How Safe Is Your Food?

JEAN was upset to find in the back of the refrigerator a cut of meat she had bought for last Saturday’s supper. When the family had unexpectedly gone out to eat that night, she had forgotten to put the meat in the freezer. Now four days had passed.

Reluctantly, she pulled the package out, unwrapped it, and confirmed her fears with a quick whiff. Yet, she thought: ‘Perhaps the slightly off odor will disappear with thorough cooking.’ As she weighed the matter, however, she recalled a familiar rhyme: ‘When in doubt, throw it out.’ By discarding the meat, Jean spared her family the possible health complications of eating unsafe food.

“The industrialised countries have their own preferences and customs that promote food-borne diseases,” says one scientist. “One of the most obvious problems is the preference for large pieces of meat, often grossly undercooked.”