Foodborne Illness

How to make sure your kitchen
isn't likely to be a source of
serious stomach ailments

It seems hard to believe a food normally so good for you could make you so sick. But that's just what happened last winter, when a rash of illnesses broke out that were linked to consuming E. coli-contaminated fresh spinach. Since then, you've probably wondered what's safe to eat and what's not, and what you can do to protect yourself and your family from foodborne illnesses. Plenty, it turns out.

Foodborne-diseases cause roughly 76 milion illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and about 5,000 deaths in the US each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To avoid getting sick from contaminated foods, "you don't need to get paranoid; you just need to be careful," says Cynthia M. Yoshida, MD, a gastroenterologist in Charlottesville, VA, and author of No More Digestive Problems (Bantam). Thorough cooking normally kills most harmful bacteria, so the greatest risks are with raw or undercooked foods. (If you are immunocompromised or have liver disease, avoid risky foods such as raw shellfish and soft cheeses altogether, Dr. Yoshida advises.) To protect your family from foodborne illnesses, you'll want to take these five precautions in your kitchen:

1. Scrub like a surgeon. Lather up with warm water and soap from your fingernails to your wrists for 20 seconds, then dry your hands with paper towels. Wash your hands again whenever you change tasks -- for example, when you switch from cutting meat to making a salad.

2. Store raw meats safely. Place red meats, poultry and seafood on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. That way, their juices won't drip onto other foods and contaminate them.

3. Dedicate cutting boards. Use one board for meats and another for ready-to-eat foods like produce and breads -- and keep them separate. Wash them well with soap and hot water after each use.

4. Wash produce thoroughly. Even if the label on a bag of lettuce says it's triple-washed, rinse it in a colander for a few minutes. Do the same for all fruits and veggies.

5. Cook meats properly. The best way to tell if meat or poultry is cooked thoroughly is to insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part. According to the American Dietetic Association, ground meats, roasts and steaks should be cooked to 160 degrees F., while chicken and turkey should be cooked to 180 degrees F. After each use, wash the thermometer thoroughly with hot, soapy water. Don't have a meat thermometer handy? "At least cut into the meat to make sure it's cooked through," Dr. Yoshida says. "And there should be no trace of pink in chicken or turkey."