Food poisoning can be very unpleasant.  It can also be quite deadly.  There are some things you have to remember in order to avoid eating poisoned or stale food.  It does not matter if you are eating out or eating at home.  You can fall victim to food poisoning, so it is definitely a good idea to take note of these tips.

Understand Food Poisoning and Its Causes

Basically, this happens when you ingest food or drink contaminated with bacteria, parasites, chemicals or toxins.  To be specific, this is actually caused more by ingestion of food contaminated with toxins or chemicals.  Generally, however, the term is commonly used to describe sickness caused by ingestion of contaminated food or drink.

There are many causes of food contamination.  Foods may be contaminated from the very first start.  Fruits and vegetables that have been grown using fertilizers and chemicals have the potential to be contaminated.  Never eat fruits or vegetables without washing them first.  Improper food hygiene can definitely cause food contamination.

Learn the Tips and Tricks on How to Prevent Food Contamination

Bacteria and viruses are everywhere, so it is easy to get your food contaminated with these things.  Therefore, it is important that you observe proper food hygiene in order to minimize or eliminate possible contamination.  You should have a dedicated approach to correct food preparation and hygiene during food processing and food preparation.  There should also be proper food storage.

You need to make sure that areas used for food processing are clean and free from dirt, viruses or bacteria.  Cross contamination can easily occur, so make sure that you use the right tools and equipments.  For instance, if you have wooden chopping boards, make sure that you have two, one to use for chopping meat and the other to use for chopping fruits and vegetables.

Foods should be stored properly as well.  Do not mix raw meat with fruits and vegetables.  This can result to cross contamination.  Try to discover what foods can be cause cross contaminations.

You should also be very careful when preparing food.  Often, contamination occurs during this stage.  Make sure that you wash your hands before you handle foods.  The kitchen implements and spaces should be clean and wash thoroughly before using them.

These are just a few of the things that you can do in order to avoid food poisoning.  In truth, care should be exercised right from the start.  You need to learn how to shop with care.  You should make it a habit to check expiration dates especially of raw foods like meat and poultry products.  You should also make sure that grocery items are correctly separated.  Do not mix food items like fruits and raw meat.  Store food items properly.  Foods that should be kept in the freezer should be stored in the freezer immediately.

By doing these simple things, you will be able to protect yourself, your family or your customers from food poisoning.

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Contrary to what you might think or believe, there are foods that you should not eat before flying.  You do not want to end up doing repeated trips to the lavatory.  Eat the wrong food and you will find yourself doing just that.  Unfortunately, you have limited options when it comes to airport dining.  You cannot also control what you may serve in the airplane.

Often, people may have to content themselves with unhealthy foods.  This does not mean, however, that you can eat anything you want as long as it is healthy.  A wise traveler knows that there are some foods that you should avoid eating before traveling.  In fact, there are nutritious foods that you should avoid before flying.  What are the foods that you should avoid?  If you are planning to travel anytime soon, check out this list of foods that you should avoid.

1. Fast foods or food outlets that offer oily, artery-clogging foods.  You will find many of these outlets in airports.  Medical studies show that the body finds it even more difficult to digest these kinds of foods when you are located thousands of feet above the ground.  Aside from the fact that these foods are bad for your health, they are also not the wisest choice for air travel.  They are not the most comfortable choice.

You will also be able to avoid health risks associated to eating greasy and fatty foods.  This is especially true if you are suffering from hypertension or diabetes.  Remember that you will be sitting squished and immobilized for hours inside a pressurized cabin.  It is definitely not a good idea to eat foods that could trigger blood clots.

2. Gas-inducing foods.  The last thing you would want is to be stuck in an 18-hour flight with a seatmate who seems to have eaten every gas-inducing food the planet.  You probably do not want to embarrass yourself as well.  So, you should avoid bloating and farting-inducing foods.  Fried foods are definitely a no-no.  You should also avoid cabbages, cauliflowers, onions and baked beans.

3. Alcohol and carbonated drinks.  Although you may feel like downing a couple of cocktails, it is still a good idea to avoid drinking altogether.  Medically speaking, you will find it harder to go to sleep during a flight if your system is drowning in alcohol.  This is because alcohol is even more concentrated when your body is dehydrated.  If you feel like you need to drink alcohol to help settle your nerves, you should make sure that you drink plenty of water to counteract the effects of alcohol.  You should also avoid carbonated drinks because they contribute to bloating and cramping.

These are some of the foods that you should avoid before flying.

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With the stomach and other digestive organs in a state of perfect health condition, one is entirely ignorant of their very existence, except when of feeling of hunger brings alertness to the fact that food is essential, or an alarm bell warns us that a adequate amount or too much has been eaten. Perfect digestion can only be maintained by cautiously monitoring all of the rules of health in regard eating habits.

On the subject of ‘Digestion and Hygiene’, I would like to quote a few paragraphs from Dr. Kellogg’s work on Physiology; it provides a brief outline of the more important points concerning this issue:

“The hygiene of digestion has to do with the quality and quantity of food eaten, in the manner of eating it.

If the food is eaten too rapidly, it will not be properly divided, and when swallowed in coarse lumps, the digestive fluids cannot readily act upon it. On account of the insufficient mastication, the saliva will be deficient in quantity, and, as a consequence, the starch will not be well digested, and the stomach will not secrete a sufficient amount of gastric juice. It is not well to eat only soft or liquid food, as we are likely to swallow it without proper chewing. A considerable proportion of hard food, which requires thorough mastication, should be eaten at every meal.

Drinking Freely at Meals is harmful, as it not only encourages hasty eating, but dilutes the gastric juice, and thus lessens its activity. The food should be chewed until sufficiently moistened by saliva to allow it to be swallowed. When large quantities of fluid are taken into the stomach, digestion does not begin until a considerable portion of the fluid has been absorbed. If cold foods or drinks are taken with the meal, such as ice-cream, ice-water, iced milk or tea, the stomach is chilled, and a long delay in the digestive process is occasioned.

Eating Between Meals

The habit of eating apples, nuts, fruits, confectionery, etc., between meals is exceedingly harmful, and certain to produce loss of appetite and indigestion. The stomach as well as the muscles and other organs of the body requires rest. The frequency with which meals should be taken depends somewhat upon the age and occupation of an individual. Infants take their food at short intervals, and owing to its simple character, are able to digest it very quickly. Adults should not take food oftener than three times a day; and persons whose employment is sedentary say, in many cases at least, adopt with advantage the plan of the ancient Greeks, who ate but twice a day.

Simplicity in Diet.

Taking too many kinds of food at a meal is a common fault which is often a cause of disease of the digestive-organs. Those nations are the most hardy and enduring whose dietary is most simple. The Scotch peasantry live chiefly upon oatmeal, the Irish upon potatoes, milk, and oatmeal, the Italian upon peas, beans, macaroni, and chestnuts; yet all these are noted for remarkable health and endurance. The natives of the Canary Islands, an exceedingly well-developed and vigorous race, subsist almost chiefly upon a food which they call gofio, consisting of parched grain, coarsely ground in a mortar and mixed with water.

Eating When Tired.

It is not well to eat when exhausted by violent exercise, as the system is not prepared to do the work of digestion well. Sleeping immediately after eating is also a harmful practice. The process of digestion cannot well be performed during sleep, and sleep is disturbed by the ineffective efforts of the digestive organs. Hence the well-known evil effects of late suppers.

Eating Too Much.

Hasty eating is the greatest cause of over-eating. When one eats too rapidly, the food is crowded into the stomach so fast that nature has no time to cry, ‘Enough,’ by taking away the appetite before too much has been eaten. When an excess of food is taken, it is likely to ferment or sour before it can be digested. One who eats too much usually feels dull after eating.”

As you can see there are more than way to get food poisoning. Take care with your eating habits.

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Being a professional chef and a kitchen worker, self sanitation is very important. Since you are a food handler, you have to learn about the level of cleanliness and hygiene in and around the kitchen. So make sure that food poisoning organisms and other contaminants will not reach the food you are handling.

First of all, you will have to facilitate hand washing on your part. Hand washing is essential to self sanitation. This is the only way you can make sure that you will not contaminate anything at the basic level.

Here are things you can do and things you must avoid to expedite hand washing in the kitchen area.

1. Limit yourself to one wedding band, without stone.

2. You must not wear watches and bracelets as it interfere with hand washing. These items will also collect food that may spoil or contaminate other food.

3. Watch should not be hooked between uniform button and uniform.

4. Female kitchen employees may only wear stud earrings. Males are discouraged from earrings.

5. Fingernails need to be trimmed short and easy to clean.

Proper hand washing is so essential in the basic sanitation and hygiene in the kitchen environment. You should wash your hands before starting work and after going to the restroom, touching money, raw food, your face, hair or skin. You should also wash your hands when you sneeze or blow your nose and when you are handling or cleaning rubbish or dirty things.

1. Use warm water when washing your hands.

2. Use soap and build up a good lather.

3. Use a nail brush to clean nails. Always make sure your nails are short so it can be cleaned faster.

4. Rinse and repeat.

5. Dry Hands with disposable towel or air drier. Don’t use your apron as a hand towel.

Suffice it to say, hand washing is the most basic thing you can do when it comes to kitchen sanitation. One should be really wary and knowledgeable on how to facilitate hand washing in the workplace to avoid contamination and disease.

Just follow the tips and tricks above and you will be fairly sanitized always. On the next discussion, personal grooming will be discussed at length.

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