By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Thanksgiving is a time for family, feasting … and foodborne illnesses.
The holiday is ripe for spreading sickness, with stuffing made inside the turkey, a lot of hugging, and leftover food sitting out for hours as people nibble their way to the next meal. So the Wood County Health District is offering advice on how to celebrate the holiday and remain healthy.
The health district is accustomed to keeping an eye on kitchens – with 750 licensed food operations in Wood County. Last year, the district investigated eight foodborne illness outbreaks, when two or more people reported symptoms. So far this year, the district has investigated four cases.
Many times the public never knows about the reports – since more than 90 percent of the time the source cannot be proven.
“It’s not always clear cut,” said Pat Snyder, communications manager at the health district. “There’s not a need to worry the public,” unless some information can be released that will protect the public from getting sick.
Oftentimes, when people get ill they blame it on the most recent food they consumed. But the reality is, foodborne illnesses can make a person sick in as quickly as 30 minutes, or take as long as 30 days to take effect.
“Many times when people call in, they believe it was the last place they ate,” said Amy Jones, director of health promotion and preparedness. But usually, it’s not. “Sometimes, it’s very difficult.”
Finding the culprit can be like a puzzle. And quite often, some of the pieces are missing. In a perfect case, the health district would be able to identify poor sanitary conditions at the restaurant where the food was prepared, collect some of the suspect food, and gather the necessary specimens from the victim’s stool or vomit. But it’s rare when all the pieces fall into place, said Connor Rittwage, epidemiologist.
“We may never know what caused it,” Rittwage said.
The suspect food is often gone by time the illness is reported, according to Kelly Bechstein, assistant director of environmental health. “Chances are by time a person calls us, they don’t have that food anymore.”
There have been a couple investigations that have netted the culprit. Jones recalled a case in 2006 when a local family became ill with e-coli. As Jones was driving to work, she happened to hear a story on the radio about contaminated spinach making people sick in other areas of the country. She called the local family and asked if they had recently eaten spinach. They had – and they still had a partial bag in their refrigerator. So Wood County became part of the national e-coli outbreak.
“Sometimes it’s just putting a puzzle together,” Jones said.
Another time, several people reported illnesses but had not eaten at the same place. However, upon closer inspection, the pieces fell into place. All the victims had eaten contaminated potato salad made by a caterer for several graduation parties.
Reports of suspected food poisoning often spike in the summer time, when there are picnics and food is left out in warm temperatures. Gatherings like potlucks and fundraisers an also be troublesome since no health guidelines are in place.
Even if the source of a foodborne illness can’t be found, the search is worthwhile, according to Lana Glore, director of environmental health.
“We always investigate it, and it always ends up being a good educational moment,” Glore said.
When Rittwage gets a call about a restaurant possibly causing a foodborne illness, he meets with the sanitarians to review past complaints about the business and look at the food inspection history at the restaurant.
All licensed food establishments get two standard inspections a year, but another is initiated if a problem is suspected. The sanitarians will look for sick employees spreading illnesses, inadequate hand washing, improper temperatures of food, cross contamination from raw foods, and unclean work surfaces. If critical violations are found, the establishment has to correct them while the inspector is still present, if possible.
In an effort to keep problems from occurring, earlier this year the health district started requiring that at least one person from each food establishment go through a 16-hour food safety course, followed by an exam.
“It’s very important that the food operators get training,” Bechstein said.
But the health district sanitarians realize the twice a year inspections can only catch so much. “We’re only seeing a snapshot of what’s going on,” she said.
And unless all the pieces come together to prove the cause of a foodborne illness outbreak, chances are the public will never know. “We wouldn’t want to speculate and harm the restaurant that wasn’t the cause,” said Jennifer Campos, health educator and public information officer.
But for local residents who want to see how restaurants are doing during their regular inspections, that information can be found on the health district’s website at www.woodcountyhealth.org. And for those concerned about keeping food safe when they cook for groups, safety tips are also available on the website.
To try to ensure a Thanksgiving with family, feasting, and no foodborne illnesses, the health district offers the following tips:
- Wash your hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds throughout the cooking process, especially before handling food and after handling raw meat and poultry.
- Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next item.
- Wash vegetables and fruits, but not the turkey. Washing raw meat and poultry can actually help bacteria spread because their juices, and any bacteria in those juices, could splash into your sink and countertops.
- Always separate raw turkey from ready-to-eat foods. Use separate cutting boards, plates and utensils when preparing and serving food to avoid cross-contamination.
- Cooked food is safe only after it’s been cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria. Use a meat thermometer in three different spots on the turkey to make sure it reaches a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. Place the thermometer in the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing, and the thickest part of the breast.
- Refrigerate any leftovers within two hours to slow the growth of bacteria. Store your leftovers in shallow containers and cut the turkey into smaller pieces to decrease cooling time.
