In some cultures, eating out is a common practice for various reasons. This may be because it’s more
convenient and economical. In other cultures, cooking at home is the mainstay. Whichever one you’re
used to, one important aspect should not be overlooked, and that’s cleanliness.
Food safety is important whether you eat out or prepare meals at home. Food poisoning is often viewed as a less important health issue, but the truth is that it can be fatal. Here are some misconceptions we often have about food poisoning:
Food poisoning is caused by a myriad of bacteria and viruses. They can take anywhere from 6 hours to five days to cause a reaction. Therefore, your discomfort isn’t necessarily the product of what you last ate. For example, Noroviruses take about 12- 48 hours to cause a reaction, whereas E. coli can take anywhere from one to eight days to cause symptoms.
The truth is, even trained chefs make mistakes and undercook meat. In order to ensure that all the bacteria and viruses are completely killed, meat has to be cooked at a temperature above 70⁰C and the entire chunk of meat has to reach this temperature. Often times the outer sections may be hot enough but the heat doesn’t reach the deeper parts. The only way to avoid this is by using a meat thermometer.
In reality, not all food poisoning causes diarrhea and vomiting. It sometimes manifests itself as a fever first, followed by headaches and joint pain, eye irritation and painful urination before any abdominal issues crop up. These symptoms are different from one individual to another, so don’t rule food poisoning out even though diarrhea and nausea aren’t present.
The cleanliness of your home cooked food depends very much on your handling of the raw ingredients and how they’ve been stored and cooked. It’s definitely not true that you can only catch a bug from eating out. In fact, choosing hygienic and well-regulated eateries won’t get you stomach flu anytime soon.
This well-known misconception can be dangerous, as vegetarians and vegans can get food poisoning too. In fact, about a quarter of all food poisoning cases are caused by fruits and vegetables, especially when they’re eaten raw like in a salad.
Since food poisoning seems to spread rather easily, here are some things you would want to practice in order to avoid it and minimize the chances of catching the illness.
- When cooking at home, avoid cross-contamination by having two sets of knives and chopping boards, one for the meats and one for fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Wash your hand thoroughly with soap and water when preparing any ingredients.
- Avoid eating food from cans that are bloated or dented as this is a sign that there’s gas being released by the abundance of organisms within.
- Don’t leave meats sitting outside the refrigerator too long as this encourages the growth of microorganisms. Additionally, repeated freezing and defrosting is a bad idea as this accelerates microbial growth. You should take out only the portion of frozen meat you want and defrost it
- only once.
- Raw foods like uncooked meats should not be allowed to touch ready to eat foods and they should be kept separate.
- When eating out, choose hygienic places with a good cleanliness rating from the local authorities.
- Make sure you reheat leftovers in the fridge thoroughly, especially in a microwave before consuming them. Pay attention to signs of decay and awful smells.
- Drink pasteurized milk that has been heated to kill germs before being sold.
- Use a temperature to ensure that meats are cooked through. They should be between 68⁰C to 74⁰C to ensure all germs are killed.
- Eggs should always be cooked through, but if you’re using raw eggs in a recipe, make sure they come from a regulated source and have not gone past their expiry date.
It’s always good to be careful and take the necessary precautions to avoid being down and out from food poisoning. These steps will help protect your family and loved ones too. Remember that good food safety is partly your own responsibility and effort.
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