St. Joseph’s/Candler infection control practitioner offers tips on grocery shopping, storing and cooking foods to try to prevent getting sick from food contamination

The official start to summer is here, and so are the chances you or someone you know could get sick from a foodborne illness, commonly known as food poisoning.

Each year, contaminated food sickens one in six Americans, or roughly 48 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We also know foodborne illnesses increase during the summer because bacteria and other organisms multiple faster in warmer temperatures and preparing food outdoors makes safe food handling more difficult.

“Foodborne illnesses are something I think everyone has experienced in their lifetime,” says Melanie Humphus, infection control practitioner with St. Joseph’s/Candler. “We all remember that one place we ate or that one food item we ate that made us say, ‘I won’t eat there again or that again.’”

Foodborne illnesses are caused by multiple different organisms, commonly bacteria, viruses and parasites. For example, the leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. is Norovirus, which spreads when someone handles contaminated foods, water, surfaces or through direct contact, Humphus says. That’s a virus.

Another example is Salmonella, which is a bacteria. We often think of it associated with raw chicken and eating poultry that wasn’t cooked long enough. Another example is Giardia, which is a parasite that also can be found in food, water and on surfaces.

While the cause of getting a foodborne illness may be different, the symptoms are similar.

“The organism goes into your GI tract and the symptoms are often similar whether it’s a virus, bacteria or something else,” Humphus says. “You may see some nuances, but it’s most often vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain – all those lovely things together.”

The onset of symptoms and the duration may be different. For example, some foodborne illnesses can cause symptoms as quickly as 30 minutes, while others, it may be a couple of days before you get sick.

So what’s the best way to avoid these icky symptoms altogether? Proper food and liquid handling.

Let’s start at the grocery store. Humphus advises you to pay attention to expiration dates. Also, pay attention to how something looks. Even if that ground turkey isn’t expired, is the color off? Do you pick up on any odor? With produce, which may not come with an expiration date, notice the appearance, look and feel. Is that cucumber slimy? Probably don’t want to put that in your cart.

Something you might not think about at the store is looking at your cans. A little dent is OK – and may be how grandma got a discount back in the day. But, a bigger dent, especially around the opening of the can, you don’t want to use that, Humphus says. It could contain a bacteria and make you sick.

Now let’s think about when we get home from the grocery store. Be sure to put food away in a timely manner, especially foods that need to be refrigerated or frozen. Keep potentially contaminated foods away from fresh produce. Humphus suggests putting meats lower in the refrigerator, especially ones that may have any juices.

It’s time to start cooking! First things first: wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. If you touch raw meat, wash your hands again. If you crack an egg, wash your hands again before touching other ingredients or utensils. You also should always wash your produce and any other ready-to-eat items.

When preparing food, Humphus likes to have a cutting board and knife dedicated to raw meat and another cutting board and knife for fresh produce. If you are grilling be sure to have a different container when you pull the meat off rather than the one that had the raw meat on it. And it doesn’t hurt to wear food-safe gloves.

What about transporting food? If you are transporting food or even if you are hosting the picnic in your own backyard, it’s important to remember how long food can sit out. If it’s room temperature, the rule of thumb is no longer than two hours without refrigeration, Humphus says. If you’re outside and it’s warmer than 90 degrees, don’t let it sit out for more than an hour. Keep transportation time in mind too.

“Foodborne illness is certainly one of those things that we’ve all experienced, but it’s also something that we don’t necessarily have to experience,” Humphus says. “If we can do the right things, we can limit the amount of times that we experience foodborne illness and hopefully help prevent making ourselves and others sick.”