16 3.5: Prevention
3.5 PREVENTION
Food that is mishandled can lead to foodborne illness. While the United States has one of the safest food supplies in the world, preventing foodborne illness remains a significant public health challenge. Ensure cooking instructions are clear, correct and followed, use a food thermometer, and consider having all food service employees trained in safe food handling procedures.
Prevent foodborne illness by following these four easy steps:
Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.
Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate.
Cook: Cook to proper temperatures.
Chill: Refrigerate promptly.
The following graphic from the CDC show instances of Salmonella outbreaks and how they could have been prevented:
https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/vitalsigns/foodsafety/infographic.html
SOURCE: CDC, 2010.
Prevention from the Farm to the Table
Lessons learned from Salmonella outbreaks
Production
Risky eggs, 2010: Chicken and feed contamination results in 500M eggs recalled. Cause: Salmonella Enteritidis (SE).
Prevention
Require preventive controls for egg producers such as buying chicks from suppliers with SE control programs, testing poultry houses for SE, and setting temperature requirements for storing and transporting eggs.
Manufacturing
Peanut butter crackers to pet treats, 2009: Processing plant contamination results in many foods causing sickness in 46 states. Cause: Salmonella Typhimurium.
Prevention
Keep factories clean, separate raw and processed foods, ensure that steps to reduce contamination work.
Manufacturing
Tainted turkey burgers, 2011: 50,000 lbs of ground turkey recalled following illness in 10 states. Cause: Salmonella Hadar.
Prevention
Employ pre-harvest food safety strategies to reduce Salmonella in animals, prevent contamination at slaughter, reduce contamination of ground product from all sources, ensure that steps to reduce contamination work.
Distribution and Delivery
Contaminated ice cream, 1994: Trucks hauling raw eggs, then ice cream, sicken 200,000 nationwide. Cause: Salmonella Enteritidis (SE).
Prevention
Clean and disinfect trucks between loads, keep cold shipments at correct temperatures, track shipments and storage.
Preparation and Consumption (Restaurants/Grocery stores)
Germs spread in restaurants, 2008: Poor kitchen practices cause food to be undercooked and cross-contaminated. Cause: Salmonella Montevideo.
Prevention
Cook chicken and meats thoroughly, separate raw chicken and meats from other foods, train and certify managers in food safety in all restaurants.
Preparation and Consumption (Restaurants/Homes)
Frozen pot pies, microwaves, and cooking instructions, 2007: Undercooked pies sicken people in 35 states, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. Cause: Salmonella I,4,[5],12:i:-.