News21 · How Safe Is Your Food?
Historical archive · News21 reporting from 2011. Figures, laws, contacts and food safety guidance reflect the original publication, not current advice.

Tips@Home

The original 2011 mobile tool is preserved as a reading archive. Historical contact details and instructions may be obsolete.

Find Health Depts.

Every state has a food safety division within its health or agriculture departments.

It's up to you – and your doctor – to report foodborne illness to your state or local health agency so that officials can take action, notify the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and keep more people from getting sick.

Symptoms

Becoming familiar with the symptoms of foodborne illnesses and understanding how to handle them quickly and efficiently may help prevent serious complications.

Important Information: This is general information about foodborne illnesses and is not a substitute for a doctor’s care. Consult a physician immediately if you believe you have a foodborne illness. If you work in a high-risk facility – day care center, nursing home or hospital – you could pose a greater risk to the people around you and should talk to your doctor about having a stool sample tested to assist in diagnosis.

Norovirus

Norovirus

Symptoms

Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, fever, muscle aches, headache.

Treatment

Treat symptoms. Keep hydrated with plenty of liquids. There is no vaccine or drug to treat people who become sick. Antibiotics will not help because they fight bacteria not viruses.

Salmonella

Salmonella

Symptoms

Diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, vomiting.

Treatment

If salmonella has not entered your bloodstream, you can treat symptoms by staying hydrated and using anti-diarrheals (these relieve cramping but may prolong the diarrhea). If salmonella is in your bloodstream or if you have a weakened immune system, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics. For people who don't meet these criteria, antibiotics may lengthen the time they carry the disease, which can result in relapse or passing the infection on to others.

Clostridium

Clostridium perfringens

Symptoms

Watery diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, fever (rare).

Treatment

Symptoms are treated. Antibiotics are not typically used.

Campylobacter

Campylobacter spp.

Symptoms

Bloody diarrhea, cramps, fever, vomiting.

Treatment

Symptoms are treated for most cases. In severe cases, antibiotics can be used early in the diarrheal disease.

Staph

Staphylococcus aureus

Symptoms

Sudden intense nausea and vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever.

Treatment

Treat symptoms. Rest and hydrate. The bacteria are not making you sick — the toxins the bacteria produce are — so antibiotics are not useful.

Toxoplasma

Toxoplasma gondii

Symptoms

Flu-like, including aches, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, fatigue, sore throat. People with weakened immune systems may experience headache, confusion, poor coordination, seizures, lung problems or blurry vision. These people should see a doctor immediately if they suspect an infection. Pregnant women also should visit a doctor because of the serious effects this infection can have on the fetus.

Treatment

Most healthy people recover without treatment. There are drugs for severe infections. Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems should get treatment as soon as possible.

E. coli

E. coli (STEC) O157

Symptoms

Bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting. There is usually no fever.

Treatment

Treat symptoms. Antibiotics are not usually given because some studies show this may promote the development of hemolytic-uremic syndrome, which can cause kidney failure.

Listeria

Listeria monocytogenes

Symptoms

Fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea. Pregnant women may have a mild flu-like illness.

Treatment

Antibiotics taken as soon as possible can cure the illness and prevent infection to the fetus.

Smart Shopping

Be aware of potential safety risks when purchasing food at grocery stores and farmers markets and from wholesalers.

Know the Recalls

Visit the Food and Drug Administration and Food Safety and Inspection Service websites for the latest food and drug recalls. You can also subscribe to email alerts on both sites.

Follow @USDAFoodSafety and @FDArecalls on twitter to get the latest recall information.

Check for notices at your local grocery store — or restaurants — indicating a recall.

FSIS recommends: If you sense there's a problem with any food product, don't consume it. 'When in doubt, throw it out.'

FSIS also maintains a list of additional recall resources.

Learn the Labels

Do not eat or taste food from cans that bulge or leak or that have a sticky residue or have an unusual smell. The food could be contaminated.

Read food packaging labels for instructions on how to store foods after opening and for expiration dates.

Note the different types of expiration jargon. FSIS provides a list of what to look for:

  • A "Sell-by" date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. Buy the product before the date passes.
  • A "Best if Used by" (or "Before") date is recommended for best flavor or quality.
  • A "Use-by" date is the last date recommended to use the product at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer.

Patricia Buck, director of Outreach & Education at the Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention, recommends the following shopping tips:

  • Make sure the produce is not bruised because pathogens are more likely to grow on bruised areas.
  • Be aware of fungus growing on produce because spores could be inside it.
  • Check for insects on produce.
  • Raw meat, poultry and fish can be contaminated with bacteria, so it is best to put the product in a bag to reduce cross-contamination with other grocery items.
  • If your local grocer does not keep bags at the meat counter, suggest it.
  • Review CFI’s Six Safe Food Practices for additional tips.

Risky Foods

It's important to remember that certain foods often sold in stores or farmers markets are not always safe for consumers. This includes those who are pregnant, elderly, very young or who have compromised immune systems.

Washington State University's School of Food Science recommends the following precautions for eating potentially risky foods:

  • Drink only pasteurized milk and fruit juices.
  • Use water from a safe water supply for drinking and food preparation.
  • Avoid raw sprouts.
  • Avoid raw or undercooked seafood.
  • Avoid foods containing raw eggs; use pasteurized eggs or egg products in uncooked foods containing eggs.
  • Use cheese and yogurt made from pasteurized milk.
  • Obtain shellfish from sources that are approved by federal or state food safety agencies.

If you're pregnant, elderly or have a compromised immune system:

  • Avoid soft cheeses, cold smoked fish or cold deli salads.
  • Avoid hot dogs and lunch meats that have not been reheated to steaming hot or 165 degrees

Ohio State University’s Agricultural Research and Development Center lists the following as risky foods for children:

  • Raw (unpasteurized) dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt
  • Unpasteurized fruit juices
  • Raw sprouts
  • Undercooked meat, such as ground beef
  • Raw eggs, like those found in cookie dough

Food Preparation

Avoid contamination from food handlers, other foods and the surrounding environment.

Defrosting, Cooking and Chilling

  • Proper temperature is important to keep food safe.
  • Buy a food thermometer to ensure you are cooking raw meats and eggs to proper temperatures.
  • Store food promptly in a refrigerator at 40 F or cooler.
  • Do not overload refrigerators or freezers as that may prevent cool air from circulating.
  • Defrost food in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave.

Storage

  • Proper storage helps maintain food at safe temperatures and prevents cross-contamination.
  • Store milk, eggs, seafood and meat inside the refrigerator or freezer, not in door compartments. This keeps food at a steadier temperature.
  • Store raw meat in the lowest compartment of the refrigerator and make sure that it isn’t leaking blood.
  • Do not store food under the sink. Pipe leaks could contaminate it.
  • Don’t store food near chemicals or cleaning products.
  • Seafood should stay in the refrigerator or freezer until cooking time.

Washing

  • Washing may reduce risk in some but not all foods.
  • Do not wash eggs, as they already have been washed in commercial production. An extra washing may increase risk of cross-contamination or crack the shell.
  • Do not wash meat or poultry, as this does not remove pathogens.
  • Washing produce with cold running water removes dirt, reducing (but not completely eliminating) bacteria that may be present. Don’t use soap or detergent, or you may ingest it.

Additional tips from the Washington State Department of Health

  • Animals are not allowed in food preparation areas of restaurants because of germs. Keep your pets off kitchen counters and out of the kitchen sink at home.
  • If you're hosting a party, plan ahead and keep foods at proper temperatures, have enough utensils for serving and rapidly cool leftovers in shallow pans.

About

News21 is a national initiative led by 12 of America’s leading research universities with the support of two major foundations – the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation – that emphasizes innovative, hands-on journalism study and practice.

In summer 2011, fellows from five universities worked out of newsrooms at Arizona State's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism to report on the safety of America's food supply.

About This App

Research, reporting and project management:

Joanne Ingram

Additional research:

Rachel Albin, Jessica Testa and Serena del Mundo

Web Development:

Mark Ng

Graphics:

Kyle Bruggeman

Sources