Food Poisoning--the bane of summer fun

In the Holy Bible, Numbers 11: 33-34 there is an account of the Jews celebrating their exodus from Egypt by feasting on quails that had conveniently been carried in on winds from the sea. Well, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away and apparently the Lord was displeased with their feasting and “smote the people with a very great plague”.

The vehicle the Lord used for visiting His anger upon them was actually a peculiar form of food poisoning that occurs in certain persons with a particular enzyme disorder who become overtired before eating quail…who knew? (well, obviously God did). A similar incident occurred in the late sixties on the Greek island of Lesbos. History is full of stories about food poisoning and despite the wonderful advances of technology the problem is ever with us. With summer fast approaching with its customary picnics and group feedings, a review of the dangers and safeguards seems in order. Not that summer is the only season for that malady—restaurants and home canners can provide it any time of year. But we are more likely to be the agents of our own misery in the warm months and forewarned may indeed be forearmed.

Actually, “food poisoning” is a blanket term that covers numerous illnesses brought on by a variety of circumstances. The food may have been contaminated by bacteria, molds or fungi; there may have been a naturally occurring toxin in the food; a toxic chemical may have been present by accident or design.

In the bacterial department we have two forms of poisoning: bacterial food infection and bacterial food intoxication—the former a result of great numbers of bacteria in the food and the latter thanks to a toxin that some bacteria produce. Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and Shigella are the most common cause of food infection. The symptoms are usually confined to the gastrointestinal tract and involve abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. For the healthy among us this may be no big deal—unpleasant though it may be—but for the very young, the elderly or the chronically ill, it can be very serious, even life threatening. Normally, bacteria are killed by being kept at the boiling temperature for five minutes, so a problem would be anticipated only with susceptible foods that are eaten raw, or have been insufficiently heated.

With some bacteria, however, like Clostridium perfringens, spores are produced which are impervious to boiling and are just itching for the chance to germinate and produce millions of offspring. This is likely to happen if the food is left in the “danger zone” temperature between 4° C and 60° C (40° F to 140°F) for any length of time. Large masses of food take longer to cool and even in the refrigerator the interior of the food could be providing a tropical resort for unwelcome guests. Our old enemy the Staphylococci is a toxin producer and while the bacteria themselves may be killed at boiling temperatures the toxin produced is not inactivated. Rapid refrigeration is the best bet so these little devils don’t get a chance to grow and produce the nasty by-product.

Given our proclivity for barbecuing hamburgers in the summertime, I would be remiss if I didn’t give special attention to so-called “hamburger disease”. This potentially life-threatening illness (again, a severe threat for toddlers and the elderly) is caused by exposure to a very specific bacteria by the unglamorous name of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (hereafter referred to as E. coli). This particular villain is but one of hundreds of different E. colis, but certainly the one that has garnered most attention. As most people know by now, the usual (but not the only) way of coming down with “hamburger disease” is by eating ground beef that is undercooked. Why ground beef and not, for example, a sirloin steak? Simply, because the grinding of the meat leaves much more surface area to be exposed to the bacteria…and when a steak is cooked it’s usually seared on both sides where any bacteria may have set up camp. Other possible sources of E. coli contamination include unpasteurized milk, unpasteurized apple juice, organic greens that have been fertilized with manure, unchlorinated water and contaminated vegetables. You can also spread the bug by cross-contamination, that is, using a cutting board on which to make your hamburger patties and then slicing a tomato on the same, contaminated cutting board.

To reduce your risk, and that of your family and friends, there are four simple rules that should be followed:
CHILL. Pick up groceries on the last stop before home, perishable foods the last items put in the cart, and these foods refrigerated or frozen as soon as you get home. Defrosting of food should be done in the refrigerator, as should marinating and…your refrigerator should be no warmer than 4° and your freezer -18°.When picnicking make sure that goodies like cooked chicken, potato and pasta salads are kept in an insulated cooler with freezer packs to keep the temperature below the danger zone.
CLEAN. Hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds (sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” all the way through) before handling food and after handling any raw food, patting your pets or changing diapers. Make sure you wash fresh vegetables and fruits…you don’t know were they’ve been and there’s nothing about their appearance or odour that will give it away. It’s a good idea to sanitize your countertops and cutting boards with a mild water/bleach solution after each use and…a sore spot in our house: change the dishcloth frequently and really wring it out after use. Placing the wet cloth in the microwave for two minutes should do in any nasties hanging about.
SEPARATE. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me repeat how important it is to keep raw animal foods away from plant products: in the shopping cart, in the refrigerator (animal foods on the bottom so their juices don’t drip onto unsuspecting veggies). The same holds true when you’re packing a cooler: raw stuff on the bottom. A common mistake in barbecuing is to put the cooked meat back on the same plate on which the raw meat had been carried out to the barbecue in the first place. This is a big NO-NO.
COOK. Now that the food has been rendered as bacteria-free as possible, the next step is to cook it so well that any hangers-on will meet their maker. I’d suggest investing in one of those digital instant-read food thermometers to insure that ground beef reaches an internal temperature of 71°C and whole poultry hits 85°C. Also, never, ever use left-over marinade as a sauce unless you’ve boiled it first. Once you’re finished eating put any left-overs that you plan on taking home, back in the cooler with plenty of ice.
There now…that wasn’t so difficult. Go out and have a safe, healthy summer!