PERSONAL INSURANCE BULLETIN
Forth Quarter 1999
In-home cases of food-borne illness are up 25 percent in the last five years. And that may not come as a surprise. According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), most Americans flunk six out of 10 questions about food safety. A little knowledge can prevent illness and even death.
An ADA survey found that nearly 90 percent of Americans surveyed don?t always use a meat thermometer to check the ?doneness? of cooked meat or poultry. Even fewer use a thermometer to check cooked eggs.
The majority of those surveyed by ADA didn?t wash hands during food preparation at a panic site, and didn?t use separate utensils and plates for raw and grilled foods.
Equally alarming is that three-fourths of respondents stored coolers in the car trunk rather than in the air-conditioned car and 40 percent didn?t clean a cooler with soap between uses.
Symptoms of food-borne illness caused by bacteria include vomiting, stomach pains and diarrhea, but other food poisoning symptoms such as fever and muscle aches are often mistaken for the flu.
The ADA says that washing hands often, keeping raw meats and ready-to-eat foods separate, cooking everything to adequate temperatures, refrigerating foods promptly to 40 Fahrenheit and never leaving foods out in warm weather for more than an hour can prevent most food-borne illness.
Food Safety Tips
*Keep raw meats and ready-to-eat foods separate.
*Wash hands before food preparation.
*Cook everything to adequate temperatures.
*Refrigerate foods promptly.
*Never leave foods out in warm weather.
