What You Eat Can Make You Sick

BY JAMES S. BURHARDT, D.O.

            Recent outbreaks of E. Coli in Europe have shown a bright light on food safety.  And, it just so happens that September is Food Safety Month.  While the sprouts in Germany responsible for illness and death never made it to the United States, food borne illness is still a problem in this country.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly one in six Americans will get sick from eating contaminated food. 

            Most cases of “food poisoning are mild, causing a day or two of such symptoms as diarrhea and vomiting.  While not serious, they can make you absolutely miserable.  But there are far more serious and even deadly complications, especially in vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly and pregnant women.  In rare cases an organism called Campylobacter can cause paralysis, and one particular toxic strain of E. Coli can lead to severe kidney damage and death.  

            Salmonella causes more hospitalizations and deaths than any other type of germ.  Each year in the United States nearly 1 million get sick from eating food contaminated with Salmonella, resulting in 16,000 hospitalizations and 250 deaths.  Salmonella is found in many types of food: meats, poultry eggs, fruits, vegetables and even processed foods such as peanut butter. 

            Reducing Salmonella is difficult because contamination can occur anywhere: from fields where food is grown to your cutting board in the kitchen.  Also, what we eat and how we eat have changed.  For example, food coming from a central location is widely distributed allowing potential illness to spread quickly.  We eat many more meals outside the home and the foods we eat come from all over the world.

            Here in Miami County the rate of food born illness is less than national averages.  There have been some outbreaks in the past few years which have received media attention, but those are not common.  So far this year, there have been 4 outbreaks of Norovirus and one Salmonella occurrence.  And none of these occurred from a restaurant. 

            According to Chris Cook, Health Commissioner for the Miami County Health District, this is due to a variety of factors:  good compliance from restaurants and vigilant inspections of facilities that prepare and sell food. 

            “The inspections are totally random,” Mr. Cook explained.  “They never know when we are going to show up for an inspection.”  Most restaurants are very aware of the reputation damage that can occur from a food related illness.  Most of us can remember the incident at CJ Highmarks some years ago.  That restaurant never recovered and subsequently closed.

            “There is no question that food safety programs and regulations have made our food safer,” Mr. Cook continued.  Evaluating restaurants is only part of the prevention program that the Miami County Health District operates.  “Grocery stores and fairs get overlooked, but we are responsible for making sure that food preparation is safe in those venues also.”  While this is an extremely important factor in staying healthy in Miami County, Mr. Cook feels that the work of the sanitarians and food inspectors goes unrecognized.

            “How do you quantify that nothing bad happens?” he asked rhetorically.  Prevention of illnesses and safe food are considered as the standard, yet it requires steady and constant monitoring to maintain those standards.  It is also not very newsworthy.  “You never see a headline or news story about a man who eats breakfast at his favorite restaurant for 15 years and never got sick,” said Mr. Cook.

            To prevent problems at home make sure to wash your hands before and after preparing meals.  Make sure that utensils, cutting boards and countertops are clean.  Keep your refrigerator below 40 degrees Farenheit and refrigerate food that will spoil.  Use a food thermometer to ensure foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature: 145 degrees for whole meats, 160 degrees for ground meats and 165 degrees for poultry.  Allow meat to rest for 3 minutes prior to cutting or eating.  These tips can reduce food related illness in your home. 

            For other information, visit FOOD SAFETY.gov