Public health response to foodborne illness outbreaks and education strategies

Food Safety

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, n.d.), "food-related diseases affect tens of millions of people and kill thousands." Many of these incidents can be prevented with proper food safety awareness. The most common food safety issues are related to consumer awareness at the point of purchase (such as knowing what to look for in terms of food freshness); food storage; and food preparation. The following recommendations will help prevent food-borne illnesses: which affect 1 in every 6 Americans and cause about 3000 deaths per year in the United States alone (CDC, n.d.).

Wash hands, utensils, and surfaces often (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).

Be extra careful when handling poultry, which is the number one cause of food-borne illnesses in the United States.

Pay attention to the Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures, such as those outlined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/mintemp.html

Pay attention to safe storage times for meat and poultry: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/storagetimes.html

Know how to select produce at its optimal level of freshness: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/types/fruits/tipsfreshprodsafety.html

When not cooking at home, consumers also need to be aware that every time they eat out, they are exposing themselves to possible foodborne illnesses. Businesses should ascribe to basic food safety practices, but as the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA, n.d.) points out, "food handling by an infected employee was a contributing factor in two-thirds of the outbreaks" of foodborne illnesses. Bacteria that are common culprit in foodborne illness include: the Norovirus, Salmonella Shigella (commonly called simply "salmonella," Enterohemorrhagic or Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, and the Hepatitis A virus (FDA, n.d.). Washing hands thoroughly "prevents the transmission of bacteria and viruses from hands to foods," (FDA, n.d.). The importance of clean hands and clean cooking surfaces cannot be underestimated.

When it comes to nutritional information, consumers need to be aware of how to read the labels on the foods they purchase. Consumers also need to know how to search for credible information related to nutrition. Discerning credible sources from unreliable or biased ones takes practice and media literacy. The government maintains several websites that provide consumers with credible, reliable information related to food and nutrition. For example, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA, n.d.) provides links to various programs and services related to nutrition: http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/