Are you sure you prepare food safely at home?

NEWMARKET - The Regional Municipality of York has launched the Food Safety at Home campaign, a new health communication promotion to raise awareness about the importance of safe food-handling techniques when preparing, serving and storing meals at home.

 

“Every year there are an estimated 11 to 13 million cases of food-borne illness or food poisoning in Canada,” said Dr. Karim Kurji, York Region’s Medical Officer of Health.  “Though many people believe they can only get food-borne illness from eating food prepared in restaurants or other eating establishments, the truth is that many cases actually occur from food prepared at home.” 

 

The Food Safety at Home campaign, based on the national Be Food Safe campaign, encourages residents to follow these four simple steps to reduce the risk of food-borne illness:

 

Clean:  Bacteria can easily spread throughout the kitchen.  Wash hands, cutting boards, knives and countertops with hot, soapy water before and after preparing each type of food.

 

Separate: Cross-contamination is how harmful bacteria spread.  Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood and their juices separate from foods that are cooked or ready-to eat.

 

Cook: Cooking food improperly could mean that harmful bacteria survive and make you sick.  Food is safely cooked when it reaches a high enough internal temperature to kill the harmful bacteria.  Use a probe food thermometer to make sure food has reached a safe temperature.

 

Chill: Bacteria multiply fastest at the temperatures between 4°C (40°F) and 60°C (140°F), so chilling food properly is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of illness. Have an appliance thermometer and check it often to make sure that your fridge is at the correct temperature.

 

Food-borne illness refers to any illness caused by consuming food or beverages that are contaminated with disease-causing bacteria, viruses or parasites.  Many people have had food-borne illness and may not know it as they mistake these symptoms for the flu.  Symptoms can vary and include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever.

 

For more information on food safety at home or any other health-related topic, please contact York Region Health Connection at 1-800-361-5653, TTY 1-866-252-9933 or visit the new website www.york.ca/foodsafety

 

For more information on The Regional Municipality of York, please visit www.york.ca

 

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Media Contact: Jennifer Mitchell-Emmerson, Community and Health Services, York Region
Phone: 905 830-4444 Ext. 4016 or After-hours Cell: 905 716-9753
Email: jennifer.mitchellemmerson@york.