Illness from foodborne disease has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, even though many cases are mistaken for intestinal flu. Foodborne diarrheal disease may be life-threatening or may have long-term consequences such as autoimmune disorders (including rheumatoid arthritis), cardiovascular disease, and allergies.
It can damage the structure and function of the intestines, leading to malabsorption, and can weaken the body’s immune system. Formerly, most foodborne illness resulted from foods prepared within the home, but now the major portion is caused by foods eaten away from home and by factory-prepared foods.
Changed agricultural practices are part of the problem. Antibiotic use in farm animals is the primary cause of the increase in salmonellosis, now a major foodborne disease. For years, critics warned that the resultant development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria could be followed by animal-to-human transmission. But cattlemen and agricultural officials demanded proof. Proof has now been supplied by several carefully conducted studies tracing human salmonellosis back to resistant bacteria in meat.
Current food trends contribute to foodborne disease – fads such as steak tartare, marinated raw beef, undercooked goose liver, rare duck breasts, and, especially, undercooked or raw fish; the incidence of infections from the latter two is increasing in the United States. All of these present serious health problems. Fish tapeworm infections have not been associated with properly canned commercial fish, but the larval parasite can survive up to 400 days in iced fish.
To kill the tapeworms, one must either cook all finfish thoroughly, with all parts reaching 145° F for at least five minutes; or freeze it at -4° F for 72 hours; or brine the fish for at least three weeks; or smoke it and then cook it at 150 to 180° F ("hot smoking"). Commercial smoked salmon (lox) is judged safe, but gravlax and belly lox are potentially dangerous. Through cooking of finfish kills roundworms. The internal temperature of the fish must reach 145° F.
The current recommendation is to cook 13 minutes at 450° F for each inch of thickness of fish. This practice offers greater safety than the previous recommendation of 10 minutes. Roundworms are commonly found in cold-water fish such as Pacific Salmon, Atlantic cod, pollack, mackerel, herring, and Atlantic plaice, some of which are being recommended for their omega 3 fatty acids. Roundworms also have been found in commercial gourmet frozen fish dinners, which should be cooked thoroughly.
What is to be done?
*Avoid raw and undercooked flesh foods
*Store foods at safe temperatures
*Cook and reheat foods thoroughly
*Practice good personal hygiene Practice good food sanitation, such as scrubbing of hands, knives, and cutting boards with hot soapy water
*Use an impermeable cutting board for flesh foods and reserve another cutting board for other foods.
Foodborne Disease
