We Can Get Food Poisoning, Even during a Pandemic
Food safety remains a significant public health issue in the U.S. during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Recommendations for avoiding foodborne illness include the traditional “clean, separate, cook, and chill” messages as well as common sense adaptations based on the “new normal” of life during the coronavirus pandemic.
與A.Cyclosporarecall在西部的預包裝沙拉，迅速增長的多健康爆發SalmonellaNewportin onionsthere is more happening in the world of public health than the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In addition to avoiding the virus by wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing and good hand hygiene, we must remain vigilant where our food is concerned.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)estimates that each year, 48 million people are stricken with a foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. Will the pandemic alter these statistics? For better or worse? Time will tell that interesting story.
Food Safety Considerations during the Coronavirus Pandemic
Traditionally, consumers have been urged to manage their risk of foodborne illness, or “food poisoning,” by heeding four key principles of food safety:clean, separate, cook, and chill。這些在大流行期間尤為重要，因為我們許多人都改變了我們獲得並儲存我們的食物。我們中的一些人烹飪和烘焙比我們熟悉的更多。我們可能會誘惑在這裏和廚房周圍削減“食品安全角”。這可能導致令人不快的結果。
也許像我們一樣，你正在減少雜貨店的旅行，但每次旅行購買更多的食物以減少冠狀病毒的潛在暴露。如果你囤積，可以正確地儲存食物。例如，請注意“使用”日期和凍結易腐食品，您知道這些日期無法使用。如果您從雜貨店提供食物送貨或聘請服務以購買您的服務，請檢查雜貨包裝雜貨時的到期日和新鮮農產品的質量，就像選擇雜貨一樣。如果您找到過期的產品，您可以申請退款。
有些東西買了in large quantities, such as fresh vegetables, can be cooked and frozen in appropriate portions for later use. “Jumbo” packages of fish, poultry, and meat can be divided and frozen for future meals as well. Clean, airtight containers can be used to store excess cereal, rice, flour, and sugar.
Disinfect kitchen counters, cutting boards, and other food preparation surfaces with a simple solution of 1/2 tablespoon of regular chlorine bleach added to 1/2 gallon of water. Clean the surface first with soapy water and then apply the disinfecting solution. Let it air dry.
Make the solution daily, as it breaks down over time. Never mix bleach with other cleaning products.
Hand-washing is critically important before, during, and after working with food. Perhaps you are doing some barbecuing this summer. Avoid cross-contaminating food-contact surfaces. For example, the raw juice-filled platter used to transport raw steaks to the backyard grill should not be used to transport the cooked steaks to the dinner table. And a food thermometer is a handy tool for ensuring your煮熟的食物已達到安全溫度。安全最低烹飪溫度is the minimum temperature a given food should be brought to during cooking to destroy the most heat-resistant pathogen of concern in that food.
Foodborne Disease Facts
There are over 250 known foodborne diseases,according to CDC。These diseases are caused by bacteria (e.g.,Salmonella,E. coli, and彎曲杆菌), parasites (e.g.,Cyclospora和Cryptosporidium.）和病毒（例如，norovirus)。一種ccording to the美國食品和藥物管理局（FDA）, the coronavirus is not known to be transmitted through food. Anyone can develop “food poisoning,” but those most at risk include older adults, young children, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women. Most people experience only mild symptoms, lasting a few hours to several days, but some people need to be hospitalized. More rarely, some food poisonings result in long-term health problems or even death,reports CDC。
食物中毒最常見的症狀是胃部不適，胃痙攣，惡心，嘔吐，腹瀉和發燒。症狀可能需要數小時到幾天，在消耗受汙染的食物或飲料後開發。飲用大量流體以防止脫水，腹瀉或嘔吐的常見結果是很重要的。Consult your doctor if you have bloody stools, high fever (temperature over 102 ⁰F), frequent vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down, signs of dehydration (e.g., little or no urination, very dry mouth and throat, feeling dizzy when standing up), or diarrhea that lasts more than three days.
Food Safety: Out of the Shadows
FDA reportsthe pandemic has spawned complex food issues globally. These include spot shortages of some foods and wasting food that was meant for restaurants and schools that were shuttered. Consumers have had to adjust to the “new normal” to provide nourishment for their families, many on a reduced income due to pandemic-related furloughs and layoffs.
It is reassuring to know that the CDC, FDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and state and local health departments continue to investigate foodborne illnesses and outbreaks during the pandemic, including issuing food recalls as needed. To help protect families from food poisoning, we repeat the sage advice that consumersclean, separate, cook, and chilltheir foods appropriately, and pay close attention to food safety announcements (sign up to receive these electronically這裏）。雖然大流行顯然是我們時代最大的公共衛生問題，但食品安全不是小土豆。
Bruce K. Bernard，Phd是SRA Consulting，Inc。的總裁，國際毒理學雜誌的副主編，並在MD劍橋住在劍橋。Linda F. GoLodner是國家消費者聯盟和水質衛生委員會副主席的總統。BOB体育投注官网苹果