Important Safety Concerns for Devotees

[Guest guest]

Here is some more safety information I thought the devotees could use.

 

 

---------------Golden Rules on Safe Food Preparation--------------------

 

WHO data indicate that only a small number of factors related to food

handling are responsible for a large proportion of foodborne disease

episodes everywhere. Common errors include:

 

1) Preparation of food several hours prior to consumption, combined

with its storage at temperatures which favour growth of pathogenic bacteria

and/or formation of toxins;

2) Insufficient cooking or reheating of food to reduce or eliminate

pathogens;

3) Cross contamination;

4) People with poor personal hygiene handling the food.

 

The Ten Golden Rules respond to these errors, offering advice that can

reduce the risk that foodborne pathogens will be able to contaminate, to

survive or to multiply.

 

Despite the universality of these causes, the plurality of cultural

settings means that the rules should be seen as a model for the development

of culture-specific educational remedies.

 

Users are therefore encouraged to adapt these rules to bring home messages

that are specific to food preparation habits in a given cultural setting.

Their power to change habitual practices will be all the greater.

 

----------------------------10 Golden Rules------------------------

 

1. Choose foods processed for safety:

While many foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are best in their natural

state, others simply are not safe unless they have been processed. For

example, always buy pasteurized as opposed to raw milk. When shopping, keep

in mind that food processing was invented to improve safety as well as to

prolong shelf-life. Certain foods eaten raw, such as lettuce, need thorough

washing.

 

2. Cook food thoroughly:

Many raw foods, including unpasteurized milk, may be contaminated with

disease-causing organisms. Thorough cooking will kill the pathogens, but

remember that the temperature of all parts of the food must reach at least

70 °C.

 

3. Eat Cooked foods immediately:

When cooked foods cool to room temperature, microbes begin to proliferate.

The longer the wait, the greater the risk. To be on the safe side, eat

cooked foods just as soon as they come off the heat.

 

4. Store cooked foods carefully:

If you must prepare foods in advance or want to keep leftovers, be sure to

store them under either hot (near or above 60 °C) or cool (near or below 10

°C) conditions. This rule is of vital importance if you plan to store foods

for more than four or five hours. Foods for infants should preferably not be

stored at all. A common error, responsible for countless cases of foodborne

disease, is putting too large a quantity of warm food in the refrigerator.

In an overburdened refrigerator, cooked foods cannot cool to the core as

quickly as they must. When the centre of food remains warm (above 10 °C) for

too long, microbes thrive, quickly proliferating to disease-causing levels.

 

5. Reheat cooked foods thoroughly:

This is your best protection against microbes that may have developed

during storage (proper storage slows down microbial growth but does not kill

the organisms). Once again, thorough reheating means that all parts of the

food must reach at least 70 °C.

 

6. Avoid contact between raw foods and cooked foods:

Safely cooked food can become contaminated through even the slightest

contact with raw food. This cross-contamination can be direct, as when raw

poultry meat comes into contact with cooked foods. It can also be more

subtle. For example, don't prepare a raw chicken and then use the same

unwashed cutting board and knife to carve the cooked bird. Doing so can

reintroduce the disease-causing organisms.

 

7. Wash hands repeatedly:

Wash hands thoroughly before you start preparing food and after every

interruption - especially if you have to change the baby or have been to the

toilet. After preparing raw foods, wash again before you start handling

other foods. And if you have an infection on your hand, be sure to bandage

or cover it before preparing food. Remember, too, that household pets -

dogs, cats, birds, and especially turtles - often harbour dangerous

pathogens that can pass from your hands into food. I remember one gurukuli

devotee protesting when I asked her to wash her hands before serving. She

said: "Prasadam can't be contaminated!" My response: "Germs are not

prasadam."

 

8. Keep all kitchen surfaces meticulously clean:

Since foods are so easily contaminated, any surface used for food

preparation must be kept absolutely clean. Think of every food scrap, crumb

or spot as a potential reservoir of germs. Cloths that come into contact

with dishes and utensils should be changed frequently and boiled before

re-use. Separate cloths for cleaning the floors also require frequent

washing.

 

9. Protect foods from insects, rodents, and other animals:

Animals frequently carry pathogenic microorganisms which cause foodborne

disease. Storing foods in closed containers is your best protection.

 

10. Use safe water:

Safe water is just as important for food preparation as for drinking. If

you have any doubts about the water supply, boil water before adding it to

food or making ice for drinks. Be especially careful with any water used to

prepare an infant's meal.

 

The World Health Organization regards illness due to contaminated food as

one of the most widespread health problems in the contemporary world. For

infants, immunocompromised people, pregnant women and the elderly, the

consequences can be fatal. Protect your family by following these basic

rules. They will reduce the risk of foodborne disease significantly.

 

Based on information from WHO (World Health Organization of the UN)

 

Ys Priyavrata das

FFL Global