A nationwide telephone scan of 4,5...

A nationwide telephone scan of 4,500 adults found that consumer have continued to improve their practices of safe fodder handling, according to a tribe 18, 2002, news release from the US pabulum and Drug Administration (FDA). The 2001 diet safety survey indicates that the dramatic improvement in consumer provisions safety practice that occurred between 1993 and 1998 has continued between 1998 and 2001 Safe victuals handling practices reduce the incidence of foodborne illness.

Since 1997 the FDA and the provender Safety and Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have advocated the following four basic cheer safety messages.

* Clean--Clean meat thermometers after use, have clean utensils and dishes upon hand, and wash hands often

* Separate--Separate raw aliments from cooked or ready-to-eat aliments to prevent cross-contamination.

* Cook--Cook pabulums to a safe internal temperature. surface of land beef should be cooked to 160[degrees]F (71[degrees]C)

* Chill--Store leftover meat in the refrigerator or freezer within sum of two units hours of removing it from the grill. upon hot days (ie, higher than 90[degrees]F [32[degrees]C]) refrigerate or be frozen food within one hour. The temperature in the refrigerator should be 40[degrees]F (4[degrees]C) or lower. Freezer temperature should be at or lower than 0[degrees]F (-18[degrees]C) Check the temperature occasionally with a refrigerator/freezer thermometer. most numerous of the consumers surveyed indicated they comply with these practices, particularly in reducing cross-contamination after contact with raw fish, meat, or chicken. More the bulk of mankind reported eating raw clams, oyster or fish in 2001 than in 1998 however.

Another report lately released by the USDA finds that although consumer believe they are more knowledgeable about regimen safety and have improved their feed handling practices, in reality, a certain quantity of still are using unsafe practices. Researchers reviewed the regimen safety survey data, as well as observational studies of consumer preparing aliment and informal discussions with small assemblages of consumers. They found that although fodder thermometer ownership has increased since 1998 and usage has doubled, the percentage of consumer who use provender thermometers remains low.

any consumers continue to judge whether aliment is cooked fully by its color rather than its temperature. Color is not an indicator of safety, and a nourishment thermometer is the only way to determine that meat has reached a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria.

Research exhibit tos Improvements in Safe Food Handling by way of Consumers (news release, Orlando, Fla: US forage and Drug Administration, Sept 18 2002) http://www.fda.gov /bbs/topics/NEWS/2002/NEW00838.html (accessed 25 tribe 2002).

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