Food Poisoning: How to Avoid it

Did you know that cases of food poisoning actually increase in the summer months in the US? There are two main culprits: 1. eating at outdoor picnics where the food is not always keep at appropriate temperature and 2. Eating questionable restaurants while on vacation. Furthermore, young children are even more susceptible to not only getting food poisoning but suffering more as a result. Here are few key things to keep an eye on in either situation.

What is food poisoning?

Food poisoning is one of the most difficult of the common ailments to diagnosis. Mostly because it can be caused by a variety of things – bacteria, parasites, viruses, and other toxins. But essentially it is a result of ingesting food that contains one of these unsavory items. Common symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. Some specific forms of food poisoning have their own symptoms, like salmonella is usually accompanied by fever. Children tend to be more intensely affected by food poisoning, manily because their stomachs are just not strong enough to combat the bugs. If you are pregnant you also want to be very careful. These bugs can occasionally have especially adverse affects on an already delicate stomach.

Eating at Outdoor Picnics/BBQs

There are two main players in the backyard food poisoning game.

1. Food not kept at temperature. Often people will set out all the food in original containers and/or bowls and leave it all sitting out throughout the event. Things like potato salad, fresh meats, dipping sauces, fruits and most vegetables will begin to go bad after about an hour at temperatures that are too high. This is when they start to breed the bacteria that cause food poisoning. Additionally, flies and other bugs may land on the food, leaving all sorts of icky stuff behind.  So how do you avoid this sort of thing? Well for starters get food tents to place over the food, to keep flying and crawling things out. Then you can double bowl the perishables with ice in the bottom bowl to keep the food cool enough. If you plan to leave the food out for an extended period of time, make sure you keep the ice refreshed.
2. Undercooked meat is another offender.  When cooking on the grill, many people tend to under cook meats, especially chicken. It is important to invest in a quality food thermometer, for any cook, but especially for grilling meats. A quick tip – when checking the temperature you always want to reach the middle of the cut of meat, but stay away from the bone. The bone will be hotter than the meat and give you an inaccurate reading. You want to be sure that meat is cooked to the appropriate temperature.

Poultry – 165deg

Pork – 160deg

Ground Meat – 165deg

Eating Out on Vacation

Sure we all love to be adventurous when we are on vacation. I know my family and I like to try new things, especially if it is totally unique to the location. But you have to be careful. Not to be prejudice but some locales and even entire countries do not have the same health regulation that we do. There are few things to keep in mind when eating in questionable places. If it looks or smells funny – other than just different – pass on it. There are very few edible foods that have a grey tinge to them and the smell of rotten food is very recognizable. However, many foods that are contaminated will still look totally normal. Try to find a moderately clean place – this means clean dishes, utensils, and drinking cups. Only drink the water if you are sure it is safe, water can carry a myriad of bacteria and parasites. And go with your gut to protect it. If you aren’t too sure, then pass, especially if you have children with you.