How to Eliminate the Dangers of Food Poisoning
You celebrated your pay raise with dinner at a new restaurant in town, and now your doctor has diagnosed you with food poisoning. Or, maybe you decided to eat healthy and bought a bag of fresh produce for a weekend brunch. Twenty-four hours later, your friends are calling and telling you they became sick afterward. While eating out and buying fresh produce is mostly enjoyable, there are ways to help avoid getting sick.
Check Out More Than the Menu
When you go to a restaurant, there are things you can do to protect yourself.
- Be observant: Start in the parking lot. Check out the trash bins as you go in, and note if they are overflowing. Also, look to see if there is an open back door to the kitchen. If both of these exist, you may want to keep going. Flies around trash and an open door can spell food poisoning.
- Look around the restaurant when you enter. Are food servers dressed neatly? Take a look at their hands. Are they clean?
- If you can see food preparers, are they wearing an apron, hair restraints, and gloves?
- Check out the restroom. If it is not clean, chances are the kitchen may follow suit. In addition, look to see if the soap dispenser has been filled, whether the faucet water is warm, and if paper towels are available. Health inspectors consider these to be a primary concern in restaurant safety.
- Be careful of specials on the menu. Sometimes, a chef may want to move aging food.
- Avoid salad bars. Not only do multiple people have access to the food, but it may not be kept at the right temperature.
- Be cautious of guacamole and salsa. Both are batch-prepared and must be kept at a proper temperature to stay safe. They are increasingly noted as a source of food poisoning.
Being Cautious With Produce
In today’s health-conscious world, fresh produce has become a priority. Studies have shown that produce is responsible for many cases of gastrointestinal illness. Crops from large farms may be close to livestock ranches. Manure can contaminate water supplies and the soil and cause pathogens to be on the produce. Listeria is often linked to soil contamination. In the late 90s, many individuals were sickened by a cyclosporiasis outbreak of the exact origin. Cantaloupe was responsible for a widespread outbreak of Salmonella in 2001 related to soil contaminants.
How to Avoid Produce-Related Illness
One of the most important things you can do is to clean the produce before it is consumed. Store-bought produce is displayed openly to allow shoppers to examine the merchandise. However, as this is done, the produce is handled, and germs are spread. Contaminants from the soil add to the possibility of getting sick.
When eating a hard-shelled fruit such as cantaloupe, it is best to clean it outside before slicing it. If not, the bacteria or virus can be carried into the fruit from the outside rind of the knife. It is always a good idea to dry fruits and greens using a paper towel after washing, cleaning away more bacteria in the process. Soft fruits such as grapes should be washed thoroughly in a colander. After preparing the fruit, refrigerate it if it is not consumed quickly.
Watch the YouTube video – Food Poisoning Symptoms, Causes and Treatment.
North Highlands Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a North Highlands personal injury lawyer. If, after taking precautions, you are sickened due to a food handler’s negligence, you have the right to be compensated. Food poisoning does more than sicken you. It also makes you spend days away from work. Medical expenses can quickly mount, particularly if you are hospitalized. Call me anytime at (916) 921-6400 locally or (800) 404-5400 outside the area. You can use our online contact form if you wish. I’ll give you friendly and free advice.
I’ve helped Sacramento residents with food poisoning as well as wrongful death and car accidents for the past 35 years.
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Photo Attribution: https://pixabay.com/en/fruit-market-farmer-s-market-932745/
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