HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE--FOOD SAFETY

They may look pretty under a microscope, but e coli can be deadly.

Several years ago I landed in the hospital for three days, thanks to a serious case of food poisoning. The hospital was never able to determine what had caused the food poisoning. I’m not someone who will eat something that looks or smells bad. But it turns out you can’t always tell if food is contaminated by looking at it or smelling it. “Use by” and “sell by” dates aren’t reliable gauges of determining if foods are safe safe. They focus on quality, not safety. Besides, once the package is opened, all bets are off.

Frozen foods keep indefinitely, but the quality of the food can deteriorate over time. For refrigerated food follow these recommendations. And remember: when in doubt, throw it out.

Eggs: 3-5 weeks for fresh eggs, 1 week for hardboiled

Bacon: 1 week for raw, 4-5 days for cooked

Ground meat: 1-2 days for raw, 3-4 days for cooked

Hot dogs: 2 weeks if the package is unopened, 1 week if opened

Deli meats: 2 weeks for unopened packages, 3-4 days if opened or for freshly sliced from the deli counter

Meats: 3-5 days for raw, 3-4 days for cooked

Poultry: 1-2 days for raw, 3-4 days for cooked

Fish/shellfish: 1-2 days for raw, 3-4 days for cooked

Milk: 2-3 days beyond sell-by date

Prepared deli salads: 3-5 days

HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE - MELON SAFETY

Today, a safety tip when it comes to melon. -- AP

Remember all those tainted cantaloupes last year? People all across the country became ill with listeria. Some died. Many people wondered how you could get sick from eating a fruit where you don’t eat the rind. Think about it: the melon sits in dirt and is also handled by many people from the time it’s picked until you bring it home. In the case of last year’s listeria outbreak, the soil was contaminated, but anyone touching a melon can also contaminate it with listeria, e coli, salmonella, or any number of other bacteria.

In the case of the listeria-infected cantaloupes, even after the source of the listeria was determined and melons were removed from supermarkets, people still got sick. Listeria has a very long incubation period, much longer than many other food borne bacteria, sometimes as long as two months.

Yet, here it is summer, and you can’t beat a sweet cantaloupe on a hot summer day. Here’s how you avoid getting sick: WASH THE RIND! That’s right. When you slice through the melon, any bacteria on the rind will transfer to the knife and from the knife to the melon meat. Washing the rind with an antibacterial dish detergent, will kill any bacteria on the rind.

Simple solution, isn’t it? So don’t be afraid to enjoy that cantaloupe this summer. Or any other melon, for that matter. But do wash the rind before cutting into them.

This is one of those tips that makes so much sense, I feel like smacking my head for not thinking of it! Thanks, Janice! Readers, post a comment for a chance to win a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE - WOODEN CUTTING BOARDS

How safe is your wooden cutting board? Chances are, no matter how well you think you’ve washed it, it’s harboring bacteria. Health editor Janice Kerr is here today to give you a tip for making sure you and your family stay healthy. -- AP

Bacteria loves to flourish in the deep knife cuts of a wooden cutting board, and because wood is porous, it’s very difficult to clean. You can’t put it in the dishwasher the way you would a plastic cutting board.

What you can do is soak your wooden cutting boards in a bleach solution. Use one tablespoon of bleach for every gallon of water. Soak the cutting board for two minutes. Then wash it with hot, soapy water.

And don’t forget about wooden spoons and wooden bowls. Just because you don’t cut on them, it doesn’t mean bacteria isn’t growing with those porous surfaces. When you soak your cutting boards, do the same to your wooden spoons and bowls.

Okay, readers, how many of you will be soaking your wooden cutting boards tonight? I know I will. Post a comment to enter the drawing to win a book from Friday's guest author. -- AP

HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE - GERMS IN THE KITCHEN

Health editor Janice Kerr talks about the germiest place in your kitchen and what you can do about it. -- AP

Thanks, Anastasia! Do you know which item in your kitchen is the #1 breeding ground for all sorts of sickness causing bacteria? It’s your kitchen sponge. And every time you use that sponge to wipe down your kitchen counters, table, or appliances, you’re spreading harmful bacteria.

Ideally, you should dispose of a sponge or kitchen cloth after each use, but that can get very costly and few people do so. How often do you replace your sponge? Not as often as you should, I’m willing to bet. And do you ever disinfect it? Dish soap alone isn’t going to do the trick.

Here are a few tips to keep your sponge from making you and your family sick:

• Place your sponge in the dishwasher every time you run a cycle.

• Several times a week, wet the sponge and microwave it for 2 minutes.

• Replace your sponge every two weeks.

Thanks, Janice. I have to admit, I’m guilty of keeping my kitchen sponges until they start to fall apart. These are good tips for keeping those sponges from making us sick. -- AP

HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE--PAPER, PLASTIC, OR E COLI?

Health editor Janice Kerr has some important advice today for those of you who are bringing your own reusable shopping bags to the supermarket. -- AP

Thanks, Anastasia! I’m sure many of our readers are thinking greener lately by choosing reusable bags over paper or plastic. We’re killing less trees and cutting down on landfill waste. In addition, most supermarkets and big box stores give you a certain amount of cash back for using your own bags, and those pennies and nickels add up over time.

So for all of you who bring your own bags, hooray for you! But how many of you wash those bags on a regular basis? How many of you have never thought about washing those bags? A recent study found that 97% of people the people surveyed who use reusable bags have never laundered them.

Shopping bags should be treated the same way you’d treat an food storage containers. You don’t put your Pyrex and Tupperware away without washing them, do you? The same should hold true for your shopping bags. Those bags are perfect breeding grounds for various food borne bacteria. One study showed that nearly half the bags tested contained coliform bacteria, including e coli and in quantities 10 to 20 times the amount found on the average toilet seat. Now that’s disgusting!

So how do you balance what’s good for the environment with what’s good for your health? Here are a few simple rules:

1. To prevent cross-contamination, always separate your items -- meats in one bag, produce in another, dairy in a third, cleaning products in a fourth, etc. Never place any raw foods in a bag that has carried meat products.

2. Never use reusable food bags for any other purposes such as carrying gym clothes, books, water bottles, laptops, etc.

3. Never store your reusable food bags in the trunk of your car. The higher temperatures are a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

4. Wash your bags regularly in the washing machine, using bleach.

Excellent advice as always, Janice! Thanks for educating our readers.


Our Book Club Friday guest author this week is giving away a copy of one of her books. To be entered in the drawing, all you have to do is post a comment to the blog this week. -- AP