Digest These Sensible Rules for Safe Food

As specialists in public health, we’re accustomed to reports of food poisoning. But one recent case really surprised us. It involved a friend of ours, a physician no less, who ignored the simple rules of food safety and got into trouble. Just returned from a weeklong vacation and hungry, he ate some leftover spare ribs that had been in the refrigerator for more than two weeks.

Our friend, who should have known better, broke a simple rule for preventing food poisoning and paid for his mistake with two days of severe gastrointestinal distress. Here are some guidelines that can keep you from falling into the same trap that got him into trouble.

* Start at the supermarket. Purchase perishable foods last, so they don’t sit in your cart too long while you are shopping for other groceries. Perishable foods, like meat, poultry and seafood, should be taken home quickly and refrigerated immediately. Avoid running errands on your way home from the grocery store, as foods can rapidly spoil when left sitting in a hot car.

* Store foods properly at home. Keep your refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower (this is not cold enough to kill the bacteria in food, but it will slow their growth). Use an appliance thermometer to measure the temperature in your refrigerator. Store raw meat, poultry and seafood at the bottom of the refrigerator to prevent their juices from dripping on other food. If you must store them on a higher shelf, put them in a plastic container or on a plate large enough to catch any drippings.

* Use safe preparation techniques. Wash your hands with soap and warm water before handling food and in between handling different foods. Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables in plain water to remove dirt residue, which can harbor harmful bacteria. Do not use detergent or soap, since most of these products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use on food.

* Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator or microwave, never on the kitchen counter. When food is defrosted by exposing it to room temperature, bacteria can grow in the thawed outer layer, even though the inner portion is still frozen. Refrigerator thawing requires that you plan well ahead; a large turkey, for example, can take several days to completely defrost.

* Prepare raw meat, poultry and seafood separately from other food to avoid cross-contamination. Wash your cutting board and knives with hot, soapy water after each use, or use separate cutting boards and knives for each food. Plastic boards are preferable to wooden ones because the surface is easier to clean and less likely to trap bacteria. Occasionally, you should sanitize your cutting boards with a bleach and water solution or household sanitizing agent.

* Cook food thoroughly. Use a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature of food to ensure that a safe cooking temperature has been reached. Ground beef should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees; ground turkey and chicken, 165 degrees; whole chicken or turkey, 180 degrees; beef, veal and lamb, 145 to 160 degrees; and pork, 160 degrees. Dishes with eggs, such as casseroles, should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Insert the thermometer into the thickest portion of the food, and wash it after every use.

* Be careful with leftovers. Refrigerate food as soon as possible to prevent bacterial growth, preferably within two hours. Store leftovers in small, shallow containers that allow food to cool more quickly. A large pot of chili or soup, for example, should be divided into several small storage containers; a large piece of meat or poultry should be cut into smaller portions before being refrigerated. Cooked egg dishes, meat, poultry and fish can be safely refrigerated for only three to four days. Date your leftovers and routinely discard foods that have been stored for too long. (Our physician friend now follows this simple rule: If in doubt, throw it out.) Reheat cooked leftovers to 165 degrees before eating them.

* Clean up after cooking. Wash cooking surfaces after each use with soap and hot water, a commercial cleaning agent, or a bleach and water solution (one teaspoon of bleach to one gallon of water). Sponges and dishcloths can easily spread germs from one place to another. Change sponges frequently and allow them to dry completely between uses. Wash towels regularly in hot, soapy water. Paper towels are a safe alternative for cleaning kitchen surfaces.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services offers a food safety quiz on its Internet site: https://www.lapublichealth.org. For more information on food-borne illness, contact the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at (888) SAFE-FOOD or https://www.cfsan.fda.gov.

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Dr. Jonathan Fielding is the director of public health and the health officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Valerie Ulene is a board-certified specialist in preventive medicine practicing in Los Angeles. They can be reached by e-mail at ourhealth@dhs.co.la.ca.us.