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Show l; Doctor ff in the Kitchen9 If ""Ni by Laurence M. Hursh, M.D. j J Consultant, National Dairy Council 5 FOOD-BORNE ILLNESSES The arrival of summer re-pj re-pj minds us of the need to safely store perishable foods. So we f, remember things like keeping the mayonnaise on ice and out '.. i of the sun while picknicking. But summer, of course, isn't 1'. the only time of year food can ' spoil. And, likewise, it's not the si; only time you're susceptible to (j food-borne disease. ( ' Food-borne disease takes one of two forms: food poisoning if" or food infection. In either case, the usual symptoms are nausea, s v?miting, abdominal pains, t-, diarrhea and sometimes chills, headache and fever. l; The bacteria that cause food 't Poisoning are, generally, harm-', harm-', i 'ess. But when these bacteria in-j in-j feet food, they produce a toxin. The most dangerous form of food poisoning, though also very rare, is botulism; it's toxin, f evn in minute amounts, can be f fatal. Food infection, on the other ,!f: hand, is caused by bacteria that, i:: once ingested, grow in the intestines. in-testines. Salmonella, usually associated as-sociated with unsanitary food handling, is the most common kind of food infection. Though you have little control con-trol over food handling at restaurants, rest-aurants, you can significantly reduce the risk of food-borne disease in your own kitchen by following these safeguards: Wash your hands before preparing meals. Be particularly partic-ularly careful if you have, on either hand, a boil or infected wound. Thoroughly wash all fresh produce with running water. wa-ter. Keep refrigerated foods refrigerated. re-frigerated. Remove them only as needed. Don't leave raw or cooked foods at room temperature for more than two hours. . Throw away punctured and swollen cans. (The bacteria that cause botulism produce pro-duce gasses that may cause a can to swell.) . Never taste home-canned foods while heating. Wait until they've been thoroughly thor-oughly cooked. |