Food Safety at Home for Organic Grown Products
Healthy Eating Demands Safe Handling of All Foods by Consumers
Sep 5, 2009
Organic products have taken the U.S. by storm. More and more consumers are demanding higher standards for the foods they eat, paying higher prices for natural ingredients and developing safer food processing methods. People are checking meat, fish, and poultry labels to learn under what conditions the animals were raised. How those organic food choices are handled at home is just as important as knowing the exact origin of the product.
This article focuses on the last link of the food industry chain – the home consumer. As with conventional foods, customers buying organic foods such as grass-fed beef, prepared food products, and organically grown produce are given safe food handling instructions on the food packaging labels. Organic and whole foods require the same safe handling procedures as conventional foods.
How Conventional Foods are Contaminated with Bacteria
Conventional foods can become contaminated by pesticides, drugs, poor growing environments, faulty processing, and contact with dirty human hands and/or equipment, just to name a few methods. Provided the food does survive the trip to the supermarket, there is still a chance the customer will contaminate the food after it has been brought home.
AOL Health (Healthy Living Feature) provides insight to some of the worst foods where deadly contaminants breed, citing highlights from an article originally printed in Men's Health magazine. Author Jim Gorman submitted the article, "The10 Dirtiest Foods You're Eating." The information was reproduced under the same title, provided as a photo gallery on AOL News (Sept. 4, 2009), and includes brief information on safe food handling as well as what consumers can do to protect themselves against getting sick. Foods such as peaches, cantaloupes, eggs, poultry, and ground beef are cited by Gorman as being some of the dirtiest foods routinely eaten by consumers.
Contrary to what some consumers believe, unwashed and unpeeled organic produce can be just as dangerous as the conventional produce. How can the foods possibly be harmful if they were grown and processed under safer, more natural conditions? If the food was shipped and handled properly en route, then how is it at risk for contamination? What about meats, poultry, fish, and the by-products of animal foods?
Organic Foods are Susceptible to Natural and Human Contamination
The harm to organic foods comes not from conventional sources, but comes instead from improper storage at home, careless preparation in the kitchen, and from people with unclean hands touching the food. At home, kitchen counter tops, cutting boards, and general conditions are often less than sanitary.
Ground beef is probably one of the most mishandled foods on the market. The packaged meat may have come from organic beef and was most likely sanitized before it left the store. But what happens after the meat gets home? What if the cook is a little careless in storing or handling the raw meat? Suppose the meat isn't cooked thoroughly on the grill? Innocent mistakes made at home can cause an E. coli infection that starts with bloody diarrhea and can end in death. Here are a few common home mistakes that can contaminate conventional and organic foods:
- Not washing hands properly or thoroughly before handling food.
- The person has long fingernails or wears rings during food preparation, transferring bacteria and germs missed during hand-washing.
- Not washing packaged vegetables, fruits, and especially packaged salad greens before use – believing such items are already clean enough.
- Plates and utensils used to cut or prepare raw foods were only rinsed and not washed with soap and water before using the items on cooked foods.
- Cutting boards were not thoroughly cleaned and bleached, or a single board was used for two more foods, causing cross-contamination. This applies to knives, utensils, and plates, as well.
- Meats, poultry, pork, or fish were not cooked to a safe temperature.
- The foods were not properly stored after cooking, allowing bacteria to grow.
- Using cracked eggs that have absorbed bacteria from handling.
Ground beef, chicken, turkey, and cracked eggs are just a small sample of the foods prone to the most common food-borne illnesses. Consumers are warned that even though meat, produce, or any other food may be labeled organic, it does not mean the food is immune or resistant to bacterial contamination. In fact, organic foods tend to spoil faster – particularly produce – as the fruits and vegetables are not treated with waxes or preservatives.
Safe food handling continues after the sale with the consumer – who may or may not practice proper food handling techniques. It's not enough to pay attention to freshness expiration dates or "use by" dates on food packaging. Unfortunately, even the best home cooks can make a mistake, but most home food contamination cases result from lack of knowledge and plain carelessness.
Smart individuals are making better nutritional choices for a healthier diet. Consumers want better quality, such as produce grown in a pesticide-free environment. Proper handling of foods, including organic foods, reduces the risk of deadly illness. The best defenses against contaminating foods at home – organic and conventional – are proper hand washing and learning how to properly store, prepare, and cook foods.
BNC101
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