By Sola Ogundipe

VACCINATION of food handlers and food vendors is one of the requirements in the food industry essentially to ensure protection of public health. Health officials say it is mandatory for all food handlers to get properly screened and routinely vaccinated in this regard. The reason is obvious. For instance, if a food handler is sick with a food borne disease such as cholera, typhoid or hepatitis A, the food prepared by such handler could be contaminated and thousands of people could become infected.

Although public health experts say old-fashioned hygiene especially hand washing with soap and water, is the best defence, the World Health Organisation, WHO, recommends that vaccines are available to protect more than 26 infectious diseases including food borne and water borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera. The principle of food hygiene implies that there should be minimal handling of food items.

Food handlers are thus expected to observe proper hygiene and sanitation methods as the chances of food contamination largely depend on their health status and hygiene practices. Basically, a food handler is a person that handles unpackaged foods or beverages and is involved in preparing, manufacturing, serving, inspecting, or even packaging of food and beverage items. All food handlers are required to use proper hygiene and sanitation methods when working with food.

But food itself can pose a health threat, a problem that is due to difficulties in securing optimal hygienic food handling practices. The public health objective of food hygiene and safety is the prevention of illness attributable to consumption of food.

Listeria: Raw fruits, vegetables & unpasteurized milk

Listeria bacteria can contaminate fresh as well as processed foods including yogurt and soft cheeses. Listeria can live at colder temperatures, so simply refrigerating these foods won’t kill the bacteria. Symptoms of infection include fever, muscle aches, upset stomach, or diarrhoea, occurring two days to two months after exposure. Safety: Scrub raw produce and dry before cutting. Store in fridge below 40 F. Clean everything in contact with a whole melon. Check the label. Make sure it’s clearly marked “pasteurized.”

Salmonella: Poultry, eggs, raw meat

Salmonella bacteria can taint any food, although there’s a greater risk from animal products because of contact with animal faeces. In chickens, it can infect eggs before the shell forms, so even clean, fresh eggs may not be safe. Outbreaks have been traced to tomatoes, hot peppers, salad greens, and papayas. Vegetables grown in warm, humid conditions and often eaten raw or lightly cooked are risky. Infections can be severe or even fatal in people at higher risk.

Safety: Thoroughly wash and dry produce, and store in the fridge at 40° F. Never eat raw or lightly cooked eggs. Cook poultry to 165 F. Keep raw poultry separate from cooked poultry and other foods. Wash hands, cutting boards, utensils, and countertops after handling.

1. coli: Ground beef, raw juice & milk
2. coli lives in the intestines of cattle and can contaminate beef during the slaughtering process. Ground beef is especially risky, because the bacteria can spread when meat is ground up. Symptoms of E. coli infection include severe abdominal cramps, watery diarrhoea, and vomiting. The illness typically develops several days after exposure and can be severe in vulnerable people. It lasts about a week. Unpasteurized juices and ciders can harbour E. coli. The bacteria can also get into raw.

Safety: Buy only products that have been pasteurized. Cook meat thoroughly (160 F, no pink in the centre). Wash utensils, including the meat thermometer, with warm, soapy water.

Good food

Guidelines to prevent food poisoning:

• Make sure that food from animal sources (meat, dairy, eggs) is cooked thoroughly or pasteurised.
• Avoid eating raw or spoiled meats and eggs. Check expiration dates on meats and eggs before purchasing and again before preparing.
• Carefully select and prepare fish and other seafood to ensure quality and freshness.
• If you are served an undercooked meat or egg product in a restaurant, send it back for further cooking.
• Don’t let juices or drippings from raw meat, poultry, shellfish, or eggs contaminate other foods.
• Do not leave eggs, meats, poultry, seafood, or milk for extended periods of time at room temperature. Promptly refrigerate leftovers and food prepared in advance.
• Wash your hands, cutting boards, and knives with antibacterial soap and warm to hot water after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs. Wooden cutting boards are not recommended, because they can be harder to clean.
• Avoid unpasteurized milk or foods made from unpasteurized

milk.

• Do not thaw foods at room temperature. Thaw foods in the refrigerator and use them promptly. Do not refreeze foods once they have been completely thawed.
• Keep the refrigerator at 40 degrees Farenheit or lower, and the freezer at 0 degree Farenheit or lower.
• Wash raw vegetables and fruits thoroughly before eating, especially those that will not be cooked. Avoid eating alfalfa sprouts until their safety can be assured. Methods to decontaminate alfalfa seeds and sprouts are being investigated.
• Drink only pasteurized juice or milk. Commercial juice with an extended shelf life that is sold at room temperature (juice in cardboard boxes, vacuum sealed juice in glass containers) has been pasteurized, although this is generally not indicated on the label. Juice concentrates are also heated sufficiently to kill bacteria.
• If you are ill with diarrhoea or vomiting, do not prepare food for others, especially infants, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems, because they are more vulnerable to infection.
• Cook foods until they are steaming hot, especially leftover foods or ready-to-eat foods, such as hot dogs.