An Australian study has found that many people mistakenly blame food poisoning on the last thing they ate.
The Food Safety Information Council has released the results of a national study ahead of Australian Food Safety Week, which runs from November 8 to 15. The survey, conducted online in August, included 1,221 people over 18 years of age.
According to the survey, 66 percent of respondents recall experiencing some form of food poisoning, and 51 percent of them wrongly blame the last thing they ate.
Lydia Buchtmann, the council's chief executive, said the focus of this year's food safety week was to debunk some of the myths around food poisoning or gastroenteritis.
“One of the most common myths is that food poisoning is caused by the last thing you ate, when in fact it could be something you ate many days or even months ago,” she said.
“In the past, health authorities had to rely on asking people to get them to remember what they ate so they could determine what made them sick. Fortunately, these days we have new technologies that help us link victims to food. Social media posts also help quickly identify potential outbreaks.
“Whole genome sequencing allows us to trace unique DNA patterns from viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites that cause food-borne illnesses, which can then be compared between infected people and the suspected food source, if any. If the same DNA is found in food and in sick people, it points to a common source of the problem, which can then be eliminated, including removing the associated food from retail sales.”
Smelling food and the 5 second rule
Other myths that are addressed include the belief that sanitizer is better than hand washing.. Hand sanitizer does not work against some pathogens, including highly contagious viruses such as norovirus. The best option is to wash your hands with soap and running water, and then dry them thoroughly with a clean towel.
The so-called 5-second rule states that food dropped on the floor is considered safe to eat if it is picked up within five seconds. Bacteria don't wait politely to contaminate food.
It is impossible to determine whether food is contaminated by smell or taste. You can get food poisoning from items that smell and taste good. Bacteria can multiply rapidly in food left in the temperature danger zone of 5 to 65 degrees C (41 to 149 degrees F) without changing its odor or appearance.
Another problem is confusion with expiration dates. “Best before” is an indicator of quality, and after this date the food is safe to eat. However, you should consume the food before its expiration date..
Burgers should not be served infrequently. Shredded meat products, such as hamburgers and sausages, need to be cooked until they reach an internal temperature of 75 degrees C (167 degrees F), as bacteria on the outside can be transferred throughout the meat as it is ground.
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