Howie Mandel, look away.
Food safety is a huge issue that people outside of the restaurant industry rarely think of. Well, as someone who has recently been suffering from a touch of food poisoning, its been at the forefront of my mind (you really don’t think of much else during a mad-dash to the mensroom). While restaurant staff and chefs are properly trained in food handling and effective methods of eliminating the risk of bacterial contamination, everyday people who prepare meals at home aren’t. Its not that they’re careless, but that they’re unaware of how ever-present bacteria really is.
Im sure you’ve gotten one of those chain emails from a friend who is either bored at work or a stay at home mom that explains the newest danger for over-protective mothers and hypochondriacs to freak out about. Bacteria that wafts onto your toothbrush if you don’t close the toilet seat when you flush. Fecal matter on the lemons in your iced tea at restaurants. An outbreak of MERSA or Meningitis at your kid’s elementary school (Ok, that one may be legit, please don’t ignore it). The list goes on…
What most people fail to realize is that bacteria is EVERYWHERE. There is quite literally fecal matter on everything that comes into human contact. Gross, but its just the way things are. The goal here shouldn’t be to eliminate bacteria altogether, but to minimize risk of infection or contamination. So here’s a nifty infographic from our friends at stripes39.com with some cool (read: horrifying) facts about bacteria and a few links on food safety that should help you eliminate the risk of getting sick at home.
Now that I’ve done my good deed for the day, where’s the Imodium?
USDA Food Safety Guidelines
FoodSafety.gov
Food Safety at Home
