down to having a well-calibrated food thermometer, following good
hygiene, and being aware of how long foods are being left out. Pathogens
in food grow between 41°F and 135°F -- keep foods out of this “danger zone” and
it will help keep it safe and you and your family healthy.
So, on that note, I wish everyone a food safe and happy
picnic and cookout season! Until next time, be well!
Lori
