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A microbiologist who is obviously much more aware of the risk of food poisoning than the average person recently shared the things and places she always avoids when she eats.
“I rarely eat alfresco – whether picnics or barbecues – as the risk of food poisoning goes up when food is taken outdoors,” Dr. Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology at the University of Leicester, writes on The Conversation.
“Keeping your hands clean when handling food is key to not getting sick, but how often do you find hot running water and soap in a park or on a beach? You can use alcohol hand gels, they’re better than nothing, but they don’t kill all germs.
“Also, food tends to attract an array of flying and crawling critters, such as flies, wasps and ants, all of which can transfer germs, including E coli, Salmonella and Listeria, to your food.”
Nothing like a side of Salmonella with your burger and potato salad, am I right?
But wait… there’s more.
“Knowing what food-related conditions bacteria prefer to grow in, I am very mindful of the microbiological safety of hot and cold buffet displays.
“Indoors, food can be exposed to contamination from insects, dust and above all, people. Food poisoning is, therefore, an inevitable risk when dining at a buffet.
“Contamination comes from buffet visitors touching food, and germs can be sprayed on to buffets from people sneezing or coughing close to the food. Even indoors, one must consider contamination by insects, such as flies or wasps, settling on the uncovered food. Also, germs may be deposited from the air, which is rich in bacteria, fungi and viruses.”
As she points out, in catering there is something they call the “two-hour rule” where perishable food becomes unsafe within two hours if it isn’t kept covered and refrigerated.
“The problem is buffets tend to be laid out before you arrive, so it is difficult to tell if the platters of cooked meat, seafood, salads, desserts and appetizingly arranged fruit and vegetables will have been sitting for more than two hours when you come to eat them,” she writes.
Oh, and that hotel breakfast you grab just before it ends? Yeah, that is also a good place to get food poisoning.
“I always avoid lukewarm food, as bacteria that cause food poisoning can grow quickly when food is kept at less than 60℃. Hot food should be served hot, that is at a temperature of at least 60 degrees Celsius [140 degrees Farenheit]. If there is any uncertainty about the safety of the food on offer, I reluctantly breakfast on freshly toasted bread and individually packaged marmalade.”
She also never eats raw shellfish, like oysters, bagged salads, reheated rice, and never collects “doggy bags” of food leftovers at restaurants (the same two-hour rule applies).
Bon appétit, everyone!