Is Your Food Safe?

“Germany Shuts School Over E. Coli Scare.”​—REUTERS NEWS SERVICE, GERMANY.

“Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Sprouts in Five States.”​—USA TODAY.

“Meat of 6 Cows Fed Radioactive Straw Reaches 9 Prefectures.”​—THE MAINICHI DAILY NEWS, JAPAN.

THE above headlines appeared during a two-week period last year. Researchers estimate that each year about 30 percent of people in developed countries suffer from foodborne illness.

How do such reports affect you? “I get worried and even angry,” admits Hoi, a father in Hong Kong. “I have two children, and I am concerned about how and where their food is made.”

In poorer countries, foodborne and waterborne diseases kill millions​—mostly children—​every year. “In the markets here, food items are exposed to flies, rain, wind, and dust,” says Bola, who lives in Nigeria. “When I read or hear about food diseases, I feel scared. I want to protect my family.”

Is it possible to protect your family from unsafe food? The Canadian Food Inspection Agency states: “If unsafe food gets into our grocery stores, it makes headlines. And rightly so. But unsafe food, which could lead to foodborne illness, can also happen from what we do​—or don’t do—​in our own kitchens.”

What can you do to protect your family from foodborne illness? We will consider four ways to make your food safer.

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WHO ARE AT RISK?

Some groups of people are particularly vulnerable to foodborne illness, including:

● Children under the age of five

● Pregnant women

● People over the age of 70

● People with compromised immune systems

If you or anyone eating with you falls into one of these categories, you should be particularly cautious about the food you prepare, serve, and eat.

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Source: New South Wales Food Authority, Australia.

1. Shop Wisely

UNLESS you grow your own food, your first contact with the food you eat will likely be at a market or supermarket. When you shop, how can you select and purchase healthful food?

● Plan your route.

“Shop for non-perishable food first,” advises the Food Safety Information Council in Australia. “Leave [items from] the fridges and freezers to the end of your shopping.” Also, if you are buying hot food, pick it up just before you return home.

● Favor fresh food.

Try to purchase fresh food when possible.a Ruth, a mother of two in Nigeria, says: “I usually go to the market very early in the morning when the food is fresher.” Elizabeth, from Mexico, also shops at an open market. “There I can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, and I can pick them out myself,” she says. “I always buy fresh meat slaughtered that day. If necessary, I freeze what I don’t use.”

● Inspect your food.

Ask yourself: ‘Is the skin on my produce intact? Is the meat free of unusual odors?’ If the food is prewrapped, inspect the packaging. Damaged packages can allow poisonous bacteria to enter the food.

Chung Fai, who buys food at a supermarket in Hong Kong, says: “It is also necessary to check the expiration date printed on packaged food.” Why? Experts warn that even if “expired” food looks, smells, and tastes good, it can still make you sick.

● Pack safely.

If you use a reusable shopping bag or plastic bin, wash it out frequently with hot soapy water. Carry meat and fish in separate bins or bags so they do not contaminate other food.

Enrico and Loredana, a couple in Italy, shop locally. “That way,” they explain, “we don’t have to transport food very far and risk spoilage.” If it will take longer than 30 minutes to return home, put chilled or frozen foods into an insulated bag, or in some other way, make sure it is kept cool.

In the next article, learn how to keep your food safe after it enters your home.

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TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN: “I teach my children to check the expiration date of any packaged food items, such as snacks, before they buy them.”​—Ruth, Nigeria

2. Keep It Clean

JUST as a surgeon protects his patients by washing his hands, sterilizing his instruments, and maintaining a clean operating room, you can protect your family by keeping yourself, your kitchen, and your food clean.

● Wash your hands.

The Public Health Agency of Canada states that “hands spread an estimated 80 percent of common infectious diseases like the common cold and flu.” So wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before eating, after using the toilet, and when you prepare a meal.

● Keep your kitchen clean.

One study revealed that while the bathroom tended to be the cleanest place in the home, “the sites in the households that were contaminated with the most fecal bacteria were the sponge/​dishcloths in the kitchen.”

Therefore, change dishcloths frequently, and use hot soapy water or disinfectant to clean kitchen surfaces. Granted, this is not always easy. A woman named Bola lives in a home without tap water. “It is a big challenge,” she says. “But we never skimp on soap and water, so they are always available to keep our kitchen and home clean.”

● Rinse produce.

Before produce is sold, it may have been contaminated by unclean water, animals, fecal matter, or other raw food items. Therefore, even if you plan to peel fruits or vegetables, rinse them thoroughly to remove harmful bacteria. This takes time. “When I prepare a salad,” says Daiane, a mother in Brazil, “I try not to rush, so that I am sure to wash the greens thoroughly.”

● Separate raw meat.

To prevent the spread of bacteria, seal or securely wrap all raw meat, poultry, and seafood, and separate them from other food. Use a separate cutting board and knife for those foods, or wash your cutting board and knife thoroughly with soap and hot water before and after raw meat or seafood touches it.

Now that you, your tools, and your ingredients are clean, how can you prepare meals safely?

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TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN: “We teach our children to wash their hands before eating and to wash or discard food that has fallen on the floor.”​—Hoi, Hong Kong

3. Prepare and Store Food Carefully

A CARELESS cook in ancient Israel gathered wild gourds, although he was “not acquainted with them.” He added the unfamiliar food to a stew. The eaters, who feared that the food may have been poisoned, cried out: “There is death in the pot.”​—2 Kings 4:38-41.

As the above example illustrates, food that is prepared carelessly warrants caution, as it can be harmful or even deadly. To prevent foodborne illness, therefore, learn to prepare and store food carefully. Consider the following four suggestions:

● Do not thaw meat at room temperature.

“Even though the center of the [meat] may still be frozen as it thaws on the counter,” says the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “the outer layer of the food could be in the ‘Danger Zone,’ between 40 [4°C] and 140°F [60°C]​—temperatures at which bacteria multiply rapidly.” Instead, thaw food in the refrigerator, in a microwave, or under cold water in a package that will not leak.

● Cook thoroughly.

According to the World Health Organization, “proper cooking kills almost all dangerous microorganisms.” When cooking food, especially soups and stews, make sure that it reaches a temperature of at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70°C).a Since it can be difficult to judge the internal temperature of some dishes, many cooks use a meat thermometer.

● Serve soon.

Cooked food should not be left at room temperature for too long, so serve it soon, even immediately, to prevent spoilage. Keep cold food cold and hot food hot. You can keep hot meat in an oven set at approximately 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93°C).

● Handle extra food wisely.

Anita, a mother in Poland, serves most meals immediately after cooking. But if there is extra food, she says, “soon after preparation I freeze it in small portions to make it easy to defrost.” If you store leftovers in the refrigerator, eat them within three to four days.

At a restaurant, you have to trust someone else to prepare your food. So how can you protect your family when eating out?

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TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN: “When my children cook food, I remind them to read and follow the instructions on the food package.”​—Yuk Ling, Hong Kong

4. Be Observant When Eating Out

Jeff, a healthy and energetic 38-year-old man, took his family out to eat at a restaurant near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. A month later, Jeff died of acute liver failure. The culprit? Green onions in his meal​—contaminated with hepatitis A.

ALMOST half of all money spent on food in one Western land is spent in restaurants. Yet, in that same land, restaurant food is associated with about half the foodborne disease outbreaks.

True, if you choose to eat at a restaurant, someone else purchases the ingredients, cleans the kitchen, and cooks the food. Nevertheless, you can decide where you eat, what you eat, and how you pack any food that you take home.

● Look around you.

“As we walk into a restaurant for the first time,” says Daiane, who lives in Brazil, “I look around to see if the tables, tablecloths, utensils, and servers are clean and tidy. If not, we leave and look for another restaurant.” In some lands, health officials routinely inspect and grade restaurants for cleanliness, and they post their results for the public to read.

● Beware of doggie bags.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises: “If you won’t be arriving home within two hours of being served [sooner if temperatures are above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C)], don’t take the leftovers home with you.” If you have leftovers, go directly home after your meal and store them in the refrigerator.

If you take the four steps outlined in this series of articles, you can make your food safer.

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TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN: “We teach our children to avoid food that might be unsafe to eat.”​—Noemi, Philippines

Healthful Food for All​—Soon!

YOU can take practical steps to enjoy safer food. However, many factors are beyond your control. For example, you cannot personally inspect all food before you buy or prepare it. You may have to purchase food that has been processed and shipped from afar. And some of the food that you buy may be contaminated by dangerous chemicals in the air, water, or soil.

In a report entitled “Foodborne Disease Control: A Transnational Challenge,” officials from the World Health Organization state that some food safety problems “cannot be resolved by national governments alone; they require international cooperation.” Foodborne diseases are a global problem!

Understandably, many will question why we can confidently say that soon there will be healthful food for all. It is because “Jehovah, the Lord of the whole earth,” promises a solution to man’s food problems. (Joshua 3:13) Some may claim that unsafe food proves that God cannot be trusted. But think: If a waiter carelessly allows fine food to spoil, would it be proper to blame the chef? Of course not.

Similarly, humans​—not the Creator—​are responsible for spoiling the earth’s supply of fine food. The prevalence of unsafe food is a man-made problem. God’s promise is that he will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”​—Revelation 11:18.

The fact is, God has already proved that he cares about the quality of our food. He is the One who formed the earth and made trees that were not only “desirable to one’s sight” but also “good for food.” (Genesis 2:9) Even after sickness infected the human family, Jehovah God gave his people specific guidelines that would protect their food and their bodies.​—See the box “A Code of Rules of Health.”

What kind of food does God want us to enjoy? The Bible tells us: “He is making green grass sprout for the beasts, and vegetation for the service of mankind, to cause food to go forth from the earth, and wine that makes the heart of mortal man rejoice, to make the face shine with oil, and bread that sustains the very heart of mortal man.” (Psalm 104:14, 15) The Bible also states that “every moving animal that is alive may serve as food.”​—Genesis 9:3.

Regarding our future, his Word promises: “He will certainly give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground, and as the produce of the ground bread, which must become fat and oily. Your livestock will graze in that day in a spacious pasture.” (Isaiah 30:23) Yes, today’s foreboding headlines will soon be replaced by the announcement: “Healthful food for all!”

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The Creator promises us a bright future with plenty of good food

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“A CODE OF RULES OF HEALTH”

About 3,500 years ago, Israel received the Mosaic Law. That Law protected the Israelites from many foodborne illnesses. Consider the following instructions:

● Avoid unclean utensils and dishes that touched a dead animal: “Any vessel of which some use is made will be put in water, and it must be unclean until the evening and then be clean.”​—Leviticus 11:31-34.

● Do not eat an animal that died of itself: “You must not eat any body already dead.”​—Deuteronomy 14:21.

● Eat leftovers within a short period: “On the next day what is left of it also may be eaten. But what is left of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day is to be burned with fire.”​—Leviticus 7:16-18.

A. Rendle Short, M.D., expressed surprise that the Mosaic Law​—compared with the contemporary laws of surrounding nations—​should contain “so wise and reasonable a code of rules of health.”