Santa Clara County, C A. – September is National Food Safety Month and the County of Santa Clara’s Environmental Health Department is reminding the public about proper food handling to prevent you and your family from getting sick.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases each year. Common sources of foodborne illnesses include raw meat, leafy vegetables, fruits and nuts.
Salmonella, E. Coli, and Campylobacter are leading foodborne dangers that can lead to an upset stomach, a hospital visit, or even death. The good news is small steps can make a dramatic difference in minimizing these dangers.
“Simple actions can make all the difference between a healthy dinner or a visit to the doctor,” said County of Santa Clara Director of Environmental Health, Michael Balliet. “Proper hand washing, cleaning food prep areas, separating raw meats, properly cooking food to the right temperature, and chilling food after preparation can eliminate many of the risks.”
Recommended food safety tips include:
- Cleaning
- Rinse all fruits and vegetables and wash hands for 20 seconds before and after handling food
- Separating
- Don’t allow raw meat to have contact with other food
- Cooking
- Ensure all meat and eggs are cooked to a safe temperature (varies by meat type)
- Chilling
- Move cooked food to cold storage (41 degrees or below) within four hours after being served
For more information, visit www.fightbac.org.
ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multi-cultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, the sixth largest county in California. With a $8.17 billion budget, more than 70 agencies/departments and 21,000 employees, the County of Santa Clara plans for the needs of a dynamic community, offers quality services, and promotes a healthy, safe and prosperous community for all. The County provides essential services including public health and environmental protection, medical services through Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) hospitals and clinics, child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, parks, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and scores of other services, particularly for those members of our community in the greatest need.