Preventing food poisoning follow secure practices

Seventy-six million Americans will suffer an episode of food poisoning this year. Three hundred thousand victims will require hospitalization and food poisoning kills about five thousand. A large percentage of these poisonings could be avoided by following very basic practices of food hygiene of food preservation, food handlers, clean and keep clean.

Most of the incidents of food poisoning is caused by bacteria or viruses. These are commonly spread by human waste particles or animals from body fluids like blood and urine and dirt which sticks of carcasses of animals and fruits and vegetables. When the manure is used as fertilizer for fruits and vegetables, has increased the risk of contamination. Collection and transport of animals and crops offer other opportunities for exposure.

Both meat and poultry processors and plants that handle the fruits and vegetables have industry standard for cleaning and security. Plants that follow these standards greatly reduces the risk of food poisoning. When food safety inspectors follow-up on contamination and reports of food poisoning, are usually serious lapses in hygiene. In January 2009, the Salmonella contamination in peanut butter and other peanut products required a nationwide recall. Health inspectors who monitored the contaminated products back to processing plants are frightening failures in hygiene, including a leaky roof, mold, fungus, bird feathers, rodent droppings and dead rodents killed cockroaches.

Both the food and Drug Administration and the Department of agriculture urge farms and processors of food to keep their industry-approved standards for cleanliness and safety.

Food handlers in institutional kitchens, restaurants and retail food stores have an equally strong mandate to maintain the hygiene of food. In these settings, who manages, prepares and serves food should always practice safe food practices of sound. The keystone of these procedures is also the simplest: wash your hands. Anyone involved in any part of food preparation and food service should wash both hands and scrub under nails, before touching food. Hand-washing are even more important after using the bathroom. If a food has an eye infection or an upper respiratory infection, or cuts on the wrists or hands, that person should not manage the food at all until the disease infection is ended or healed cuts.

When an employee moves to a different type of food, especially raw food cooked poultry or fruit or vegetable salad or other raw vegetables, they should wash hands thoroughly before touching food again.

Tools, knives, pots and pans, work surfaces and anything else that comes into contact with food must also be cleaned carefully as it would wash their hands.

Cold food stored more than two hours, cold foods should be refrigerated at temperatures below 40 Keep hot foods at 140 Keep cooked food in large, shallow containers that will allow heat to dissipate and refrigerate it promptly.

Kitchens follow these commonsense practices will greatly reduce the risk of food poisoning. A restaurant, shop or institutional food server that fails to follow these practices may be guilty of negligence. If you or a loved one has suffered a severe episode of food poisoning, and believe negligence was involved, you should consult an attorney experienced food security to determine if you have an actionable claim.