Be Food Safe

Most people do not think about food safety until they or someone they know becomes infected with foodborne illness. People usually become infected with foodborne illness when they eat a contaminated food item.

Food Safety Month

CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases. With the recent high-profile outbreaks of Salmonella in ground turkey and Listeria in Rocky Ford cantaloupes fresh on our minds, now is an ideal time for food safety education.

Common Foodborne Illnesses and Symptoms

According to CDC's new estimates, the most common foodborne illnesses are caused by the bacteria Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and Campylobacter, and by a group of viruses called calicivirus, also known as the Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses. Symptoms vary depending on the type of bacteria and severity of the illness. Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. See your doctor or healthcare provider when diarrheal illness is accompanied by a high fever (temperature over 101.5°F, measured orally), blood in the stools, prolonged vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down, signs of dehydration, including a decrease in urination, a dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up or if diarrheal illness lasts more than 3 days

Reducing Your Risk

You can reduce your risk of becoming infected with foodborne illness. Do not eat raw or undercooked meat, including hamburgers, poultry, and seafood, and do not drink raw milk or eat products made from raw milk. Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water and always follow the rules of food safety. For more information on safe internal temperatures, visit FoodSafety.gov's Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures.

Rules of Food Safety

• CLEAN
  Clean your hands with soap and warm water before handling food. Clean surfaces before preparing food on them.
  See the CLEAN ad!
• SEPARATE
  Separate cooked foods from ready-to-eat foods. Do not use utensils on cooked foods that were previously used on raw foods and do not place cooked foods on plates where raw foods once were unless it has been cleaned thoroughly.
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• COOK
  Cook foods to a safe internal temperature (see chart). Use a meat thermometer to make sure foods are cooked to a safe temperature. Color is not an indicator of doneness.
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• CHILL
  Chill foods promptly after serving and when transporting from one place to another. Keep your refrigerator at 40°F or below. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
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For more information on preventing foodborne illnesses, please visit FoodSafety.gov, the federal gateway for food safety information.

More Information

For more information about foodborne illness and food safety, call 1-800-CDC-INFO, e-mail cdcinfo@cdc.gov, or visit these Web sites:

• Estimates of Foodborne Illness in the United States
• CDC Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED)
• CDC Food Safety Office
• Ask Karen, Food Safety Education
• Be Food Safe, Food Safety Education Programs
• Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, USDA
• Be Food Safe