We all are well aware that we can get sick from food poisoning, but are we all aware of how food poisoning can be contracted? Some rumors spread about certain foods, and it is definitely scary news! Fortunately, some of these silly rumors and urban myths are false.
Think mayo is deadly? Wrong! Mayo has been to shown to have 'penicillin-like' properties, and the acid and salt are deadly to microbes. Don't worry about leaving the mayo out for too long, because these factors keep it safe for longer than you think!
"It smells fine, so it's safe, right?" Wrong! Food spoilage isn't based on the smell of rotting food; it is based on how it is prepared and stored. E. coli and Salmonella can be all over your food, but you can't tell based on smell or taste, so be careful!
"Rinsing my vegetables cleans them off." Uh, no it doesn't! Most packaged vegetables are already cleaned and sanitized, but other vegetables aren't already sanitized, and water simply just doesn't do the trick. Even rinsing off vegetables only lowers the pathogen count a little, but if the vegetable is contaminated, rinsing it off won't do a thing.
"I'm going to rinse my hands before I cook dinner." Well you better march your butt back in there and use soap and warm water! Running your hands under water for a few seconds will not clean them. The key to clean hands is warm water, soap, friction, and a good 20 seconds. The friction in combination with soap and water rips the bacteria off of your hands, but doesn't kill the bacteria. I like to sing the birthday song when washing my hands, it lasts about 20 seconds. Don't forget to use soap and warm water!
Learn more facts about food safety and urban myths, I wish I knew these sooner!
Great tackle of a topic that needs constant attention! I always return to the CDC website to see the number of people dying from preventable illness from food gone bad. Thousands die from small mistakes like not washing hands or letting food spoil in the temperature danger zone. I am fed up and wait for the numbers to decline, especially with the Food Safety & Modernization Act going into affect. I hope the FDA can prevent a few people from getting sick with their new authority. Thanks for the reminder. I am going to sing the birthday song at the sink now before breakfast.
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