Food Safety Announcement
Reginald Alan Guest
SCI/220
June 20, 2013
Jeff Housman

This is a public announcement for the community of Beer town. There is a drastic rise in food borne illnesses spreading throughout the community of local farmers who supply their own farm animal and residents who purchase dairy products and meats.
We as a community are not aware of the many ways that the community can prevent food borne illness. Many problems can be very easily prevented, if we all follow a few safety guidelines and instructions from the CDC, FDA, and the local Health Department.
There are many safety issues when purchasing, storage, and presentation of many meats and dairy products. One of the biggest safety issue is washing hands thoroughly with warm water and soap before handling of meat poultry, and seafood’s. Never wash meats, washing raw meat and poultry can help bacteria spread because juices may splash onto your sink, and countertops. Always make sure washing the cutting boards, dishes, and utensil after uses will help with cross contamination.
Whenever, you are purchasing groceries at your local supermarket, always separate ready to eat foods and raw meat or poultry in the shopping cart, shopping bags, and your refrigerator. While preparing and handling foods at home also consider placing raw meat or poultry from dripping onto other foods by placing it in sealed containers or sealed plastic zip lock and placed in the freezer In preparation (cooking) many people think they can tell when the food is done by simply checking the color and texture, there is no way to be sure it is safe without following curtaining steps. Never taste uncooked marinade or sauces that have been used to marinate raw meat and poultry. Never place uncooked food on a clean plate for serving or cooked food on an unwashed plate that previously held raw meat, bacteria could contaminate the cooked food. In order to kill the bacteria, set up an internal thermometer to check the internal temperature of the food. Make sure it goes straight into the meat, and touching the bottom of the pan. Cook meat and poultry have to be set at these temperatures Meat 145° F (63°C), Poultry 165°F (74°C). Keep food hot after it is cooked the possibility of bacteria growth actually increase as food cools after cooking, because the drop of the temperature allows bacteria to thrive.
It is so important to understand few simple steps of purchasing food, storage, and preparation of food, which will help eliminate any issues of food borne illness that can make any individual sick or spread throughout the community.
There are many types of bacteria which are present in many different types of food which are more common in certain situations. For example Salmonella is most often found in poultry or eggs, Whereas, E Coli are mostly found in or on meats. Staphylococcus frequently found on people hand and even in buffets lines. Symptoms are fever, diarrhea, and discomfort in one digestive tract systems (CDC June 20, 2011).
If you are found to have the infection, you will be likely recovered on your own without treatment within two to five days. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. In many cases antibiotic are given early in the illness (WebMD, 2005-2011).
Most cases of food-borne illnesses can be prevented through proper cooking or processing of food, which kills bacteria. We as a community can prevent food borne illnesses by taking the following precautions. Wash your hands with warm, soapy water before and after preparing food and after using the bathroom. Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and their juices away from ready to eat foods, Cook foods properly and at a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria, any food that has been left out too long may be dangerous to eat, even if it looks cooked. Clean surfaces well, before and after using them to prepare food.
It is very important to look for credible sources of nutritional information for accuracy and practical resources that can provide the community access to a wide range of trustworthy, educational institution, government agencies that tend to be most reliable of with the knowledge of nutrition for the community at hand. Here is a list of creditable sources. www.usda.gov, www.eatright.org, www.nutrition.gov, www.cdc.gov, www.fda.gov.
It is so important for readers to visit reliable sources or read book, journals, magazine, and articles that are credible. Many people are unaware that Registered Dietitians, food nutrition’s departments in hospital are also credible. Always check and compare to be certain that the people you considered as experts are indeed creditable sources. As we know many people may claims credentials that may not be legitimate or overrated.

References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (August 15, 2011). Food borne illness. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (). Food borne Illness. Retrieved from http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/basics/cook/index.html
Food and Drug Administration. (06/24/2011). Safe eats-Meats, Poultry and Seafood. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/HealthEducators/ucm082294.htm
WebMD. (2005-2011). Food Poisoning. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/food-poisoning
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of Food borne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. (June 20, 2011). Tips to Prevent Illness from Clostridium Perfringens. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/Features/ClostridiumPerfringens/
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~eversb/understanding/sources.html