The promise of America’s food supply is that you won’t get sick no matter what you eat. It is generally assumed that anything you buy at a supermarket or fast food restaurant will not send you to the hospital.
But these days, food poisoning outbreaks seem to be occurring with distressing regularity. On Tuesday, the CDC reported 49 cases and one death from McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. Escherichia coli. Last week, hundreds of waffle and pancake products were voluntarily recalled due to the possibility of: listeria monocytogenes pollution. listeria monocytogenes This has become a particular problem recently. In early October, more than 11 million pounds of cooked meat and poultry products were recalled. And what’s especially bad is listeria monocytogenes An outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meat products has resulted in 59 hospitalizations and 10 deaths in 10 states.
many this year’s trend It occurs in cooked foods, that is, foods that can be eaten as is without further cooking. Foods like Quarter Pounders and waffles are of course popular, but cold cuts, prepackaged salads, and bottled salsas are also popular for their convenience. That convenience comes at a price. As a rule of thumb in food safety: “The more frequently food is handled before consumption, the more likely it is to become contaminated,” said Lawrence Goodridge, director of the Canadian Institute for Food Safety. Americans are faced with difficult choices: save time or risk getting sick.
Many bacteria that cause food poisoning live inside us. listeria monocytogenes Exists in soil and water, Escherichia coli and Salmonella It is normally present in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. They become a problem when they get into food. Ready-to-eat foods are particularly susceptible to contamination, as they are typically processed in large, sometimes multiple facilities, where there are many opportunities for the spread of microorganisms. “Somebody or company somewhere produced that food so we don’t have to do it at home,” Goodridge said. All it takes is a factory worker with mud on his shoes or an employee who doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom to start an outbreak. Food safety practices such as regular cleaning, temperature control, and strict hygiene standards should keep these plants clean. However, sometimes they fail.
Refrigerated facilities keep out most germs. Microorganisms grow slower at lower temperatures, but this is not the case. listeria monocytogenesthrives in cool conditions. Given enough time to grow, listeria monocytogenes Colonies form a protective gel on themselves called a biofilm, making them especially difficult to remove. meanwhile, Escherichia coli It usually enters produce through fecal-contaminated water. Contamination typically occurs at the farm level, but microorganisms can spread when fresh produce is processed into products such as cut fruit, bags of chopped lettuce, and even pre-cleaned whole vegetables. Possibly. Bacteria can spread if clean produce is washed with a contaminated batch or sliced on the same equipment. Because much food is produced in central areas and then shipped across the country, a contamination event on one farm can lead to illness nationwide.
This could be the reason for the ongoing Quarter Pounder fiasco. According to mcdonalds, Escherichia coli The outbreak may be linked to sliced onions that were sourced from a single supplier serving some McDonald’s stores in 10 states and some Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut locations. be. There is no doubt that centralizing onion shredding will improve the efficiency of fast food chains. However, it also increases the risk of contamination.
In food safety, cooking is known as the “sterilization step.” This is because high heat kills most dangerous germs. Pre-cut salads and fruits are usually eaten raw. No one cooks cold cuts, despite the CDC’s recommendation heat until steam comes out (Who knew?). Even convenient products that are meant to be heated, such as frozen waffles and vegetables, aren’t always cooked properly at home. Waffles may not get hot enough in the toaster—listeria monocytogenes Barbara Kowalczyk, a food safety expert at George Washington University, says vegetables are killed at an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and thawed frozen vegetables can be eaten without boiling.
Just to be clear, you don’t have to listeria monocytogenes hysteria. “On the surface, it looks like there are more infections happening, but we don’t have the data to prove that yet,” Goodridge said. Still, several recent outbreaks show that preventive measures are working well. listeria monocytogenes It was discovered during a routine cleaning of the waffle factory and the product was voluntarily recalled. No cases of illness have been reported. Darin Detwiler, a food safety expert at Northeastern University, said tools to detect outbreaks are becoming more sophisticated. A technique called whole-genome sequencing can identify instances where people have become ill with the same bacteria and pinpoint the source. Earlier this year, the device was used in a study. listeria monocytogenes It was very popular in Canada, 3 people died, 15 hospitalized.
No food is completely safe from contamination. In fact, everything sold in a store or restaurant is processed in some way. Milk is collected from any number of cows, pasteurized and packaged. Hamburger patties are typically made from ground, seasoned, and shaped meat from many slaughtered cows. People are fooled into thinking that the United States has the safest food supply in the world, but “that doesn’t mean we’re safe,” Kowalczyk said. Mr Goodbridge said people can reduce their risk of contracting foodborne illness by buying whole foods and preparing them from scratch if possible. It’s probably safer to wash and chop the head of lettuce yourself. But even that is not guaranteed. Food poisoning also spreads in home kitchens, where cross-contamination of raw meat with other foods, unsafe storage, and food spoilage often occur. Healthy people are at low risk and can usually survive food poisoning without experiencing undue discomfort. But for vulnerable populations, such as the very young, the very old, and pregnant people, food poisoning can lead to hospitalization and even death.
The recent spate of infections highlights the dilemma plaguing Americans’ dietary habits. People are too busy and exhausted to cook from scratch. In the daily scramble to put dinner on the table, ready-to-eat foods are a lifeline. However, each additional stage of preparation introduces additional risks.
