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Food Safety: Food Borne Illness
Is it the flu, or was it that dinner you cooked last night?
The Olympian, March 11, 1998
Imagine this scenario. You awaken at 2 am with the worst stomachache you've ever experienced and race to the bathroom at breakneck speed. The next morning you're still a bit green, but starting to feel better. You take the day off from work and self diagnosis: Probably a case of the 24 hour flu or a transitory bug I picked up from the kids.
Well, maybe or maybe not.
Every year in the United States there are more than 80 million cases of food-borne illnesses resulting in more than 9,000 deaths. Many consumers would like to attribute these illnesses to food processors, supermarkets, restaurants, and other food-service operations. But, reality may be a somewhat different picture.
Recently, Audits International in Highland Park, IL conducted a food safety audit in 106 households located in 81 cites across the U.S. and Canada.
One of the most striking features of the study was that in 96 percent of the households visited, researchers observed at least one serious food safety problem. These are behaviors that by themselves put family members at risk of developing a food-borne illness just like the one briefly described at the beginning of this column.
Fewer than 1 percent of the families observed met minimum food safety standards.
Audits International routinely performs audits of restaurants and food-service operations to determine whether they meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration food safety standards.
For this study, team members observed meal preparation, meal service, cleanup and storage of leftovers. Results were reported in the February issue of Food Technology: A Publication of the Institute of Food Technologists.
Here are some of the observations. The percentages refer to the frequency of critical violations found. The average household had 2.8 critical violations.
- Cross contamination of foods, 76 percent.
- Neglected hand washing, 57 percent
- Improper chemical storage and labeling, 28 percent
- Cooked foods endpoint temperature too low, 24 percent
- Refrigerator temperatures too high, 23 percent
- Hot Holding Ingredients too Cool 11 percent
- Improper glove usage, 6 percent
- Using severely damaged canned goods, 6 percent
- Sick or symptomatic cooks, 3 percent
They also found a multitude of unsafe food behaviors that are closely linked with foodborne illness. Remember that participants were volunteers in the study, knew they were being evaluated and probably assumed they would do a good job while they were being observed.
In the next few months, this column will highlight results of this study and offer food safety tips. Put them into action in your home. These practices can and do make a difference. Is it the flu? Maybe it is, if you didn't get your flu shot this year.
B. Susie Craig
Area Faculty
WSU Cooperative Extension Thurston County
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Last updated January 22, 2001