Food Safety Waste of Time
By: Keith
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest the top 10 most risky foods for food-borne illnesses are as follows: leafy greens, tuna, oysters, tomatoes, sprouts, berries, eggs, potatoes, cheese and ice-cream. Let me start this by saying that cspinet delivers an excellent service. They talk about all sorts of things that people need to know about, food additives, new outbreaks and food recalls, insidious marketing to kids, school foods and other relevant, food related stuff. But, I think their new online petition to congress to make food safer is a little misguided. They cite 1,500 outbreaks of food illnesses that have sickened 50,000 people since 1990. Another way to say that is this: 50,000 people in the US have gotten sick in the last 20 years because of food outbreaks from the above mentioned 10 foods. Now, according to my super awesome math skills, 50,000 is .016 % of the current US population. And they say that’s been stretched over 20 years? It’s not worth my time to sign their petition, and congress has better things to worry about.
How to Avoid Getting Sick:
If you’re really concerned about getting sick from certain foods then perhaps we can talk about how to wash and prepare them to minimize risk.
1. Wash your greens even if they say pre-washed. Let’s face it; you shouldn’t trust the washing job that some big company does for you. I don’t. Wash your greens in a colander, and pick off the bits that don’t seem fresh.
2. Foods that grow in the ground need special care. A problem with foods that grow in the ground, rather than in trees, is that they’re loaded with pesticides (they soak up chemicals like sponges). Another issue is that they grow in soil where worms and other bacteria carrying critters live. Potatoes and carrots need good washing, and perhaps peeling, before eating raw or cooking. Organic food might be pesticide free, but being organic doesn’t mean you’re any less likely to get sick from bacteria. You still need to wash organic food.
3. Oysters and other shellfish make people sick because people are stupid not because the creature is bad. Raw oysters should only be consumed if they’re harvested by you from approved waters or if they are not shucked within a day of someone else harvesting them. Most shellfish related illnesses are related to improper handling and storing temperatures.
It’s surprising, but our government (USDA) has actually provided us with useful information on food handling procedures. There’s no way to eliminate your risk from eating vegetables and other natural foods, but I think a scare campaign is the last thing we need. I don’t want to see people turning to processed and unnatural foods because they mistakenly believe they’re protecting themselves from illness. 70% of cardiovascular disease is related to obesity. Isn’t that what we should be concentrating on? Big problems first, people, then we can worry about the little stuff.
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Then fried foods might be the safest– you can fry the bacteria right out, so who cares about the nutrients. We want safety, right? McDonalds should mention that their french fries and chicken nuggets are the SAFEST stuff around!
.-= Dennis Yu´s last blog ..Food Safety Waste of Time =-.
Just because something was washed back where it was processed doesn’t mean something couldn’t have gotten into the bag on the way to the store. The salad spinner is one of the most frequently used kitchen gadgets I own.
.-= PJ Mullen´s last blog ..Cause I’m just a ray of frikin’ sunshine =-.