6/9/2011
The outbreak of a virulent strain of E. coli in Germany has Europeans worried about their fresh produce, but the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) is reminding consumers that there are a number of steps they can take to protect themselves against food-borne illness.
“Summer cookouts with family and friends are a time-honored tradition, but one thing you don’t want to share with your guests is a food-borne illness,” said West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. “Good preparation and handling practices are an important way to keep your meals safe and healthy.”
Always wash your hands with soap and hot water before and after handling food. Keep your kitchen, dishes and utensils clean also. Always serve food on clean plates – not those previously holding raw meat and poultry. Otherwise, bacteria that may have been present in raw meat juices can cross-contaminate the food to be served.
If you are cooking foods ahead of time, be sure to cook them thoroughly to a safe minimum internal temperature. Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops should be cooked to at least 145° F; all cuts of pork to 160° F; ground beef, veal and lamb to 160° F, and all poultry should reach a minimum internal temperature of 165° F.
Divide cooked foods into shallow containers to store in the refrigerator or freezer until serving. This encourages rapid, even cooling. Reheat hot foods to 165° F. Arrange and serve food on several small platters rather than on one large platter. Keep the rest of the food hot in the oven (set at 200-250° F) or cold in the refrigerator until serving time. This way foods will be held at a safe temperature for a longer period of time. Replace empty platters rather than adding fresh food to a dish that already had food on it. Many people’s hands may have been taking food from the dish, which has also been sitting out at room temperature.
Hot foods should be held at 140° F or warmer. On the buffet table you can keep hot foods hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Cold foods should be held at 40° F or colder. Keep foods cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice. Otherwise, use small serving trays and replace them.
Foods should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep track of how long foods have been sitting on the buffet table and discard anything that has been there two hours or more.
Bacteria can be found everywhere, but a few types in particular frequent people’s hands – such as
Staphylococcus aureus,
Clostridium perfringens and
Listeria monocytogenes. And unlike microorganisms that cause food to spoil, harmful or pathogenic bacteria cannot be smelled or tasted.
Thanks to the efforts of the WVDA and other government regulators – along with continuous safety improvements by food producers – the vast majority of food purchased by consumers is free from harmful pathogens. However, no system is perfect and sometimes people are exposed. If you think you have been sickened, be safe and contact a health professional. Some of these germs can cause serious illness, especially in the very old, very young and other at-risk populations.
Contact Information
Buddy Davidson, Communications Officer
304-558-3708; 304-541-5932 (cell)
bdavidson@ag.state.wv.us