Food poisoning has been affecting numerous consumers in recent weeks. The heat is certainly the main cause of the discomfort; let’s see how to protect our health.
Priority is to defend against toxic infections that would ruin a holiday or the summer period. The ADI explains how to do it.
The Italian Association of Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition is alerting Italians to the increased likelihood of running into food poisoning. The intense heat facilitates the proliferation of toxins but the reasons behind a toxic infection are various. There is no need to think that the problem can only be triggered by sensational contaminations as happened with salmonella in Ferrero chocolate or Escherichia coli in frozen pizzas. The danger may be less striking and limited to our pantry. That’s why the ADI has drawn up a list of tips to follow to stem the chances of contracting food poisoning. The Association wants to provide consumers with the right awareness and optimal tools for avoid any risk.
Food poisoning, the number of dangerous bacteria frightens
We all know about salmonella or Listeria but few know that, in reality, the dangerous bacteria for our organism can lead up to 250 different types of poisoning. The origin of the danger lies behind animal and vegetable toxins but also behind chemicals and pollutants that contaminate food. How not to mention, then, the pesticides that are a plague of fruit and vegetables and that have also been found in milk packages. The numbers, therefore, scare consumers and the summary that the ADI proposes on a global level is a further warning signal that should not be underestimated.
In a year they register over 350 thousand cases of food poisoning in the world (about 30% of the population) and more than 300,000 interventions resulting from the intake of substances harmful to the body.
Tips for averting the risks
The ADI suggests that handle food with clean tools and in sanitized environments. Likewise, food storage must take place in properly maintained places. The refrigerator, for example, must be sanitized so as not to cause a proliferation of bacteria. That’s enough a mixture of water and vinegar to keep it clean and ensure adequate storage of the food which must be placed in the most suitable compartment.
Leftovers from lunch and dinner must be kept in airtight containers; raw meat must not touch other foods and hot food should not be placed in the refrigerator immediately but must wait for it to cool. The most important advice is to wash your hands often when processing food. Attention, then, to the cleaning of the pantry, to products that have expired and to those that have been open for too long. As far as cooking food is concerned, we remind you that molds and bacteria can only be defeated with temperatures above 120 °. The cold, on the other hand, does not always kill bacteria as happens, for example, with Listeria capable of surviving in the freezer.