Food Safety – Page 2 – You Asked It!

Tag: Food Safety

How Safe is Food After a Fire?

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

Fire! Few words can strike such terror. Residential fires are, unfortunately, a common occurrence. Some 2 million American homes go up in flames yearly. In the aftermath of fire, people are left to salvage their lives and belongings.

Whether it’s the whole house involved or just a fire in the kitchen, people try to save what they can — including food. But generally, saving food that’s been in a fire is not a good idea.

Food exposed to fire can be compromised by three factors: the heat of the fire, smoke fumes, and chemicals used to fight fire.

Discard any food exposed to smoke fumes.
Foods exposed to chemicals should be discarded.
If canned foods are not damaged but are exposed to chemicals, they can be decontaminated with a strong detergent solution. Then dip in a bleach solution of 1 tablespoon plain bleach per gallon water for 15 minutes.

Learn more at www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/emergencies/fires-and-food-safety

Videos on Thanksgiving Food Safety

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

The USDA Food Safety YouTube channel has videos to help consumers prepare turkey safely for the holidays. The videos include:

Thanksgiving Food Safety

More videos can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@USDAFoodSafety

Tips on preparing and serving ham can be found at www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/meat/hams-and-food-safety

Don’t Forget to Clean the Sink!

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

We use the kitchen sink for food preparation and more. The possibility exists for foodborne illness-causing bacteria to hang out in the sink too. These bacteria could cross-contaminate your food and make you sick!

In USDA recent study, participants prepared a breakfast meal with raw sausage, shell eggs, and a fruit salad made with cantaloupe they cut up. Among the surfaces tested, the most often contaminated after they finished preparing their meal was the kitchen sink, with 34% of sinks being contaminated.

Even scarier, 26% of the samples of cut-up cantaloupe from the fruit salad were contaminated after breakfast prep. The bacteria in the sink or on your hands can cross-contaminate from the sink to other items, including those you normally eat raw…this means you’ll be eating that bacteria too.

After using your sink to wash or prepare food, clean and sanitize your sink:

1) Use warm, soapy water to wash the sink. Wipe it clean with paper towels.

2) Use a sanitizer and let air dry. Sanitizers can be homemade (1 tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water) or use a commercial sanitizer or sanitizing wipe.

Better Process Control School for Acidified Foods

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

This course will be offered via Zoom
Photo: K-State College of Agriculture

Small food processors add value and support for local communities. This includes farmers market vendors. For some food products, such as acidified foods, it is required the food processor be trained to process these foods safely. Acidified foods or formulated acid foods examples are pickles, salsa, BBQ sauce, and others.

The Better Process Control School for Acidified Foods is an FDA-recognized course for operators or manufacturers who produce thermally processed acidified foods. The course is being offered by Kansas State University and University of Missouri.

Those passing two exams with a grade of 70% or higher will receive a Certificate of Course Completion to fulfill the training requirements of the FDA Acidified Food regulations. Exams will be open book, multiple choice and will be online. Exams generally require no more than one hour to complete. Homework is required.

Topics covered include microbiology of food preservation, formulating acid/acidified food products, containers and closures, record keeping, and FDA process of filing.

Information and Registration at:

https://foodsci.k-state.edu/extension/extension-events.html

Cost: $400

Registration deadline:
October 20, 2023

Safe Flour Handling: Know Your “Roll”

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

Holiday baking season is quickly approaching! It’s important for families to understand the risks of handling raw flour as well as the safety practices they can use to prevent flour-related foodborne illnesses.
On November 1, Noon CST, this free webinar, hosted by the Partnership for Food Safety Education, will highlight the risks associated with raw flour, the perceptions held by consumers in regard to the prevalence of illness, how to safely handle raw flour, and current food safety resources for health and food safety educators to share with consumers.

Guest speakers will include Fanfan Wu, Ph.D. and Sharmi Das with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Safer Food Choices

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

To prevent food poisoning, some foods are safer choices than others. That’s because some foods—such as undercooked meat and eggs, unwashed fruits and vegetables, and unpasteurized milk—are more often associated with foodborne illnesses.

Some people are more likely to get sick and have a more serious illness from food poisoning.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a new resource to help guide consumers in making safer food choices at www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/foods-safety-tips.html.

This information is also available in a PDF format as a handout.

Vacuum and Reduced Oxygen Packaging

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

Whether you want to sell vacuum packed foods, or vacuum package foods at home, vacuum packaging can offer some benefits to storing food. But there are also some food safety concerns to know about when using this type of packaging.

A new publication from K-State Research and Extension called Vacuum and Reduced Oxygen Packaging is now available to inform you about the benefits and food safety concerns.

Removal of oxygen can reduce growth of some spoilage microorganisms, reduce rancidity and color changes, and extend shelf life of cold-stored foods.

But, just as in canning, vacuum packaging produces an anaerobic environment because air is removed from the package. This can allow Clostridium botulinum to form spores that can develop a deadly toxin if proper storage conditions are not met. Therefore, refrigeration and freezing, among others, are two key barriers to prevent C. botulinum growth.

Learn more in Vacuum and Reduced Oxygen Packaging-MF3639.

Listen to more information at https://youtu.be/YPZM2PYqpWg

Climate Change and Vibrio Infection

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

raw oysters — Raw oysters
Photo: Canva.com

Found in marine waters, Vibrio bacteria like warm waters of summer. Humans can become ill through foodborne routes such as raw or undercooked seafood or from contaminated water. The symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, swimmer’s ear, or skin infections. There are rare instances of sepsis, amputations and death.

Climate change is causing sea surface temperatures to rise which increases the prevalence of Vibrio bacteria. It is likely to intensify in the future. This will lead to increases costs of medical treatments, productivity losses, and premature death.

As summer vacations continue, a visit to the ocean may be on the agenda. Avoid consuming raw or undercooked shellfish. Wash your hands after handling shellfish. If you have open wounds, stay out of sea water or brackish water.

Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Amber Waves, June 26, 2023
CDC Vibrio Species Causing Vibriosis

Don’t Flunk Food Safety!

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

Have kids help plan school lunches!
Photo: USDA Flickr

School is about to get started again! Plan now if your kids are taking their lunch to school or eating the lunch provided. Here are some tips for packing a food safe lunch.

Use an insulated container or lunch box to keep food safe until lunchtime. Use ice packs, frozen bottles of water or frozen juice boxes to help keep food cold.
If packing hot foods, use a separate insulated container. Fill it with boiling water to get it heated before added hot food.
Check with the school if a refrigerator is available to store cold lunches.
Choose foods that are safe at room temperature such as whole or dried fruits, single serve fruit cups, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, hard cheese like cheddar, whole grain crackers, peanut butter (be mindful of food allergies!), or dried meat jerky.
Don’t forget to wash your hands!

Learn more at www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/news-press-releases/dont-flunk-food-safety-school-year

Summer School for Consumer Food Safety Education

Posted on June 19, 2023 by Karen Blakeslee

The North Central Food Safety Education Network is offering three sessions of Consumer Food Safety Education for Extension personnel, educators, and volunteers for their professional development or advanced training.

The three sessions include:

Effective Food Safety Communication—June 27, 1-2pm EDT
Safety of Fermented Products—July 12, 1-2pm EDT
Flour Food Safety—July 26, 1-2pm EDT

Food Safety Education

Tag: Food Safety

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