Keep Food Safe Blog 
Mother’s Day Breakfast in Bed: Delicious and Safe
On Mother’s Day, many families have a tradition: the kids prepare and serve breakfast in bed for Mom. It’s a great opportunity not just to celebrate mothers but also to help kids learn the basic lessons of food safety. Besides, the goal is to serve a safe, delicious breakfast in bed – not give Mom a foodborne illness that will leave her sick in bed!
Lesson 1. Keep Everything Clean
Bacteria and viruses can be hiding just about anywhere: in the kitchen, on a plate and on hands. These invisible enemies can make Mom sick. Always wash your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before and after preparing food, after playing with pets or handling pet food, and after using the bathroom.
Wash all fruits and vegetables with running tap water before cutting or eating them. Put food on clean surfaces only. Always use clean knives, forks, spoons, and plates.
Lesson 2. Keep Raw and Cooked Foods Separated
Cross-contamination is the scientific word for how bacteria can be spread from one food to another. To prevent cross-contamination, always keep raw meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood (and their juices) away from ready-to-eat foods.
Always wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot, soapy water after they come in contact with raw meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood. Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
Lesson 3. Cook Food to Safe Temperatures
You can’t see, smell, or taste bacteria that cause foodborne illness. That’s why you should use a food thermometer to make sure food has reached a safe internal temperature. You can't tell food is cooked safely by how it looks.
Always place the food thermometer in the thickest part of the food, away from bone and fat, to check the temperature. Always cook eggs before eating them. When cooked, eggs should be firm, not runny.
Lesson 4. Keep Perishable Foods Cold
To grow and multiply, bacteria need time and the right environment: moisture and warmth. Most bacteria grow quickly between 40 °F and 140 °F (the Danger Zone). Some bacteria can double their numbers every 20 minutes.
Some foods that need to stay cold (at 40 °F or below) include sandwiches or salads made with meat and poultry; tuna and egg salad; milk, cheese, and yogurt; and peeled or cut fruits and vegetables.
Refrigerate any leftovers from Mom’s special meal within 2 hours. Throw out perishable food left out for more than 2 hours, and don’t feed it to your pets. Even pets are susceptible to foodborne bacteria. To reheat leftovers safely, make sure they reach 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
A great resource to help kids learn the basics of food safety is the Be Food Safe Activity Book. This activity book contains twelve pages of colorful puzzles and games that teach food safety principles in a fun and entertaining way.
Questions and Answers
Posted May 17, 2010, updated June 3, 2010
Q. What about freezing leftovers and storing in the freezer for a month or two?
A. Food that is kept frozen (constantly at 0 degrees F) will always be safe. Only the quality suffers with lengthy storage. For guidelines on storing leftovers and other foods, see Storage Times for the Refrigerator and Freezer.
Q. What about freezer burn?
A. Freezer burn appears as grayish-brown leathery spots on food. It's caused by air reaching the surface of the food. The product remains safe to eat, but the areas with freezer burn will be dried out and tasteless. If you'd like, you can trim away freezer-burned portions, either before or after cooking the food. If the food is heavily freezer-burned, you may have to discard it for quality reasons. It may be too dried to eat or have an unpleasant flavor.
Start at the Store: 7 Ways to Prevent Foodborne Illness
I think it is very important for consumers to realize that protecting your family against foodborne illnesses begins not at home, but at the supermarket, grocery store, or any other place where you buy food that you plan to store and serve. According to the CDC, foodborne ailments cause about 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,200 deaths nationwide each year. So, here are some simple things that you can do while you are shopping for food to safeguard you and your family:
- Check for cleanliness
Buy from a retailer who follows proper food handling practices. This helps assure that the food is safe. Ask yourself: What is my general impression of this facility? Does it look and smell clean? - Keep certain foods separated
Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery shopping cart. Place these foods in plastic bags to prevent their juices from dripping on other foods. It is also best to separate these foods from other foods at checkout and in your grocery bags. - Inspect cans and jars
Don't buy food in cans that are bulging or dented. Also, don't buy food in jars that are cracked or have loose or bulging lids. A bulging can or jar lid may mean the food was under-processed and is contaminated. Don't buy a food product whose seal seems tampered with or damaged. - Inspect frozen food packaging
Don't buy frozen food if the package is damaged. Packages should not be open, torn or crushed on the edges. Also, avoid packages that are above the frost line in the store's freezer. If the package cover is transparent, look for signs of frost or ice crystals. This could mean that the food in the package has either been stored for a long time or thawed and refrozen. - Select frozen foods and perishables last
And, meat, poultry, fish and eggs should be the last items placed in your shopping cart. Always put these products in separate plastic bags so that drippings don't contaminate other foods. - Choose fresh eggs carefully
Before putting eggs in your cart, open the carton and make sure that the eggs are clean and none is cracked. Buy only refrigerated eggs and follow the "Safe Handling Instructions" on the carton. - Be mindful of time and temperature
It's important to refrigerate perishable products as soon as possible after grocery shopping. Food safety experts stress the "2-hour rule"—because harmful bacteria can multiply in the "danger zone" (between 40° and 140° F), perishable foods should not be left at room temperature longer than 2 hours. Modify that rule to 1 hour when temperatures are above 90° F, as they often are in cars that have been parked in the sun.
If it will take more than an hour to get your groceries home, use an ice chest to keep frozen and perishable foods cold. Also, when the weather is warm and you are using your car's air conditioner, keep your groceries in the passenger compartment, not the trunk.
Combating foodborne illnesses is a top priority at the FDA – we hope it will be for you too!
Questions and Answers
Posted May 4, 2010
Q: It seems to be more foodborne illnesses now than in the past. Is it?
A: The CDC’s FoodNet MMWR report, which was released earlier this month, indicates that the rates of six different foodborne illnesses have declined when compared with 1996-1998. However, most have shown little change since 2004. The notable exceptions in the report are E. coli O157:H7 infections, which declined to their lowest point since 2004, and Vibrio infections, which increased by 85% when compared with 1996-1998. For more details, see Incidence of Foodborne Illness, 2009.
Q: I am always concerned regarding food handlers wearing gloves. Is this a federal or a state mandated law?
A: Some states have laws requiring food handlers to wear gloves. Others do not. The FDA Food Code contains recommendations for the use of different types of gloves, but the Food Code is not law; it is a model code and reference document for state and local agencies that regulate retail food stores and foodservice operations.
Q: Is there a way to inform a large supermarket's central or regional office of consistently bad practices in their local stores?
Separate government agencies are responsible for protecting different segments of the food supply. If you have experienced a problem with a food product, be sure to contact the appropriate public health organization. For help with grocery store food problems, call the health department in your city, county or state. You may want to consult the State Agencies page to link to your state's health department.
FoodNet: Getting the Big Picture on Foodborne Disease
I work as an epidemiologist with CDC’s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, otherwise known as FoodNet. My job is to study who gets sick and why and share this information with groups and persons whose goal is to reduce the amount of foodborne illness in the United States.
FoodNet is a collaborative project of the CDC, FDA, USDA, and 10 state health departments across the United States. These 10 areas cover 46 million people, or about 15 percent of the U.S. population. We collect information on seven bacteria that cause foodborne illness, such as Salmonella and E. coli O157 as well as two parasites, Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora.
Last week, we released a report on the data that we collected and analyzed for 2009. Here are two key findings from our report, along with tips on how you can reduce your risk of illness:
First, we observed recent successes in fighting E. coli O157:H7. The rate of infection with this dangerous kind of E. coli significantly decreased in 2009, reaching the lowest level since 2004. This type of E. coli is of particular concern because it can cause kidney failure. This infection is especially dangerous for children and the elderly. To help prevent infection with E. coli O157:H7, always cook ground beef and other meats to a safe temperature (use a meat thermometer to check) and avoid unpasteurized juices and milk.
Second, we also observed an increase in Vibrio infections. Vibrio is a type of bacteria that can cause disease in people who eat contaminated seafood, usually raw or undercooked oysters or other shellfish. We found that Vibrio infections increased by 85 percent over the past decade or so. While the overall number of these infections is a small percentage of all foodborne illnesses, the infection can cause severe illness or death, particularly in people with weakened immune systems. To prevent this type of infection, avoid eating raw or undercooked shellfish.
Also, I encourage you to always follow the four food safety steps:
- Clean: Wash hands, utensils, and cutting boards before and after contact with raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs to avoid spreading bacteria when preparing food.
- Separate: Use different cutting boards for meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables and keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs apart from foods that won’t be cooked.
- Cook: Use a food thermometer. You can't tell if a food item is done by how it looks.
- Chill: Keep your refrigerator at 40 degrees or below to keep bacteria from growing, and chill leftovers and takeout foods within 2 hours.
For more information about FoodNet, visit the CDC FoodNet site.
Questions and Answers
Posted May 3, 2010
Q: It seems to be more foodborne illnesses now than in the past. Is it?
A: The CDC’s FoodNet MMWR report, which was released earlier this month, indicates that the rates of six different foodborne illnesses have declined when compared with 1996-1998. However, most have shown little change since 2004. The notable exceptions in the report are E. coli O157:H7 infections, which declined to their lowest point since 2004, and Vibrio infections, which increased by 85% when compared with 1996-1998. For more details, see Incidence of Foodborne Illness, 2009.
Q: I wonder why we hear only from E coli O157:H7 and we do not hear from other pathogenic E coli strains.
A: Currently, data are limited on non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Many clinical laboratories do not test for non-O157 STEC infection because it is more difficult than identifying E. coli O157.
Q: Can the decrease in E. coli O157:H7 be attributed to any practice or preventive control?
A: The recent decrease in E. coli O157:H7 (STEC O157) infection might reflect, in part, control efforts in ground beef processing and produce growing practices. Consumers can reduce their risk of foodborne illness, such as E.coli O157:H7, by following safe food-handling and preparation recommendations, and by avoiding consumption of raw or undercooked foods of animal origin such as eggs, ground beef, and poultry; unpasteurized milk; and raw or undercooked oysters. Risk also can be decreased by choosing pasteurized milk and eggs, high pressure-treated oysters, and irradiated food products. Everyone should also wash hands after contact with animals and their environments.
Consumers should follow the easy lessons of "Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill” as mentioned in this blog.
