New York - Proper food handling and preparation can reduce risks of food- borne illnesses such as E. coli infection, a potentially fatal infection usually contracted by eating beef contaminated with a toxic strain of the bacteria. People can protect themselves from E. coli infection by cooking beef until it is no longer pink or bloody, the CDC notes.
Despite efforts to teach consumers proper food handling, nearly 20% of the 19,356 Americans surveyed said they ate "pink" hamburgers. More than 50% reported eating undercooked eggs -- a potential source of salmonella infection. Another 8% said they ate raw oysters, which may be contaminated with a variety of microorganisms that cause illness. And 1.4% reported drinking raw milk, which may be infected with both E. coli and a bacterium called Camplylobacter jejuni, according to the CDC.
The CDC advises people to wash their hands with soap after handling raw meat or chicken -- another potential source of salmonella, and to clean cutting boards with soap or bleach after using them to prepare meat or chicken. But 20% of those surveyed said they did not follow these precautions.
Packaged raw meat and chicken now carry "food-handling labels" that instruct consumers how to prepare these foods safely. But more than half of those surveyed said they did not recall seeing these labels. Of those who said they saw the labels, however, 36.7% reported changing their food preparation methods accordingly.
Every year, an estimated 6.5 to 33 million people in the US fall sick with a food-borne illness and approximately 9,000 die, according to CDC figures.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
Return to Home Page