Preventing Food Poisoning

 

One  of the most common complaints I see in  my practice is Food Poisoning & it is avoidable in many cases . Affected persons present with a variable  combination of vomiting , diarrhea and fever . Most commonly the symptoms are mild & self limiting .In some it can become severe & may require hospitalization .Most common risk factor is unclean water & eating outside foods. But it can happen with  home cooked food  also . Cases of food poisoning are more common in summer or during floods . Handwashing, clean utensils , clean water, fresh foods  & clean environment are things most of us know and follow them . I am highlighting other precautions which might be overlooked by many .

The most common mistake I see is that the food that is cooked is not refrigerated and then consumed few hours later with or without heating it. E.g.  Food cooked for lunch is taken for dinner also with or without heating it  .The food may appear perfectly normal with good smell and taste but it still causes food poisoning. It affects  some but not all those who eat it depending on the particular persons immunity level . Some may develop and some do not . What I noticed is that kids are particularly more prone to food poisoning .If it is obviously smelling or tasting bad then many will get affected . 

The thumb rule is that once any perishable food like milk , meats, seafood, curries, sambar, dals etc. once cooked must be refrigerated within 2 hours (1 hour in Summer ) after cooking .Even better is that once the food is cooked , immediately separate the quantity required for later use  & then refrigerate  it as soon as it cools down( <1 hour) without touching with bare hands and using only clean utensils . 

Reheating must be done thoroughly . Just warming the food does not kill the bacteria . 

Buy meats & milk from reputed sellers and store them well . If the meats are kept out for long hours which typically happens in the regular shops we buy , then even freshly cooked foods can cause food poisoning . Typically mutton shops sell meats which are around 6 hours to 12 hours after butchering . Chicken is somewhat better and it can be got freshly cut . Fish products are typically caught and sold few days later .Nowadays online meat selling sites seems to be doing a better job than the traditional shops .

Another major cause of food poisoning is having  milk products  like flavored milk( in bottles & tetra packs claiming long expiry dates ) , rose milk , milk based fruit juices etc  which are consumed cold . Most of the suppliers & shops do not maintain proper cold chain and in hot climates it easily causes bacterial overgrowth & then food poisoning .And you know how frequent are that power cuts in summer and frequently opening the fridge for selling  does not help either .  In winters you do not notice much problem because ambient temperatures are cool. 

One common  source of food poisoning which is often overlooked , is the packet milk or bottle milk ( including organic A2 milk ) delivered at home. The person delivers the milk at around 6 am and it remains outside near the door for few hours before its taken into home for boiling/refrigeration . This greatly increases chances of food poisoning . So keep it as soon as  possible inside the fridge once the milk is delivered at your doorstep especially in summers.Once milk is boiled well , keep the remaining milk inside the fridge as  soon as it cools down . The longer that milk is at room temperature , the greater the chance of bacterial overgrowth & food poisoning.

These simple precautions go in a big way in preventing food poisoning & protecting your loved ones .
You can get right  food storage instructions at
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/are-you-storing-food-safely