2023-06-10 11:00:00
When the hot summer comes, food poisoning also begins to rise. In fact, according to a report by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, as many as 40% of food poisoning patients in Korea for five years (2017-2021) occurred in the summer (June-August). This is why you need to pay more attention to food storage and intake when the temperature rises.
Be mindful of food storage and intake in summer｜Source: Getty Image Bank
Although there are differences between bacteria, food poisoning bacteria generally proliferate in the temperature range of 4 to 60 degrees, and reproduce most rapidly at 35 to 36 degrees. For this reason, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recommends storing cold food at 5 degrees or less and hot food at 60 degrees or more to prevent food poisoning. However, some food poisoning bacteria can survive even at low temperatures. Listeria is a prime example.
Listeria bacteria that survive in frozen conditions
Listeria monocytogenes, also known as Listeria, is one of the food poisoning bacteria widely distributed in nature. It is often found in contaminated meat and dairy products, and when infected, it causes listeriosis.
One of the characteristics of Listeria bacteria is viability. Unlike other bacteria, it can be active at low temperatures and can survive even at minus 20 degrees Celsius. Because of this, listeria bacteria can be found in food that has been stored in the refrigerator. In particular, listeria bacteria are often detected in uncleaned ice trays. If ice made from these ice trays is used for food, the ice may melt and the food may be exposed to Listeria bacteria.
May cause meningitis and sepsis
In a healthy person, if they do not eat food that is too heavily contaminated, listeria infection will pass without any special symptoms. On the other hand, in the case of chronic diseases or the elderly with weak immunity, the frequency of infection is higher than that of healthy people, and there is a high possibility of becoming a big problem when infected.
In general, listeriosis symptoms appear 12 hours following eating contaminated food, such as fever and chills. It is often accompanied by diarrhea and abdominal pain. At this time, if the disease is left untreated and the nervous system is infected, severe headache, stiff neck, stupor, convulsions, etc. occur.
In severe cases, it can lead to severe, life-threatening diseases such as sepsis, meningitis, and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Meningitis caused by listeria bacteria is called listeric meningitis, and the mortality rate is regarding 70%. When a pregnant woman is infected with listeria bacteria, flu-like symptoms appear and it can be transmitted to the fetus, increasing the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth. Listeriosis is diagnosed by bacterial culture and treated with antibiotics.
In summer, when the risk of food poisoning increases, be careful when storing and cooking food
Listeria bacteria can survive in environments with high salt concentrations and low temperatures, making it difficult to prevent bacterial contamination. Therefore, you should be careful regarding raw foods such as foods (meat, dairy products, and vegetables that are not washed well) where Listeria bacteria are frequently detected, and it is better to consume them following sufficiently cooking them. The following are six rules to prevent food poisoning in summer recommended by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
1. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and running water for at least 30 seconds following going out, before and following using the bathroom, before and following preparing food, and before eating.
2. Food must be fully cooked. In particular, meat is heated at a central temperature of 75 ° C for more than 1 minute, and fish and shellfish at a central temperature of 85 ° C for more than 1 minute.
3. Drinking water is consumed following boiling, and water purifiers are regularly inspected and managed.
4. Cooking utensils such as knives and chopping boards should be used separately for each purpose (vegetable, meat, fish, processed food, etc.). In addition, meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, and eggs are stored separately to prevent cross-contamination with vegetables and fruits.
5. Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly with running water before eating, and be careful not to cross-contaminate when washing (wash in the order of raw vegetables → meat → fish → poultry). In addition, the cooking room, cooking utensils, and tableware are frequently disinfected with boiling water or chlorine.
6. Store cold food below 5℃ and hot food above 60℃, and keep the storage temperature in the refrigerator (5℃) and freezer (-18℃) well. Frozen foods are thawed in the refrigerator, cold water, or microwave. In addition, during the rainy season, any vegetables or food suspected of being flooded must be thrown away.
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