A multistate salmonella outbreak associated with eggs has sickened 35 people to date. Here are some food safety and refrigerator cleaning tips to protect loved ones from food poisoning.
Egg-Related Multistate Salmonella Outbreak
Since November 2017, 35 people from nine different states have been affected by a salmonella outbreak linked to eggs from the Rose Acre Farms' Hyde County farm in Indiana. As such, authorities continue to remind the public to take note of the eggs they buy to ensure that they are not a part of the recalled batch. If they bought the said eggs, then they must throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.
The outbreak brings to light the importance of proper egg handling and cooking procedures to avoid getting infected. These include cleaning eggs with debris, keeping them refrigerated, and cooking at the right temperature.
Cleaning The Refrigerator Amid A Food Recall
No matter what kind of food recall it is, the precautions do not just stop at throwing out the potentially infected food as it may also have infected the shelves and drawers of the refrigerator or even the container in which it was stored.
To make sure that other foods don't get infected, the refrigerator should be emptied before being cleaned, though they must not be left out for more than two hours. The shelves, drawers, and other removable parts of the refrigerator should also be removed. Using warm, soapy water, the inside of the refrigerator and its removable parts must be thoroughly hand washed and then dried with a clean towel afterward. Food and drink containers should also be cleaned with warm, soapy water before everything is replaced.
Cleaning the refrigerator with a bleach solution is an optional step after cleaning with the warm, soapy water.
The same process must be applied to kitchen counters and other places where food is prepared or placed, and the towels used in cleaning must also be washed before the next use. After all the cleaning is done, the hands must be washed thoroughly with warm water and soap.
Food Safety Tips
There are four basic food safety tips that can keep the home free from food-related infections: clean, separate, cook, and chill.
This basically means that the hands and the food preparation area and utensils must always be kept clean to prevent the spread of germs, and the foods must be properly separated in storage so as to avoid cross-contamination. This is an especially important step when it comes to raw meat, seafood, poultry, and eggs.
Furthermore, it's very important to cook foods thoroughly in order to kill the germs that can cause sicknesses and to chill foods properly by keeping the refrigerator below 40 degrees. It's also worth noting that thawing food is best done inside the refrigerator and not in kitchen counters as germs can multiply quickly at room temperature.
