Last week during one of the rain and lightning storms, I had a bout of what most of us call “summer flu” – an all-encompassing term. Friends had lots of advice – chicken soup, room temperature ginger ale and “get some sleep,” all of which worked, I guess, or perhaps the bug had a life span of 24 (miserable) hours. If anyone called me during this time and I actually responded, there’s a good chance I’ve forgotten what was said.
One of my friends asked if it was food poisoning and that got me thinking. What had I eaten? Did I wash my hands long enough? What bad germs flew into my kitchen?
No matter how carefully one prepares food, I suppose there’s always that chance of an invisible germ sneaking onto the plate along with dinner.
New free booklets from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture have been published to provide food safety-advice developed specifically for the needs of people most vulnerable to food poisoning and those who prepare food for them. Older adults are the most vulnerable group.
“Everyone from farmers to food manufacturers to food preparers in the home has a role in food safety. It’s important that consumers, particularly those who are at higher risk of foodborne illness, have information they can use to do their part in preventing illness by properly selecting and preparing foods,” says Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods at the FDA.
We are all susceptible to food poisoning, but some people are in greater danger of illness from contaminated food and more likely to become severely sick as a result. Booklets available include Food Safety for People with Cancer, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Older Adults, Pregnant Women and Transplant Recipients. There’s a separate booklet for each category.
Since they are free (our tax dollars at work) it might be wise to obtain all of them for reference.
The booklets provide a comprehensive, consumer-friendly overview of safe food-handling and selection principles. The information is presented in easy-to-read charts, illustrated how-to’s, and straightforward descriptions of why each group is at higher risk for foodborne illness and symptoms that may mean trouble.
The booklets also contain tear-out cards with quick-reference tips for grocery shopping, cooking to the right temperature, and eating at restaurants for times when taking along the entire booklet would be impractical.
Sample copies have been made available to physicians and can be downloaded in PDF format (www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/risk/index.html) or to get free copies for your organization, home or office, call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET, or email requests to fsis.outreach@usda.gov.
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