Proper food preparation can prevent food-borne illness

  • Published
  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Summer is the time of the year when many people like to get outside and grill steaks, hot dogs and hamburgers.

But if meat isn't handled with care and proper grilling techniques are not followed, food-borne illness can turn a barbecue into a health hazard.

Food-borne illness is caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many disease-causing microbes, or pathogens, can contaminate foods, so there are lots of different food-borne infections.

In addition, poisonous chemicals or other harmful substances can cause food-borne diseases if they are present in food, according to the CDC.

Since there are many different kinds of food-borne diseases, different treatments may be required depending on the symptoms they cause.

Illnesses that cause diarrhea or vomiting can lead to dehydration if a person loses more body fluids and electrolytes than the or she takes in, according to the CDC.

The majority of food-borne illness cases occur in a mild form, said Capt. Bethany Druckenmiller, 62nd Medical Operations Squadron's chief of public health.

Once a person contracts a food-borne illness, it may take one to three days before he or she starts feeling sick, Captain Druckenmiller said.

"Then you have to go back and think about what you ate," she said.

If a person's symptoms include bloody diarrhea and projectile vomiting, then he or she should go to the emergency room, Captain Druckenmiller said.

There are several ways to prevent food-borne illnesses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has four tips to help prevent people from getting food-borne illness at barbecues and picnics:

-- Clean -- Clean all surfaces, utensils, platters, and wash dirty hands.

-- Separate -- In order to avoid cross contamination, don't put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry. Any harmful bacteria present in the raw meat juices could contaminate safely cooked food.

--Cook -- Cook meats to the proper temperatures using a thermometer to test their doneness. 

--Chill -- Once all the food has been served, put it back in a cooler or refrigerator to keep it cold. In weather above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, food should never sit out for more than one hour.