A few weeks ago my husband and I ate at our favorite Indian restaurant. Lunch is served buffet-style and that allows customers to sample several different dishes from their wonderful cuisine. The drawback is that, well it’s a buffet and that means there are many ways food safety can be compromised. If the lunch service starts at 11:30 for example, I wonder when the restaurant staff put food on the buffet table and whether the food will be held at safe temperatures during the entire lunch period.
Buffet Rule #1: Go early...
Buffet Rule #1: Go early...
It’s a health code violation for restaurant patrons to re-use the same plate and even though the wait staff quickly removed used plates from people’s tables, I watched in horror as one customer returned to the buffet table and refilled his plate. In doing so, each time he touched his used plate with a buffet serving spoon and put the spoon back in the communal food dish, the entire container became contaminated with his germs. Care for a helping of hepatitis, anyone?
Buffet Rule #2: Be first in line and don’t go back for seconds.
Safe food handling reduces the risk of foodborne illness. Sometimes called “food poisoning,” foodborne illness affects just about everyone at some point in their lifetime. And if you think you've never been affected, those episodes of vomiting or diarrhea, or a “24-hour bug” you experienced in the past may have been the result of eating contaminated food. One in six Americans get foodborne illness annually. Some people have mild symptoms while others, especially those with weakened immune systems, have severe illnesses requiring hospitalization. In the United States there are 3,000 fatalities caused by foodborne illness annually.
Certain subgroups of the population are at greater risk for contracting foodborne illness (e.g., infants; pregnant women; older adults; people taking numerous medications; persons with compromised immune systems). One way to reduce your risk of being sickened from improperly handled food is to strengthen your immune system through healthy behaviors, such as:
These lifestyle behaviors certainly aren’t typical of college students. They’ll complain about getting sick from something they ate in the dining hall and yet it’s likely that their immune systems would be better able to handle the cause of their foodborne illness if they practiced healthy behaviors.
Another approach to reducing the risk of foodborne illness involves safe food handling. Americans have the safest food supply in the world. Regulations and procedures are in place to keep food safe from our farms to just about everywhere food is served and sold. Once you purchase food, it becomes your responsibility to handle it safely.
Pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms that can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted. Because you can't tell if food is contaminated using your senses, it’s important to understand the many ways food becomes unsafe and learn how to handle food safely. The acronym F.A.T. T.O.M. is one way to remember the causes of foodborne illness:
F.A.T. T.O.M.
Buffet Rule #2: Be first in line and don’t go back for seconds.
Safe food handling reduces the risk of foodborne illness. Sometimes called “food poisoning,” foodborne illness affects just about everyone at some point in their lifetime. And if you think you've never been affected, those episodes of vomiting or diarrhea, or a “24-hour bug” you experienced in the past may have been the result of eating contaminated food. One in six Americans get foodborne illness annually. Some people have mild symptoms while others, especially those with weakened immune systems, have severe illnesses requiring hospitalization. In the United States there are 3,000 fatalities caused by foodborne illness annually.
Certain subgroups of the population are at greater risk for contracting foodborne illness (e.g., infants; pregnant women; older adults; people taking numerous medications; persons with compromised immune systems). One way to reduce your risk of being sickened from improperly handled food is to strengthen your immune system through healthy behaviors, such as:
- Being physically active
- Eating well
- Avoiding tobacco
- Getting plenty of rest
- Abstaining from alcohol or drinking only in moderation (i.e., no more than one alcoholic drink per day for women; no more than two drinks per day for men)
- Managing stress
- Washing hands
- Practicing safe food handling
These lifestyle behaviors certainly aren’t typical of college students. They’ll complain about getting sick from something they ate in the dining hall and yet it’s likely that their immune systems would be better able to handle the cause of their foodborne illness if they practiced healthy behaviors.
Another approach to reducing the risk of foodborne illness involves safe food handling. Americans have the safest food supply in the world. Regulations and procedures are in place to keep food safe from our farms to just about everywhere food is served and sold. Once you purchase food, it becomes your responsibility to handle it safely.
Pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms that can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted. Because you can't tell if food is contaminated using your senses, it’s important to understand the many ways food becomes unsafe and learn how to handle food safely. The acronym F.A.T. T.O.M. is one way to remember the causes of foodborne illness:
F.A.T. T.O.M.
FOOD
Pathogens need an energy source to grow such as moist proteins and carbohydrates.
Pathogens need an energy source to grow such as moist proteins and carbohydrates.
| Moist proteins include:
| Moist carbohydrates include:
|
ACIDITY
Foods that contain little or no acid are the best places for pathogens to grow. For example, you might assume you were sickened from the mayonnaise in tuna salad and yet mayonnaise is fairly acidic. The tuna (i.e., a moist protein) is the more likely culprit.
TEMPERATURE
Pathogens grow and thrive whenever food is held between the temperatures of 41 – 140 °F. This range is called the temperature danger zone.
TIME
Pathogens multiply when food is left in the temperature danger zone. After 2 hours they will have grown to a high enough level to make someone sick. This occurs after only 1 hour when the air temperature is greater than 90 °F.
OXYGEN
Some pathogens need oxygen to grow and others thrive when oxygen is absent. Bottled garlic and oil mixtures that were popular gifts years ago are an example of a low oxygen environment. Sorry, if you gave me one of those decorative bottles, I threw it away.
MOISTURE
Pathogens need moisture in food to grow and thrive. Foil-wrapped potatoes (i.e., a moist carbohydrate) can be problematic because moisture builds up inside the foil. Crackers on the other hand, are a dry carbohydrate and will not become a source of foodborne illness.
That's F.A.T. T.O.M. in a nutshell. These foods are often linked to foodborne illness and should be avoided:
Foods to AVOID:
Although public health food safety campaigns simplify consumer messages into four basic steps, please realize that you can do everything correctly and still become sick. Under the right set of circumstances, anyone can experience foodborne illness. The following steps only reduce your risk because you can never completely eliminate the chance of becoming sickened from contaminated food or water:
Foods that contain little or no acid are the best places for pathogens to grow. For example, you might assume you were sickened from the mayonnaise in tuna salad and yet mayonnaise is fairly acidic. The tuna (i.e., a moist protein) is the more likely culprit.
TEMPERATURE
Pathogens grow and thrive whenever food is held between the temperatures of 41 – 140 °F. This range is called the temperature danger zone.
TIME
Pathogens multiply when food is left in the temperature danger zone. After 2 hours they will have grown to a high enough level to make someone sick. This occurs after only 1 hour when the air temperature is greater than 90 °F.
OXYGEN
Some pathogens need oxygen to grow and others thrive when oxygen is absent. Bottled garlic and oil mixtures that were popular gifts years ago are an example of a low oxygen environment. Sorry, if you gave me one of those decorative bottles, I threw it away.
MOISTURE
Pathogens need moisture in food to grow and thrive. Foil-wrapped potatoes (i.e., a moist carbohydrate) can be problematic because moisture builds up inside the foil. Crackers on the other hand, are a dry carbohydrate and will not become a source of foodborne illness.
That's F.A.T. T.O.M. in a nutshell. These foods are often linked to foodborne illness and should be avoided:
Foods to AVOID:
- Raw (unpasteurized) milk or milk products
- Raw or partially cooked eggs and foods containing raw eggs
- Raw and undercooked meat and poultry
- Unpasteurized juices
- Raw sprouts
- Raw seafood
Although public health food safety campaigns simplify consumer messages into four basic steps, please realize that you can do everything correctly and still become sick. Under the right set of circumstances, anyone can experience foodborne illness. The following steps only reduce your risk because you can never completely eliminate the chance of becoming sickened from contaminated food or water:
 |  |
 | Wash hands, utensils, and cutting boards before and after contact with raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. |  | Keep raw meat and poultry apart from foods that won’t be cooked. |
 |  |
 | Use a food thermometer – you can’t tell if food is cooked safely by how it looks. |  | Chill leftovers and takeout foods within 2 hours (1 hour when it’s above 90 °F). Keep the fridge at 40 °F or below. |
If you don't own a food thermometer you can purchase one in most grocery stores, hardware stores, or from large retailers such as Target or Walmart. Using a food thermometer is the only way to know if food is cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature.
This brochure provides a more detailed description of the four steps to be food safe:
This brochure provides a more detailed description of the four steps to be food safe:
It’s surprising how many people either don’t know or choose not to follow the four food safety steps. One time I dined at a Thai restaurant with a physician friend who wanted to save her leftovers and take them home to her husband. The problem was that we were in northern Virginia and about to see a performance, which meant the food would be unrefrigerated for five hours before we returned to Baltimore. No one likes to waste food and yet when I told her about the 2 hour rule for chilling foods she left the rest of her entree at the restaurant.
Other people think they are following safe food practices at home and are unaware of food safety myths. Believing it is safe to thaw meat on the kitchen counter is a myth and yet it’s something many well-educated people still do because their parents did so without experiencing any problems. Many food handling practices of yesteryear are no longer safe due to a number of factors including more resistant bacteria and a greater globalization of our food supply. By the way, if you think locally-grown food is safer, think again. Although locally grown food may taste better it isn't necessarily safer than conventionally or organically grown food that has been transported great distances to your grocery store.
You can always check the shelf life of foods and beverages and decide what to keep and what to toss. During extreme weather events that occur fairly frequently in Maryland, it’s important to know how to keep food safe during power outages and other emergencies.
There’s a virtual assistant called Ask Karen who can address your food safety questions on-line. If you prefer to speak with a live food safety expert, call this toll free number between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time:
1-888-674-6854
There is so much more to know about food safety than most people realize. Once you become aware of safe food handling, there are times when eating out may seem a bit less desirable. The next buffet I visit will most likely be one I create at home to entertain friends and family. I'm more confident in my ability to serve up safe buffets and I hope that you are now too.
Other people think they are following safe food practices at home and are unaware of food safety myths. Believing it is safe to thaw meat on the kitchen counter is a myth and yet it’s something many well-educated people still do because their parents did so without experiencing any problems. Many food handling practices of yesteryear are no longer safe due to a number of factors including more resistant bacteria and a greater globalization of our food supply. By the way, if you think locally-grown food is safer, think again. Although locally grown food may taste better it isn't necessarily safer than conventionally or organically grown food that has been transported great distances to your grocery store.
You can always check the shelf life of foods and beverages and decide what to keep and what to toss. During extreme weather events that occur fairly frequently in Maryland, it’s important to know how to keep food safe during power outages and other emergencies.
There’s a virtual assistant called Ask Karen who can address your food safety questions on-line. If you prefer to speak with a live food safety expert, call this toll free number between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time:
1-888-674-6854
There is so much more to know about food safety than most people realize. Once you become aware of safe food handling, there are times when eating out may seem a bit less desirable. The next buffet I visit will most likely be one I create at home to entertain friends and family. I'm more confident in my ability to serve up safe buffets and I hope that you are now too.
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