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/MONEY MATTERS WITH SHEILA--WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Over the last year we’ve all been scared by stories of contaminated food -- e coli in hamburger meat and salmonella in eggs are but two of recent outbreaks across the country. But besides FDA food recalls, when do you know whether it’s safe to eat what’s in the back of the fridge, even if it smells OK? Health editor Janice Kerr and money guru Sheila Conway got together today with some important food tips. -- AP

Thanks, Anastasia! Did you know that the average family of four tosses out over 1400 pounds of food a year? That amounts to about $600 in groceries down the garbage disposal. And yes, if the milk smells sour, or there’s blue fuzzy stuff growing in the cottage cheese, there’s no question as to whether or not you should keep it. However, many families toss out perfectly good food based solely on the date stamped on the package. So here are some tips about those dates.

The “use by” or “best if used by” date is the last day the item is at its highest quality. After that there will be a gradual decline in the taste, appearance, texture, odor, or nutritional value of the food.

The “sell by” date is meant as a notice to stores to remove the item from its shelves after that date. This is because the quality of the product will begin to decline after this date.

Here are some storage lengths for common foods:

MILK: Whether opened or unopened, properly refrigerated milk will last 1 week after the “sell by” date.

COTTAGE CHEESE: 7-10 days if the package is open, 1 week after the date on the package if unopened.

YOGURT: 7-10 days beyond the “sell by” date whether opened or unopened.

SOUR CREAM: 10-14 days beyond the date on package.

RAW BACON: 3-5 days for an opened package, 1 week after “used by” date for an unopened package.

COLD CUTS: 3-5 days for an opened package, 1 week beyond “use by” date for an unopened package.

RAW CHICKEN: 1-2 days.

GROUND BEEF: 1-2 days.

FRESH IN THE SHELL EGGS: 3-5 weeks beyond the “sell by” date.

MAYONNAISE: 3-4 months after opening if refrigerated, 30 days past expiration date for unopened, refrigerated jar.

Cross-contamination and unsanitary conditions are the primary causes of food-related illnesses. To keep food from becoming contaminated, follow these simple rules:

1. Always thoroughly wash your hands before handling food.

2. Store foods at proper temperature.

3. Cook all foods thoroughly and to the proper temperature for each food.

4. Wash all fresh produce.

5. Keep raw foods away from other foods.

Thank you, Janice and Sheila, for looking out for our health and our pocketbooks. -- 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