Food safety causes concern in U.S.
An estimated 76 million Americans are infected each year and out of those, 5,000 will die, reported The Deseret News in Sept. 2000. The cause? Food poisoning.
Not only do so many Americans suffer each year, but an estimated $7 billion to $23 billion is spent nationally due to food-borne illness, Von Mendenhall, department head of Nutrition and Food Sciences said.
A food-borne illness is just that, an illness caused by food. It can be in two different forms: Infection and intoxication. Infection occurs when the bacteria, for example salmonella, infect body tissues such as the small intestines. Intoxication occurs when bacteria, such as E coli, either on food or inside the body form a toxin after having eaten undercooked foods.
Alan Andersen, Utah State University assistant director for Housing and Food Services, said although most people blame restaurants when having contracted a food-borne illness, food poisoning occurs more often in the home because people are unaware of mistakes they are making.
A study conducted in the summer of 2000 by Janet Anderson, clinical assistant professor of Nutrition and Food Sciences, showed just that.
In the study, cameras were placed in the kitchens of 100 families in Logan and the results were “shocking,” Janet Anderson said according to an article in The Deseret News.
According to the $50,000 study funded by the Food and Drug Administration, only 45 percent washed their hands before cooking. Sixteen percent who washed didn’t use soap. It was also observed that many people only rinsed their hands and then wiped them on a towel that they later used to clean countertops. Only a quarter of the test group kept raw meat and seafood on the bottom of the refrigerator to ensure the dripping juices didn’t contaminate other food. Thirty percent didn’t wash salad lettuce and many cut vegetables on meat-contaminated surfaces.
Scientists also found, by checking finished meals with food thermometers, that 35 percent of those who made meat loaf didn’t cook it fully, 42 percent served undercooked chicken and 17 percent didn’t cook fish enough.
Janet Anderson stressed to The Deseret News it is most important for people to wash their hands and clean food surfaces well after dealing with raw meat.
“They can never wash their hands too much,” Alan Andersen said.
Campus Food Services employs roughly 300 students, the largest single employer on campus, and reminds employers to wash their hands by providing automatic hand-washing sinks near food-handling areas as well as posting reminder signs and having a manager present to enforce the rules. Employees are supposed to wash their hands after a variety of situations such as handling food down to simply touching their hair.
“With serving food, gloves are generally a bad thing because they give a false sense of being sanitary. Gloves are fine if you’re changing them all the time but people are more likely to wash something off their hands than think of changing their gloves after every little thing,” Alan Andersen said.
Other precautions taken to secure food safety include regular food inspections and different-colored cutting boards for raw meat and vegetables, making it so only a certain color is used when cutting food such as poultry and lessening the chances of cross contamination.
Also an eight-hour “Serve Safe” intensive training by the National Restaurant Association is required for all chefs and managers and food handler permits are required for all other employees.
Cassie Klingler, a junior majoring in art, recently attended the Food Handler class offered Monday afternoons at the Bear River Health Department by Max Gyllenskog who performs food inspections in Cache County and surrounding areas.
Klingler said the main points taught in the class were properly washing hands and cooking areas and utensils to avoid cross contamination and cooking food at the proper temperatures so that not only does the food look done but all the bacteria on it has been killed as well.
Lynda Jacobsen, assistant manager of the Hub, said another main concern of Food Services is that the food is cooked and stored at the correct temperatures.
“Our big push around here is that the food is at the temperature it should be and is served hot or cold enough as it should be,” Jacobsen said.
According to a handout given at the Food Handler class, the Utah food code requires cold foods be kept at or below 41 degrees and hot foods be kept at or above 140 degrees. Between 41 and 140 degrees is what most people in the food business refer to as “the danger zone.” Not cooking and storing foods at the right temperature is the leading cause of food-borne illnesses, according to the handout.
To ensure bacteria on food has been killed, ground beef should be cooked at a minimum of 155 degrees, poultry and stuffed meats at 165 degrees as well as 165 degrees when re-heating leftovers. The best way to guarantee meat is fully cooked is to use a food thermometer to check inside the piece of beef or poultry, Gyllenskog said he tells his Food Handler classes.
Alan Andersen said he is glad there is more of a focus on properly preparing and storing foods now rather than just cleanliness. In his 12 years in Food Services at USU, there has only been one incident of a confirmed food-borne illness being spread. He said it occurred nine or 10 years ago at a wedding party when a pork product wasn’t re-heated properly. Alan Andersen adds that if someone truly thinks they have a food-borne illness, they should report it to the health department.
Despite more awareness about food safety, problems in the world and area are still occurring. The Salt Lake Tribune reported a group of people at a training seminar at Snowbird’s Cliff Lodge were struck with the food-borne illness Norwalk virus causing many of the people to experience extreme nausea, diarrhea and fevers. Norwalk virus infects approximately 180,000 people per year and can be prevented by thoroughly washing hands after using the bathroom and before handling food.
“In the class they told us that just a few years ago Utah had one of the worst rankings nationwide when it came to food poisoning and food safety but that it’s a lot better now,” Klingler said.