5 Myths About Food Safety

According to the World Health Organization, every year 600 million people are made ill by contaminated food. That is 1 person in 10 worldwide. Four hundred twenty thousand of them die. In the United Stated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that each year 87 million Americans are affected, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.

Food poisoning is the result of consuming food that has been contaminated by bacteria, viruses or parasites. In the US, bacterial contamination is the main cause but all are a concern. Here are five commonly held food safety beliefs that turn out to be myths.

1. If it smells ok, it is.
Odds are that if you have food in the fridge that fails the "smell test" it gets tossed. But according to the US Department of Agriculture, the bacteria causing that spoilage may make the food taste bad, but they won't make you sick. The bacteria that will really make you ill grow at room temperature and they will not cause your food to smell or taste bad.

Don't rely on your nose to detect harmful bacteria.

2. If it's past the "best by" date, throw it out.
The "sell by", "best by", "enjoy by" and "expiration" dates on food packaging are nothing more than the manufacturer's best guess as to how long the food will taste fresh. So they are quality estimates and have nothing to do with how safe the food is to eat. It is not time that makes foods unsafe, it is that they become contaminated with bacteria - most of which originate in raw meat and poultry.

Part of the confusion stems from most people's belief that the government regulates expiration dates. It doesn't. That may change. The Food Date Labeling Act currently under consideration in Congress would require foods to use one of two regulated labels. ""Best If Used By", which is similar to today's labeling and indicates taste and quality. And "Use by", which will indicate if the food is safe to eat.

3. Sanitize kitchen sponges and dishcloths when they start to smell.
In a recent study by NSF International (a non-profit that certifies appliances, food processing equipment and water filters) 86% of household sponges and dishcloths contained yeast and mold and 77% were contaminated with coliform bacteria. Again, don't trust your nose. Sterilize sponges daily by zapping them for 2 minutes in the microwave or soak them in a dilute chlorine bleach solution. Replace sponges frequently (they are cheap).

4. You can't refreeze thawed meat.
Yeah, you can. As long as it was thawed in the refrigerator and not allowed to sit out at room temperature. While it is perfectly safe to refreeze raw or cooked meat that was thawed in the refrigerator, refreezing will make it less tender.

5. Using a hand sanitizer kills nearly all germs.
Despite what it may say on the bottle, alcohol-based hand sanitizers will not kill many parasites and bacteria, including the Clostridium which can be life-threatening. Nor are they very effective against viruses. Washing your hands with soap and water for 30 seconds is a superior preventative to any hand sanitizer. So do so often when preparing food, especially when handling raw meat or poultry.

Most bacterial contamination comes from letting food sit too long at room temperature or from transferring bacteria from raw meat and poultry to other foods. Use a separate cutting board for meats, wash your hands often and don't let foods sit out for more than an hour or so and you greatly reduce the odds of any problems. When to toss it? If you don't use leftovers within 4 or 5 days either freeze them or dump them.