people getting sick at fast food places?

Question

more and more you hear about people getting sick eating at places like taco bell. I am such a worry wart and now would love to know how i can aviod getting sick from food i make at home. any ideas on how i can prepare foods to make sure they are safe to eat?

Answer 1

Yes, because of the Ecoli. You can prevent the disease by making your food well done !!!

Answer 2

Well, in truth, the contaminated food at Taco Bell was fresh uncooked scallions (otherwise known as green onions). They were contaminated with the E.Coli bacteria which came from the manure the crops were grown with.

There is no way for you to avoid getting contaminated food like this for your own personal use (they had the same problem with bagged spinach... they had to pull it out of ALL grocery stores for a time) and since most people don't cook scallions before they use them there isn't a way to kill the E.Coli. However you can do a few things to avoid buying contaminated fresh foods, like for starters going to a private, local produce grocer. Perhaps you have a Saturday Market where all your local growers come out to sell their stuff?

As things stand, E. Coli isn't often deadly but has symptoms more along the lines of food poisoning. It is dangerous if you're already ill and thus have a compromised immune system or if you are too young or old to have a full-strength immune system.

Nonetheless, I'm sure you'd rather not take the chance of being one of the few healthy mid-aged people to die from the bacteria so really, I'd be taking steps to buy local as often as you can - not just now but always. Or perhaps find an organic market around your parts. They have intensely strict guidelines for growing their food. Either way you go, there are so many benefits to buying better quality produce and locally grown means you'll be eating foods that are in season! Yum!

Answer 3

People often say I ate at a takeaway place a few hours ago and then got sick. I got food poisoning. That is not necessarily true. Although many people want to associate their discomfort with the last meal they ate because that's the meal that came back up, you can't make that assumption. Incubation periods for the bacteria and viruses that cause food-borne illnesses range from several hours to several weeks. For most types of food-borne illness the time elapsed between ingestion and symptoms will be 24 to 72 hours. It could have been something you ate two days ago. If you really had gotten food poisoning from a restaurant there would be other reports. The only true way to know if you got food poisoning is to go to the doctor. He will take stool and urine samples and pinpoint exactly what the problem is.

Answer 4

Good for you for wanting to cook at home, much better. First things first: get a food thermometre. The most likely food for contamination is meat that's not prepared properly.

Most recipes and food guides explain to you the minimum temperature of food, and if they don't, you can certainly find it online. Make sure all your food, both meat and vegetables, are fresh and washed thoroughly before using to cook.

When you use cutting boards, if you can, use two seperate ones - one for meat items and one for non-meat. Also, if you can, use a plastic one for meat. Wooden cutting boards absorb nasty things from meat sometimes. If you can't help it, wash the board ridiculously well.

And finally, this may seem like a "duh" statement, but make sure your environment is clean and sanitary before, during, and after your cooking adventure. This should avoid all throwing up mishaps.

Answer 5

wash your hands regulary. Rinse your vegetables and make sure that even something like a melon is washed because believe it or not it has salmanla (sp) in between the layers of the skin and the actual fruit. Make sure to keep your food between good temperatures. If your cooking meat a good temperature to cook all meat to is 165. all poultry type of food is the food that has to be the longest highest temperatures and 165 is up to temp. make sure to seperate your food from one another. dont put vegetables that you are about to cut up next to the chicken that is not cooked. if defrosting food keep meat on a lower shelf in the fridge than what you would your fruit and vegetables. keep your hands clean before you go on to touching the next thing. Dont touch food when you have an open wound. make sure to keep the wound covered. there are lots and lots of things to do to keep yourself and your family safe from food sickness. Foods shouldnt be left out in the open. Refriderate. all food should not be kept between 38 and 130 F this is called the "danger zone" bacteria can form and cause illness. keep your hands always clean!!!

Answer 6

Boy, I tell ya, I prefer to eat at home where I know my food is safe. You got to wash those fresh veggies tho. Ever notice salad from restaurants sometimes tasted like they didn't wash it first?

That's not good. Eat at home as much as you can. If you do want to eat out, opt for the fancy places, as they are more careful about preparing food it seems. You never hear of those places getting ill.

Answer 7

wash all your vegetable and fruits. cook all your meats thoroughly, because you know eating raw or undercooked meats can make you sick. when you cook chicken wash anything it's been on like a cutting board immediately so bacteria doesn't spread. wash your hands. and try to be the one to cook your own food. that way you'll know how the food is handled.

Answer 8

well a girl won a metal cuz she proved in fast food places their toilet water is cleaner then thier drinckin water so dont drink da water

Answer 9

Follow the link below for everything you need to know about food safety.

Answer 10

Hand washing, clean cutting boards, clean utensils, wash all produce...and use a meat thermometer for those larger pieces of meat....also check those expiration dates on the products you buy.

Answer 11

Buy a cook book, and make your meal safely at home with love and tender care