NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

August 31, 2000

Prairie Fare: Does Your Kitchen Pass the Food Safety Test?

If a food inspector came into your home and watched you make dinner, would you pass the test? That’s exactly what happened in a food safety research project conducted by Audits International, Inc. Though confident enough to be scrutinized while preparing food -- and probably trying quite hard to do the right thing -- about 70 percent of the volunteers failed the inspection in 1999. They made at least one critical violation, a food handling mistake that could cause foodborne illness. That’s actually an improvement from the 99 percent failure rate the first time the company did the study.

In recognition of September, National Food Safety Education Month, here’s a short quiz to see if you’re taking steps to keep your food safe to eat. Even if you won’t win a million dollars for the right answers, you could lose a million bacteria.

  1. To what internal temperatures should burgers, chicken breasts, whole poultry and leftovers be cooked? Cook ground beef to at least 160 F, chicken breasts to at least 170 F, whole poultry to at least 180 F and leftovers to at least 165 F. Even if meat looks or smells done it may not have reached a safe internal temperature. A food thermometer is one of the best food safety investments you can make. Don’t save it for special occasions.

  2. For how many seconds should you wash your hands? Even if you might not shop for food or prepare it, chances are you do eat it. Handwashing is one of the most important ways to prevent foodborne illness. Twenty seconds – or the time it takes you to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" or "Yankee Doodle" will do it. Don’t be embarrassed to serenade yourself as you lather up.

  3. At what temperature should your refrigerator be set? How about your freezer?

    Set your fridge to maintain a temperature of 40 F or lower. Cold temperature slows down the growth of harmful bacteria. Freezing at 0 F or lower stops bacteria from growing (or slows growth way down) but doesn’t kill bacteria. If you don’t know your refrigerator or freezer temperatures, it’s a good thing to check.

  4. A package of raw meat was placed above a bowl of salad greens in the refrigerator. What name is given to this food handling error? "Cross contamination" can happen any time you don’t separate raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood from ready-to-eat food in your shopping cart, on kitchen counters or cutting boards and in your refrigerator. It was the No. 1 food handling error in the Audits International Study.

Bonus question: What type of bacteria is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S.? Campylobacter is currently the leader according to an ongoing study, followed by Salmonella, Shigella and E. coli O157:H7. According to some estimates, about 90 percent of chickens are contaminated with Campylobacter. Symptoms associated with the illness include fever, headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, abdominal pain and nausea that appear 2 to 5 days after eating and may last a week or more.

Here’s a tasty recipe to test your food-handling skills. It’s adapted from www.tomato.org, a web site by the California Tomato Commission.

Tomato Cajun Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
3 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cups diced fresh tomatoes

Procedure:
Combine lemon juice and next five ingredients. Beat in yogurt. Fold in chicken and next three ingredients. Chill. Right before serving, gently fold in tomatoes.

A serving (one-sixth of the recipe) of Tomato Cajun Chicken Salad contains 135 calories and 5.3 grams of fat. Chicken is a good source of protein that’s low in fat and rich in vitamins and minerals. Tomatoes contain vitamin C, folate, and potassium. Several medical research studies suggest that the red pigments, or lycopenes, in tomatoes may provide some protection against cancer, particularly prostate cancer in men. That’s a good reason to request seconds for tomato-based products, especially cooked tomato sauces.

As you prepare this dish or any food, remember the four rules for safe food handling of the national Fight BAC campaign: Clean, separate, cook and chill. Wash your hands, countertops, utensils and produce, and avoid cross contamination of raw meat juices with ready-to-eat foods. Cook meat thoroughly, measuring the temperature with a food thermometer, and chill salads and leftover foods promptly. For more information about food safety, contact your county office of the NDSU Extension Service.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629