How many Americans get food poisoning each year: 87 million illnesses, 367,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths.
These numbers just scratch the surface, listed only after a lab test at the CDC. Many sick people ‘just soldier on’.
Food poisoning affects roughly 25% of us every year and roughly 30% of people in industrialized countries; merely a tenth of disease is caused by salmonella. [AP rewrite of CDC data is here at Physorg]
There’s trouble in the system. Regulators respond after people are dead. Dumb.
Should Public Health Prevention Start in the Field? : Get tough on enforcing the Occupational Health and Safety Act
StillTasty is a site of guidelines about how long to safely keep leftovers and other food handling tips. If in doubt, check it out.
Question: Are you supposed to rinse raw chicken before cooking it?
Answer: No — in fact, it’s not a good idea at all.
The United States Department of Agriculture advises against the practice of rinsing poultry or meat before cooking it. The problem is that when you rinse raw chicken, you’re allowing the bacteria that is present on the surface of the poultry to spread to everything else that’s nearby — including sink and counter surfaces, kitchen utensils and any other foods that might be within spattering range of the rinsing water.