{"id":35086,"date":"2013-05-30T20:37:52","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T00:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miserybay.usanethosting.com\/wordpress\/?p=35086"},"modified":"2013-05-30T20:37:52","modified_gmt":"2013-05-31T00:37:52","slug":"food-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/food-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer food safety tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Easy steps to fight against foodborne illness
\nWith summer well on its way and backyard barbeques and family picnics in full swing, the Mid-Michigan District Health Department (MMDHD) would like to reinforce the importance of proper food handling.
\nEach year, roughly one out of six Americans get sick from foodborne illness with the most common types caused by the bacteria Campylobacter, Salmonella, E coli, and by a group of viruses known as Norovirus. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea that last on average of 24 to 48 hours, and is often mistaken for the “24 hour flu.”
\nTo help keep your family safe, follow these four steps when handling and preparing food to minimize the risk of foodborne illness:
\nStep One – Clean<\/strong>
\nWash hands and surfaces often to avoid the spread of bacteria.
\n\u00b7 Wash hands with hot, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food, and after handling raw meats or poultry, using the bathroom, touching pets or changing diapers.
\n\u00b7 Always wash raw fruits and vegetables in clean water.
\nStep Two – Separate<\/strong>
\nKeep raw meats and poultry separate from cooked foods to avoid cross-contamination.
\n\u00b7 When you pack a cooler, wrap uncooked meats and poultry separately, and put them on the bottom to prevent raw juices from dripping onto other foods. A separate cooler for storing raw food is preferred.
\n\u00b7 Wash all plates, utensils, and cutting boards that touched or held raw meat or poultry before using them again for cooked foods.
\nStep Three – Cook<\/strong>
\nMake sure you kill harmful bacteria by thoroughly cooking food.
\n\u00b7 Visual cues, like color, are not a guarantee that food is safe. Don’t guess! Use a digital instant-read food thermometer to check when meat and poultry are safe to eat. Cooked foods are safe to eat when internal temperatures are:
\no 155 degrees F for 15 seconds for ground beef
\no 145 degrees F for 15 seconds for beef steak
\no 165 degrees F for 15 seconds for poultry
\no 145 degrees F for 15 seconds for pork chops\/steak
\nStep Four – Chill<\/strong>
\nKeep cold food cold.
\n\u00b7 Perishable foods normally kept in the refrigerator must be kept in a cooler with freezer packs or ice to keep the temperature at or near 40o F.
\n\u00b7 Put leftovers back in the refrigerator or cooler as soon as you are done eating.
\n\u00b7 The simple rule is: When in doubt, throw it out!
\nIf you experience foodborne illness symptoms, it is important not to prepare food for others and to contact MMDHDs Environmental Health Division at 989-831-3607 in Montcalm County, 989-875-1002 in Gratiot County and 989-227-3110 in Clinton County with any questions.
\nFor additional information on proper food handling, visit the United States Department of Agriculture website at www.usda.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Easy steps to fight against foodborne illness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35086\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}