Food Poisoning Information , Tips, Hints, And More

In case you don't know food poisoning is acute gastroenteritis caused by the consumption of a food or drink item that contains bacteria or other toxins that can make you very ill. Food poisoning is more common in the summer months but it can happen at any time. A lot of the time people will eat a certain food at a picnic or other gathering and a few hours later they will all start showing up at the local emergency room. This is how multiple cases of food poisoning are often traced back to one certain location and quite often to one particular food item.

Raw Chicken Can Make You Very Sick

The bacteria in raw chicken can make you very sick. If you don't practice food safety when working with raw chicken you can not only make yourself sick but your other family members and guests may get sick. The type of cutting board you use when working with chicken is very important. A solid plastic material cutting board is what you need. Avoid wooden cutting boards because wooden cutting boards crack and bacteria will live in the cracks. And it is the bacteria that makes everyone sick.

Its important when you work with raw chicken that everything that the raw chicken touches gets cleaned up with a strong bleach solution. This should include the cutting board, the knives, your counter, any dishes the chicken touched and any cleaning rags or dish rags. Be sure you wash any container you put raw chicken into with a bleach solution after all the chicken is out of the dish.

It is the bacteria in the raw chicken and in the raw chicken juices that you need to be concerned about. However if you do a great job of clean up after working with raw chicken and you cook the chicken thoroughly no one should ever get sick.

Just remember to always practice food safety when working with raw chicken of any type. If you thaw out chicken or beef thaw it out in a pan with sides where blood or juices can not drain out into your refrigerator. And always thaw your meats in the bottom of your refrigerator and never on a counter or in a sink.

Cold foods should be kept at 40 degrees or less and hot foods should be kept at 140 degrees or more. If you keep your foods at the suggested temperatures and practice other food safety you should never have a problem with food poisoning.

I know a lot of people keep and reuse leftovers. You should never keep any food that has been at room temperature for 2 hours or more. If you do use leftovers again be sure that they are reheated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. And never keep any leftovers a second time.

Two big things to remember are that any beef including hamburgers needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. And any poultry including turkey and chicken must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Be sure that your kitchen has a food thermometer that you can check temperatures with. Your refrigerator needs to have a thermometer as well and your refrigerator needs to be kept at 40 degrees or less.

In the United States E Coli poisoning is often known as the hamburger disease because it quite often comes from hamburger that is not thoroughly cooked. Your hamburgers should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees in order to be well done. One thing to keep in mind is to make sure that your cooked hamburgers only go onto a clean plate or tray when they come off the grill. One way a lot of people have been made ill before is cooked hamburgers are placed onto a plate where raw chicken was just a few minutes ago. Always remember never to cross contaminate. Never reuse plates or other items that previously held food items until they have been washed.

In about 5 - 10 percent of the people exposed to E Coli they have kidney damage. In some cases this can cause the person to have to have long term dialysis and E Coli can kill. It usually kills the very young or the very old but can kill anyone. Usually the first signs of E Coli are diarrhea though some people will vomit and some may have cramps. If you or a family member eats hamburger and develops these symptoms they should receive medical attention as soon as possible and tell the medical professionals that you suspect the person or persons may have E Coli.

Its always best to remember and practice food safety. Food can transmit food poisoning or bacteria from person to person or serve as a place for bacteria to grow. This is one of the main reasons that cold food should be served cold and hot food should be served hot. Also always remember to avoid cross contamination. Never take spoons out of one dish and start using them in another dish. Make sure you only use clean knives and forks to cut and serve food with.

Here are a few food safety tips to always remember.

1. Food that is kept at room temperature and served should never be heated and served again.

2. If you use flour or cornmeal for breading don't put up the left over flour or cornmeal to use the next time you need to bread something. You can make people very sick if you do this. Bacteria will grow in the flour or cornmeal and be transferred to the food.

3. Your kitchen and all areas where you store and cook food must be kept super clean. Never use wooden cutting boards. They crack and bacteria grows in cracks.

4. When people who are cooking go to the bathroom they must thoroughly wash their hands and arms from the elbows down before they return to cooking and preparing food.

5. Be sure to wash all vegetables before you cook them. This should be done under cold running water. If you are working with spinach or lettuce be sure to wash these items very well under cold running water.As long as you can see any dirt at all keep washing under cold running water.

6. Any and all food items should be stored in closed containers.

7. Remember to use extra care when working with hamburger. Cook hamburger until it reaches a internal temperature of 160 degrees and then serve it as soon as possible. Never refreeze thawed hamburger. If you can't use all the hamburger you thawed out thoroughly cook it and then refreeze it or throw it out.

8. When you work with raw chicken of any type be sure that you clean up everything the chicken came into contact with in a strong bleach solution. Be sure this includes all counters and anything the raw chicken could have dripped on.

9. If you ever have any doubt about any food item throw it out. Never reheat food that has been heated before. And always keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.

There is no reason you should ever have food poisoning if you will just practice food safety. I hope you enjoyed my Hub Page on Food Poisoning and I hope you will post any comments or questions you have below now in the comment section.