December 25, 2003

Prairie Fare: Snow Birds Need to Be Careful about Food Safety

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

When January weather arrives, many "snow birds" fly to warmer destinations. Others sail away on cruise ships.

While escaping the winter cold is tempting, there are some food-related risks you might encounter if you’re traveling abroad, especially Latin America, Asia, Africa or the Middle East. If you’re not careful, traveling the world can leave you with a stomachache or much worse.

Travelers might get infections linked to food or beverages contaminated with organisms like E. coli, shigella, giardia, hepatitis A virus and many others. "Travelers’ diarrhea" affects about 10 million international travelers yearly. Often it occurs during the trip, but symptoms may show up after the travelers return home.

Many travelers are forewarned "don’t drink the water" before leaving the country, but food safety issues go beyond water. In areas where sanitation is less than optimal, travelers should avoid salads and uncooked vegetables because they may have been rinsed in contaminated water. Canned or cooked vegetables are safe, but cooked food should be served steaming hot.

Water can be an issue in many areas. Chlorination is the best means to ensure safe drinking water. Chlorine alone, however, may not be enough to inactivate some "bugs." Some safe beverage options include coffee or tea made with boiled water. Water can also be disinfected or filtered to make it safer. Carbonated beverages, bottled water or soft drinks are other options.

Be cautious, however, if the bottled or canned beverages are served on ice or kept in a cooler filled with ice. Freezing doesn’t kill bacteria and other organisms. Skip the ice, and dry the drinking surface. It’s safest to use bottled water when brushing your teeth, too, and don’t swallow any water while taking a shower.

A good rule of thumb for food safety while traveling is "boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it." For more information about staying healthy during travel, read the traveler information on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site: www.cdc.gov/travel/

You don’t have to travel to have fun with food. Pretzels are believed by many to have originated in Germany, although others think they originated in Italy. At any rate, here’s a pretzel recipe from the Wheat Foods Council to make with kids of all ages. For more information and recipes, visit their Web site http://www.wheatfoods.org/

Pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 - 4 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 egg white
1 Tbsp. water
Sesame seeds or poppy seeds

Measure warm water into large bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved. Add sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Gradually add remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead dough by hand 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover bowl and let rest 30 minutes. Divide dough into 24 pieces; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Roll each into a uniform 18-inch rope. Shape into a pretzel by making a circle, overlapping the two ends, twisting them once and then pressing them onto the bottom curve of the circle. (Dough may also be shaped into 8-inch breadsticks.) Place on greased baking sheets. Beat egg white and water together; brush pretzels. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake in preheated 425 degrees oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets; cool on wire rack.

Makes 24 pretzels. Each pretzel contains 108 calories, 19 grams carbohydrate and 3 grams fat.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

[Editors: We’ve updated the illustrated column identifier for Julie Garden-Robinson’s Prairie Fare column. If you’re using an older version or if you would like to use the identifier, please download this printable EPS file. Prairie Fare (142 Kb eps file)]