16.jul.07
Hernando Today (FL)
Donna Peacock
http://www.hernandotoday.com/health/MGB74VB974F.html
Her cousin called from the hospital where he had spent the previous three days in intensive care. He was suffering from hemorrhagic colitis, more commonly called E-Coli, which is the bacteria that causes the illness. He was convinced that the source was hamburger meat that she, his cousin, had brought to a family gathering the previous weekend.
After being assured that her relative was recovering well, she tried to remember the sequence of events on the day of the picnic. Other foods could have been the source of the E-Coli bacteria. No one wants to feel responsible for another person?s harm, but she had particular difficulty accepting fault. She was always attentive to safe food handling practices when purchasing, storing and preparing food. So what could have happened if the meat really was the source?
Factor in her investigation: Her cousin is a semi-vegetarian. Normally, he does not buy or cook meat of any kind, but he is gracious and eats it when he is a guest at someone?s home. And, he ate the sloppy Joe that she prepared at his home for the picnic. Later, she would learn that three days after the picnic, he consumed a hamburger made from the same meat. Since it was the only meat he had that month, he was sure that it was the source.
Factor in her investigation: No one else at the picnic became ill. That, however, didn?t eliminate the possibility that E-Coli was on a food item. Five of the six adults present were in good health. The individual that got ill suffers from a chronic intestinal ailment that makes him susceptible to food-borne illness.
Factor in her investigation: Food safety principles were followed. She thawed the frozen meat in the microwave of her cousin?s kitchen. It was cooked on the stovetop until the thermometer read 155 degrees Fahrenheit, which would have destroyed E-Coli that might have been present. She checked the temperature and cleaned and sanitized the work space. All of the sloppy Joe mixture was consumed as soon as it was cooked.
Mystery solved, maybe! The cousins will never know for certain if the hamburger was the source of the E-Coli. If it was, most likely it was the result of a dangerous action that occurred that day. She put the meat in the microwave on the thaw cycle.
After it was thawed, but before it was transferred to the stove top to be cooked, unbeknown to her, the cousin made a hamburger patty and put it in the refrigerator to eat later in the week. He prefers a rare hamburger. The undercooked meat he ate three days after the picnic, along with an unsafe food handling practice, could have been the culprit that caused the illness.
Thawing meat in the microwave is safe if the food will be cooked to the proper temperature immediately after thawing. Freezing does not kill microorganisms that cause food-borne illness. Microorganisms grow and multiply rapidly when exposed to heat. While thawing in the microwave, the meat actually began the cooking process. Bacteria cells continued to multiply, although slowly, while the raw meat was in the refrigerator. If the hamburger was eaten rare, it means cooking never reached a temperature high enough to kill the bacteria.
Even in an outbreak of a food-borne illness, when several people ate the same food at the same place, it is not always possible to know how the food became contaminated.
However, following safe food handling practices can decrease the risk of someone becoming ill as the result of food that you prepare.
? Thaw foods properly.
In a refrigerator, at 41 degrees F or below is the preferred method. In a microwave oven, but only if the food will be cooked immediately after thawing. Under running water at a temperature of 70 degrees F or lower; or as part of the cooking process if the product is cooked to the required minimum internal cooking temperature.
? Avoid cross contaminating food. Don?t cut veggies on the same cutting board as meat was cut without first washing and sanitizing the board. Be certain all surfaces and utensils that will touch food are clean and sanitized.
? Cook food to the proper temperature. Different foods require different temperatures to destroy microorganisms that cause illness.
? Wash hands, wash hands, wash hands before working with food.
For more information about food safety, contact your local Extension Office. Classes are offered for food handlers wishing to receive food safety certification. In Hernando County, the phone number is 352-754-4433.
Donna Peacock is the family and consumer sciences agent for the University of Florida/IFAS, Hernando County Extension Service off U.S. 41 in Brooksville.