Category Archives: food-safety

Think Twice Before Eating Pizza

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Pizza

Processed meat

Fresh meat contains one ingredient, meat. Processed meats contain numerous ingredients, and not all are meat. Additives prolong shelf life, enhance flavors, stabilize colors, and inhibit bacterial growth. Pepperoni and meats on pizzas are processed meats.

Processed meats include sliced deli meats, sausage, jerky, pepperoni, bacon, lunch meats, hot dogs, and meats used on pizzas, in canned foods, and in packaged products.

Bacterial toxins

Salmonella bacteria is common in processed meats. Organic meats are no exception. Consuming salmonella-contaminated foods can produce illness in the form of fever, vomiting, chills and severe diarrhea — leading to dehydration and death in sensitive individuals. The primary form of transmission is through contaminated hands spreading bacteria during packaging. Washing hands thoroughly and sterilizing cooking surfaces and utensils help prevent contamination. Onset of salmonella poisoning is generally experienced 12 to 36 hours after consumption of contaminated meats.

Campylobacter jejuni or C. jejuni is another dangerous bacteria found primarily in chicken, raw ground meat, and raw shellfish. Although C. jejuni are easily destroyed with the application of heat during processing, the bacteria can still be passed to humans through cross-contamination. Symptoms of infection appear several days after ingestion of foods. C. jejuni is often experienced as a neurotoxin and complications such as meningitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, arthritic pains, urinary tract infections and colitis may occur.

Staphylococcus bacteria are commonly found in dormant colonies in the nose, the throat, and on the skin as acne, infected sores, boils, or wounds. Staphylococcus is common, and in some cases can be highly destructive to human tissue. The bacteria are heat resistant and produce a toxin that forms on warm foods left uncovered in open air. When processed meats are handled and left uncovered, they encourage the growth of staphylococcus. Initial symptoms of staphylococci contamination include vomiting, diarrhea, cramping and extreme exhaustion. Additional symptoms that may later include boils, infected skin lesions, and MRSA.

Clostridium perfringens belongs in the same genus as is the botulinum bacteria. Although C. perfringens causes less severe symptoms than botulisim, it remains a dangerous toxin found in processed meats. Foods that have not been properly cooled or covered are prone to contamination. Symptoms appear as painful cramping and diarrhea that disappear in several days.

Chemical toxins

Nitrates and nitrites. Potassium nitrate and sodium nitrite are used as preservatives in processed meats and are known toxins to humans, according to the American Meat Institute. Symptoms include vomiting, headaches, breathing difficulties, allergies and death. Additionally, the presence of nitrates and nitrites in processed meats has been linked to cancer.

Sulfites, or sulfur dioxide is used as a fungicide and preservative to prevent spoilage. Sulfur dioxide bleaches rotten sections of meat, hiding it from view and destroying vitamins.

Artificial sweeteners. Many processed meats are sweetened artificially with aspartame, saccharin and other chemicals. These have been linked to various allergies, headaches, behavioral disorders and neurological problems. Additionally, saccharin is linked to cancer.

Emulsifiers and thickeners are used to change the texture of processed meats and prevent ingredients from separating. One common emulsifier, propylene glycol, is a synthetic solvent. It damages the skin and causes neurological side effects.

Flavorings. The most common flavor enhancer in processed meat is MSG, whose side effects are many. They include headaches, dizziness, allergic reactions, cognitive dysfunction, neurological changes, depression, chest pains, confusion and mood swings.

Sources for this article include:
Colorado State University: Bacterial Food-Borne Illness
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09300.html
Puristat Digestive Wellness Center: U.S.A.=
Processed Food Nation — The Harmful Effects of Eating Processed Foods
http://www.puristat.com/standardamericandiet/processedfoods.aspx
AgriLife Extension — Texas A&M System: Bacterial Food Poisoning
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0974.html
American Meat Institute: Chemical Hazard Analysis for Sodium Nitrite in Meat Curing
http://meatsci.osu.edu/borca2.htm
University of Minnesota Extension: Nitrite in Meat
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0974.html

The Ten Foods Most Likely to Make You Sick

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salad

Can eating a salad make you sick? Believe it or not, salad greens are at the top of the list of America’s riskiest foods.

Examine the statistics: Leafy greens cause a full 30 percent of the estimated 76 million food-borne illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.

The Washington-based Centers for Science in the Public Interest tracked data from 1990 and 2006 and revealed which foods caused the most food-poisoning outbreaks during that period:

1. Leafy greens, 363 outbreaks. Greens were found to contain various pathogens, including E. coli, norovirus and salmonella. They often can become contaminated during harvesting or during the pre-washing process for bagged lettuce.

2. Eggs, 325 outbreaks. Most of these outbreaks were from salmonella due to improper handling and cooking. Restaurants were the worst offenders, serving eggs too raw or leaving them too long on buffet tables.

3. Tuna, 268 outbreaks. The primary culprit is something called Scombroid poisoning, a toxin released when fresh fish is stored above 60 degrees F. It can cause headaches, cramps, nausea, diarrhea, palpitations and loss of vision.

4. Oysters, 132 outbreaks. Norovirus is common in tainted oysters and usually comes from the waters in which these delicacies are harvested. A bacterium called Vibrio is also present in oysters, and it can infect the bloodstream and be life-threatening.

5. Potatoes, 108 outbreaks. Outbreaks occur most frequently from contaminated or improperly refrigerated potato salad. The most common causes of potato-linked illnesses are E. coli and salmonella.

6. Cheese, 83 outbreaks. Salmonella is the most common cheese hazard. Although most cheese is made with pasteurized milk, California officials have warned that many Latin-American-style cheeses may be made by unlicensed manufacturers using milk that could contain harmful bacteria. Pregnant women should be cautious about eating soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert, which can carry Listeria. Listeria can cause miscarriage, say experts.

7. Ice cream, 75 outbreaks. Salmonella and staphylococcus, most often from raw eggs in homemade ice creams, were the biggest threat.

8. Tomatoes, 31 outbreaks. Tomatoes were implicated in four multistate outbreaks of salmonella. Restaurants were responsible for 70 percent of tomato-related illnesses.

9. Sprouts, 31 outbreaks. Sprout seeds can become contaminated with salmonella or E. Coli during storage. Because sprouts pose a contamination hazard, the FDA recommends that people with compromised immune systems, the elderly and the very young do not consume raw sprouts.

10. Berries, 25 outbreaks. Berries can be contaminated with hepatitis A or Cyclospora. In 1997 more than 2.6 million pounds of contaminated strawberries were recalled across several states when students became ill with hepatitis A, possibly from an infected farm worker.

Dr. Ellen Kamhi, author of The Natural Medicine Chest, tells Newsmax Health that even the most careful eaters can get food poisoning.

“My advice is to make sure your digestive system is in order because that’s where 70 percent of your immune system is stored,” she says. “Take a probiotic supplement daily to help you ward off food poisoning if you get it. Studies have shown that this can reduce the severity and symptoms.”

Dr. Kamhi also suggests thoroughly washing produce, even if it’s labeled “prewashed” on the package.

The Mayo Clinic offers these tips:

Wash hands, utensils and food surfaces thoroughly.
Keep raw foods separate from cooked food.
Cook foods to a safe temperature to kill bacteria—between 146 and 165 degrees F.
Keep foods hot or refrigerated until serving.
Defrost foods safely in the refrigerator—not at room temperature.
When in doubt, throw it out. If you aren’t sure a food has been prepared, served or stored safely, discard it.

Kitchen Towels Harbor Plenty of Bacteria

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http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-dish-washing-image2482349

A recent study of contamination on kitchen towels by researchers at the University of Arizona found that 89 percent contained detectable levels of coliform bacteria and 25.6 percent had detectable levels of E. coli.

In their article published in the September/October issue of Food Protection Trends, the researchers conclude that, “The common occurrence of enteric bacteria in kitchen sponges and dishcloths suggests that they can play a role in the cross-contamination of foods, fomites and hands by foodborne pathogens.”

The study was conducted this year on 82 used kitchen towels collected from random households in five major cities: Chicago, IL; Tucson, AZ; New Orleans, LA; Orlando, FL, and Toronto, Canada. The cities were chosen for their differing weather, ranging from cold to hot and dry to humid.

Besides coliform bacteria and E. coli, the towels were also found to contain Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumonia and K. oxytoca.

“If you are using a dirty kitchen rag, you may actually be introducing hundreds of thousands of bacteria,” said Kelly Reynolds, a researcher with the University of Arizona’s Zuckerman College of Public Health in Tucson.

What can a person do to reduce the contamination on their kitchen towels? Frequently wash and replace them and/or decontaminate them by soaking in a bleach solution for two minutes to reduce the bacterial load. But even that won’t do the trick if you don’t thoroughly dry them.

“Detergent washing and drying of kitchen cloths in the kitchen only slightly reduced microbial contamination, and regrowth occurred within 24 hours, since the towels remained damp,” the researchers wrote.

Ideally, kitchen towels should be laundered after each use, they advise. If that’s not possible, dip them in a diluted bleach solution (two teaspoons per gallon of water) between uses and let them dry. Then, wash them in a washing machine at least once per week, preferably on the sanitizing or antibacterial cycle.

The Growing Need To Control Listeria

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listeria

In 2010, Listeria monocytogenes was estimated to infect 23,150 people worldwide. It killed 5,463 of them, or 23.6 percent, according to a new study by European researchers in the World Health Organization (WHO) published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The researchers say that an urgent effort is needed to fill in information on Listeria infections in developing countries, as countries accounting for 48 percent of the world’s population do not report Listeria illnesses.

The study, ”The Global Burden of Listeriosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” aimed to be the first of its kind to estimate the global numbers of illnesses, deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years due to Listeria infections.

While not as common as foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli, Listeria is one of the most deadly and adaptable bacteria found in food. Unlike those pathogens, Listeria can grow at refrigeration temperatures and in low-moisture environments.

Of those who fell ill with Listeria in 2010, 20.7 percent were pregnant women. The bacteria affect pregnant women at disproportionate rates and can cause severe complications with pregnancies, including stillbirth and miscarriage.

Among the pregnant women who suffered Listeria infections, 14.9 percent of the infections resulted in infant fatality.

Other populations especially susceptible to Listeria infections include the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and children. While the bacteria often just cause mild gastrointestinal illness in healthy adults, they can lead to severe, life-threatening illness in anyone with a weakened or developing immune system.

Most Listeria cases are reported in high-income countries, while cases are much more likely to go unreported in developing countries. Because of its high hospitalization rate in the U.S., it’s the third most costly foodborne pathogen, behind Clostridium botulinum (botulism) and Vibrio vulnificus.

The researchers found that Listeria caused the highest burden on quality of life in Latin American regions. The least affected region was Eastern Europe, stretching from Poland to Turkey. Other highly affected areas included Southeast Asia, Africa, Polynesia and India.

The researchers note that Listeria causes significantly fewer deaths worldwide than Salmonella Typhi (216,500 annual deaths) or non-typhoidal Salmonella (155,000), but it does cause a far higher rate of death.

The effort to quantify the global burden of Listeria will enable Listeriosis to be an included disease in WHO’s international prioritization exercises. But because nearly half of the world’s population resides in countries where Listeria isn’t reported, there’s still significant uncertainty about the exact burden the bacteria pose worldwide.

In 2011, cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria infected at least 147 people in the U.S. and killed at least 33, making it one of the deadliest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history. A Listeria outbreak in Denmark this year killed at least 15 people and sickened 38.

Common sources of Listeria in the U.S. include ready-to-eat lunch deli meats, hot dogs, meat spreads, unpasteurized dairy, smoked seafood and raw sprouts.

SAVE Money by Knowing When Food is Safe

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STOP! Don’t throw that food away! It might be safe to use, and that will save you money. According to USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, each American wastes more than 20 pounds of food every month. That’s about $165 billion worth of good food thrown away every year in the U.S. Top food group wasted is meat, poultry and fish.

While the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline would never advise you to eat unsafe food, we don’t want you to throw away safe food and lose money.

Canned Foods: Dates on cans indicate peak quality–not safety–as determined by the manufacturer. So don’t automatically pitch a can with an expired date. You can safely keep commercially canned foods longer than their dates. Low-acid foods (such as canned meat, poultry, fish, stew, soups, green vegetables beans, carrots, corn, peas, potatoes, etc.) can be stored for two to five years; high-acid foods (e.g. canned juices, fruit, pickles, sauerkraut, tomatoes, tomato soup), for 12-18 months.

One date always to observe: infant formula. Unlike other foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that infant formula be dated. Do not feed a baby formula after the use-by date expires due to concern about adequate nutritive value.

Home canned foods don’t last quite as long. USDA recommends using these foods within one year of canning.

Dried Foods: Out of date commercially processed dried foods, such as jerky, are safe at room temperature due to their very low moisture content and proper heat processing. Other dry foods (for example, bouillon cubes, gravy mixes, pasta, rice and flour) are safe for a very long time. For more information, read “Shelf-Stable Food Safety.”

Frozen Foods: If it’s frozen, it’s safe to use. Dates on frozen food are not for safety. All frozen foods are safe forever because bacteria and other pathogens cannot grow in food that’s frozen at 0 °F (-17.8 °C) or below. However foods do lose some quality: flavor, color, and texture. Frozen foods tend to dry out over time, which can result in “freezer burn” especially in areas where air is trapped within the package. For storage information about maintaining quality, read “Freezing and Food Safety.”

Refrigerated Foods: Meats, poultry, fish, dairy, and cooked leftovers should be safe, wholesome and of good quality if handled properly and kept at 40 °F (4.4 °C) or below and used within USDA recommended times. Cook or freeze fresh steaks or chops within three to five days; and poultry, ground meats, and fish in one to two days. All cooked leftovers should be used or frozen after four days. Use fresh eggs within three to five weeks; milk within one week. See the chart in “Refrigeration and Food Safety” for more recommended times.