by T.Yeap

Created on: October 15, 2009

Food poisoning also known as foodborne illness in the health industry is a very common illness in our daily lifestyle. According to Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there's more than 200 known disease are transmitted through food. CDC also estimated that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. The causes of foodborne illness varies but can be categorized into six different category, which are: viruses, bacteria, parasites, toxins, metals, and prions. The symptoms of foodborne illness ranges from symptom free to life threatening depending on what kind of infections you've contracted. Food poisoning can be easily prevented either at home or dining out when food safety guidelines is being followed.

GENERAL HOME FOOD SAFETY:

Most people think they know when the food is done or properly cooked by just "eyeballing" it. However, what they didn't realize is that the meat may not be safe to consume due to some lingering bacteria, viruses or parasites that can survive at a low cooking temperature. It is crucial to understand what kind of meat needs to be cooked at a certain temperature for the food to be considered safe to consume.

1) TEMPERATURE DANGER ZONE- The Danger Zone is between (40F - 140F). It is a temperature range in which bacteria and spoilage bacteria grow quickest. Lower temperatures prevent the bacteria from growing to a dangerous levels that produces toxin in our food that causes food poisoning.

2) USE OF FOOD THERMOMETER - Using the thermometer to help protect yourself and your family from getting sick. Making sure the food you are preparing reached the minimum recommended cooking internal temperature for food safety. The thermometer should be placed in the thickest part of the food to ensure proper reading but make sure the probe is not near fat or bone area as those areas tends to be higher in temperature.

3) PROPER REFRIGERATION - The temperature of your refrigerator and freezer also important part of food safety. It's recommended to keep the refrigerator below 40F and freezer to be below 0F. This is due to the bacteria can still grow at the temperature danger zone if it's not below 40 degrees F. Also, when you go grocery shopping, it is best to go home right away after your trip to ensure proper refrigeration,

4) THAWING, COOKING & REHEATING FOODS - Thaw food in refrigerator a day before cooking or submerge frozen foods in cold water

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