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August
25, 2006
Keep Bacteria
Away From Your Group Meal
Don’t let foodborne
illness ruin your family reunion or community gathering.
That’s the message
from food safety experts in the wake of an E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak in
the Longville, Minn., area. A 73-year-old Longville woman died earlier
this month after apparently eating contaminated food at a church dinner
July 19. E. coli also sickened up to 30 people in the area in the last
six weeks.
State health investigators
traced the E. coli to ground beef that came from a meat plant where a
routine inspection turned up a matching strain of the bacteria. The meat
went to a distributor and then a Longville area grocery store and restaurants.
The investigators said the ground beef may have cross-contaminated other
foods, such as potato salad and lettuce salad, at the church dinner.
“Food that is
mishandled can cause very serious consequences for all, especially infants,
the elderly, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems,”
says Julie Garden-Robinson, the North Dakota State University Extension
Service’s food and nutrition specialist. “For this reason,
volunteers must be especially careful when preparing and serving food
to large groups.”
She says the four
basic rules to remember are:
- Clean
- Frequently wash your hands and food preparation surfaces,
such as cutting boards, utensils and countertops, with hot water and
soap. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds each time.
- Separate
- Keep raw meat, poultry and seafood separated from other foods
in your grocery shopping cart and refrigerator.
- Cook -
Make sure to cook or reheat foods to the proper temperature. According
to U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, cook ground beef to 160
F and whole poultry to 180 F. Use a food thermometer to check the food’s
internal temperature.
- Chill
- Refrigerate or freeze perishable food or leftovers no more
than two hours after buying or preparing them, or no more than an hour
if serving outdoors in temperatures above 90 F. Use an appliance thermometer
to check whether refrigerators are at 40 F and freezers are at 0 F.
Here is some other
advice on preparing food for groups of people:
- Select a reliable
person to be in charge. That person should contact the local health
department to learn the rules and regulations governing food preparation
and service for groups. The person in charge also should instruct volunteers
on food safety, and oversee the food’s preparation, service and
cleanup.
- Have the right
equipment, such as cutting boards, utensils, food thermometers, cookware,
soap, paper towels and shallow containers for food storage.
- For outdoor events,
have a source of clean water. If none is available, bring enough water
for washing hands, utensils and food thermometers. Develop a plan for
transporting cleanup equipment to the site.
- Have adequate
refrigerator and freezer space to store food before and after it’s
prepared.
- Don’t buy
canned goods that have sharp dents in the seams or are bulging.
- Buy cold foods
last and refrigerate or freeze them as soon as possible if they won’t
be cooked immediately. If your destination is more than 30 minutes from
where you purchased the food, bring coolers with ice or commercial freezing
gels to keep the perishables cold.
- Never thaw food
at room temperature. Thaw it in the refrigerator, microwave or cold
water.
- Marinate food
in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Don’t reuse sauce used
to marinate raw meat, fish, poultry or seafood on cooked food. Reserve
some of the marinade for dipping.
- Don’t buy
fruits and vegetables that are bruised or damaged. Don’t buy cut-up
produce, such as packaged salads or precut melon, that hasn’t
been refrigerated. Rinse fresh produce under water and scrub with a
clean vegetable brush if necessary.
For more information
about food safety, visit the NDSU Extension Web site at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/safety.htm
or the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Cooking_for_Groups_index/index.asp.
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Source: Julie
Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Ellen Crawford, (701) 231-5391, ellen.crawford@ndsu.edu
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