The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that there are about 4 million cases of foodborne illness annually in Canada.
Healthy people recover from a foodborne illness within a short period of time; however, some can develop severe, chronic, life-threatening health problems. Some groups of people who are at higher risk due to a weakened or undeveloped immune system include elderly people, pregnant women, children under the age of 2, people with AIDS, cancer, kidney disease and certain other chronic diseases.
Consuming foodborne bacteria will usually cause illness within 1 to 3 days. However, sickness can also occur within 20 minutes or up to 5 weeks of eating the contaminated food. Symptoms of foodborne illness include vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain such as headache and body ache.
Here are four steps to consider when handling foods to reduce the risk of foodborne illness between you, your family, and friends.
Clean
- Wash your hands with warm water and soap often before and after handling food – wet, lather, scrub, rinse, dry
- After preparing each food item, be sure to wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops
- Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces otherwise launder cloth towels often in a hot cycle after use
- Run tap water to rinse fresh fruits and vegetables and remember to clean lids of canned goods before opening
Separate
- Separate ready-to-eat foods from raw proteins from your shopping cart, grocery bags to refrigerator
- Distinguish a separate set of cutting boards and utensils for fresh produce, raw meat, poultry, and seafood to prevent cross-contamination
- Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs unless the plate has been soaped and washed
Cook
- Use a calibrated food thermometer to check final internal cook temperatures of meat, poultry, seafood, and egg products, rather than a preset timer
- Thawing is important – three safe ways to defrost food include in the refrigerator, in cold water and in the microwave
- When cooking in a microwave oven, be sure to cover food, stir and rotate for even cooking
Chill
- Refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and other perishables within 2 hours of cooking or purchasing
- Always marinate food in the refrigerator
- Utilize shallow containers and divide large amounts of leftovers for quicker cooling
- Do not cover containers tightly until food is fully cooled
- Freeze leftovers that will not be eaten within three to four days
- Reheat leftovers to at least 74°C /165°F
For safe cooking temperatures, visit this chart provided by Health Canada for the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education here.