With the end of summer and Holidays approaching Here's a link to food safety awareness.
Mom: we left food out all day and no one ever got sick
Me: Mom little brother always threw up in the car on the way home. The rest of us always at least bad stomach aches
Mom: y'all were fine you just ate too much hen & noodles.
Actually, there is a little bit of truth in that statement. Years ago when we were not nearly as food safety conscious as were are now, due to the exposure we had to food borne pathogens, our immune systems offered a little more protection than what we possess now.
I still remember that can of bacon grease on my mom's stove. I cannot recall that can ever being emptied out as it was always being replenished with more bacon grease. Who knows how old that grease at the bottom of the can was. Dad used to smoke turkeys on his Atlanta Stove Works Cue-Cart and would brag about taking 6 to 8 hours to slow cook them. I don't recall ever getting sick from food as a child. By no means am I implying that we should go back to our old ways.
Food safety is a serious issue. There are an estimated 48 million cases of food borne illnesses in this country every year. The word estimate is used because most cases go unreported as the minor symptoms such as stomach cramps or upset stomach as well as diarrhea or vomiting are often blamed on stomach flu and not reported to the health department as food poisoning. Symptoms can show up in six hours (or less) or take as long as three weeks. Young children, older adults and people who are immunocompromised are more susceptible to food poisoning than healthy adults. Something that is not under reported about food poisoning is the number of deaths in the US every year and that number is 3,000.
Another thing about food poisoning is that if you have had a case of getting sick from something you eat is this. Whatever you ate that caused you to regurgitate will leave a taste so bad in your mouth it will your remind your taste bud "memories" to avoid that product for years. There was a ten year period in my life where I refused to eat chicken.
I got food poisoning on a canoe trip from cold cooked chicken that had come in contact with the water in the cooler. The cooler also stored beverages. I like to have an adult beverage or three when I float. When I would grab a beer, my hands had been in river water and the cooler water was compromised by my hands that had been in water that was not fit to drink.
I learned somethings from that bad experience. First of all, if I am storing ready to eat food in a cooler, that cooler is thoroughly cleaned with bleach water and rinsed before using. All foods are sealed in leak proof containers. Water is not allowed to accumulate in the cooler. This cooler is used for ready to eat food only. Beverages have their own cooler as does food that is not cooked. These coolers are sanitized and rinsed as well before using. Wash your hands before getting foods out of the cooler. If there is water in the cooler and your place your dirty hands in the cooler, you are essentially washing your hands in cooler and leaving what germs and dirt you have on them behind in the cooler. I can testify to this!
I could go on with some more food safety issues, but this post is long enough.........
Lager,
Juggy