Imagine yourself walking down the street, casually looking around and admiring the scenery...On the ground, you suddenly spot a danish. It is just sitting there, on a plate even. It's cherry flavored, as you can tell by the sight of the filling overflowing from the sides. It looks absolutely devine. Would you eat it?

The response most of us would answer? "No!" But why not, one might ponder. Hmmm. "Well, I don't know where it came from, or if it's clean, or who has touched it..." The reasons are insignificant, as there could be such a multitude that we tell ourselves.

Now, picture your very same self in a restaurant, a lounge, at a picnic at the park. Maybe you are in the local grocery store, at your favorite convenience store that features the best nachos you've ever savoured. You feel confident partaking in those glorious and succulent feasts, do you not? Ewww.

How often in those locations, situations, or occasions do we actually take a minute to ask the very same questions as the examples above? None too often, my dear friends. We as a society have a tendency to simply trust. We trust that the makers of our foods are clean, that they are liscenced, and that they actually and genuinely care about what they both prepare and provide for us. The words "food hygiene" likely rarely pass through our minds, because we are trained as people to just accept.

And yet? All too often we hear stories of hair found in foods, of filthy kitchens, of repulsive vermin in fruit crates and of a friend of a friend getting food poisoning from an order of uncooked pad thai at the local hotspot. We become sqeamish at the very thought of sharing a drink with someone who has a cold, holding the hand of someone we do not know, or even ordering from that take-out place you heard sold cat meat passed off as chicken or pork.

Governments all over the world have implemented standards for food safety, packaging, handling, sales and even consumption. They have done this because there are some major consequences to not caring about what we ingest into our bodies. They have done this because some one, some where has suffered illness, gotten grossed out or even died as a result of a lack of paying attention to the importance of food hygiene. Consumers are key, and we are also the ones whose health and wellness are at stake when heed is not taken. Care about what you eat and take the time to seek responses as to the quality standards the items you consume hold.

Simply taking a moment to pose a question may be a life saver for you or someone you know. ASK where it came from, who made it, how long it has been there. Find the answers before the consequences hit you where it hurts most. Hmmm. What are those? Let's see...food borne illnesses, ugly and vile viruses, diseases brought over from a faraway land, and simply finding a bug in your salad. It's gross. It's raunchy. It's dirty, and it's REAL.

Pay attention. Be diligent. Inquire. Cleanse. Food hygiene? Umm, yes-I care. If I wouldn't eat that lovely looking danish on the sidewalk-I sure as hygiene hell am not going to just consume because it's expected. Now excuse me, I must go investigate what's for dinner...

Learn more about this author, Jessica M. Bastien.
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