August 28, 1998

Fight BAC for Safe Food

Occasionally, an outbreak of food poisoning at a restaurant or public function will be reported in the newspapers. But rarely does the public hear of food poisoning within individual households.

Nonetheless, people do become ill from food-borne pathogens in their own homes quite often. But no matter what the source, the fact is that most cases of food-related illness can be prevented with a little knowledge, soap and hot water, a refrigerator, and a food thermometer. That is why the U. S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have declared September National Food Safety Education Month.

The primary goal of Food Safety Month is to educate consumers and commercial food workers about how to handle and prepare food properly in order to prevent food borne disease. This year's theme is "Keep It Clean--The First Step to Food Safety"; the slogan is to "Fight BAC".

The "BAC" of course, refers to bacteria, which may be present on foods when purchased or may get into food during preparation, cooking, serving, or storing. Some bacteria is helpful, but the harmful varieties can be transferred from food to people, from people to food, and from one food to another. Resulting food related illness can produce symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever, and range from mild to severe. The symptoms can appear anytime from Y2 hour after eating to two weeks later. People with compromised immune systems, the elderly, infants, and pregnant women are at the greatest risk of illness from contaminated food.

The "Fight BAC" campaign stresses four steps in preventing food-born illness: clean, separate, cook, and chill. The first step refers to hygiene--hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds in hot, soapy water before and after preparing food. It is especially important to wash hands after preparing meat, poultry, eggs, or seafood. The same rule applies to kitchen towels, utensils, cutting boards, and kitchen surfaces such as countertops. Using a disinfectant cleaner or a mixture of bleach and water or surfaces can provide added protection.

The second step concerns separating raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood from each other and keeping them and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods. Cooked food should never be placed on an unwashed plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, eggs, or seafood.

Cooking food to the proper internal temperature is the third step. Use a food thermometer for meats and poultry, and cook eggs (the yolk and the white) until they are firm.

And the final step in fighting BAC is to chill; the refrigerator should be set no higher than 40° F and the freezer should be set at O° F. Prepared food and leftovers should be chilled within 2 hours.

By practicing these four steps, the number of food-related illnesses can be reduced substantially. However, if you become the victim of suspected food borne illness, follow these guidelines:

Preserve the evidence. if possible, save a portion of the suspect food, wrap it (mark "DANGER' on the wrapping), and refrigerate. Save all packaging materials, write down the food types, the date, the time consumed, and when the symptoms began.

Seek treatment if the symptoms persist or are severe, or if you are in an "at risk" group.

Call the local health district if food was served at a large gathering, from a restaurant, or from another food service facility, or if a commercial product.

Call the USDA Meat and Poultry hotline (800-535-4555) if the suspect food is a USDA-inspected product AND you have all the packaging.

If you have any questions about food-born illness or want more information on how you can FIGHT BAC, call the Central Connecticut Health District at 721-2822.