Health Briefs reports that according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, as many as one in six Americans are
afflicted by illness from contaminated food, and each year 128,000 of these
unfortunate souls end up in a hospital because of this. Food borne pathogens such as salmonella, E.
coli and listeria can lurk in a wide range of food that we consume, some of
which can be cleaned with plain tap water prior to eating, but there are some
which cannot be easily decontaminated.
Health Briefs passes on a list of easily contaminated food compiled by the CDC.
The Health Briefs TV show cautions that at the top of the
list of potentially contaminated food are leafy greens. After all, they've been harvested from the
ground and they are not cooked in any fashion before eating. Be sure they are thoroughly washed by someone
with clean hands before consumption.
Vegetables in general should be carefully washed, for the same reason as
leafy greens. Eggs must be refrigerated
and cooked before consumption -- and the raw-egg shakes that Rocky Balboa would
quaff in one gulp are not recommended.
Fish, notably tuna, can be hazardous if not carefully handled, and that
is especially true of shellfish such as oysters. While potatoes are not particularly
dangerous, be extra careful of how you handle and store that potato salad. Dairy products, notably cheese and ice cream,
are often the villains in a contamination outbreak. And, of course, all meat and poultry should
be handled carefully, with special attention paid not only to the food, but
also to the tools and preparation surface being used. Eat well, but be sure to eat with care.
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