Carouse LVFC

John Abraham asked:


The cause for food poisoning to some is consuming spoiled food which has unhealthy and perilous bacteria in it.  Food poisoning accounts for 76 million indispositions, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year.

Around 250 diseases are there around which can cause infection to people through food but out of them twoo are major and overarching types of food poisoning.   Viruses, bacteria, and parasites called  “infectious agents” is one way.  ”Toxic Agents” is another way through which food poisoning occurs.  The list includes mushrooms, foods that are not properly or fully prepared, and incompletely cleaned foods which still contain things like pesticide.  One of best ways to prevent food poisoning is through high levels of sanitation and hygiene.

There are several symptoms and effects of food poisoning as it is so intricate and there are 250 ways of diseases caused by food poisoning and as many “infectious agents”. A partial of symptoms includes:

·    nausea

·    headaches

·    vomiting

·    abdominal pain

·    diarrhea (both watery and crampy as well as bloody and even mucusy)

·    fever

·    inflammation of internal organs

·    kidney failure

·    muscles aches

·    blurry vision

·    speech problems

·    bodily weakness

·    death

There are several ways by which doctors can test for food poisoning.  Most common tests are urine and blood tests that are needed.  Lastly, rectal exam also may be chosen by doctors.  In addition to these tests, common checks like breaking rate and blood pressure are also checked by doctors.

Inspite of its intricacies, food poisoning problem can be prevented by  people in many ways.  When shopping, they can avoid purchasing packages that appear open or torn, waiting until the end of their shopping trip to buy frozen or cold items and taking them home immediately, and avoiding contact between raw foods (like meat) and other foods.  Moreover, what is most important is cleanliness.  After going to the bathroom, it is important to wash hands.  Importantly, hands should be washed before dealing with uncooked foods and also after handling them.  When actually cooking food, people can also take a number of steps to avoid food poisoning.  A meat thermometer should be used to measure the temperature of the meat when cooking meat.   Also, eating leftovers within four days is a good precaution.  Lastly, food should not be left for more than two hours outside so that it does not get spoiled.

Sometimes, people who get poisoned by food do not have control over whether they get poisoned or not.  Especially, someone falls since after eating in a restaurant, it is the fault of restaurant.  The chefs may not have cooked the food completely.  Precautions like washing hands after using toilet, or before and after handling food may not have been taken by them or others.  The restaurant may have spoiled ingredients.  {However,  it is because of the mistake committed by others that this person has fallen sick through food poisoning.

Keeping food out of the temperature range (40-140 degrees) where bacteria grow easily and quickly; keeping HOT and COLD foods as it is besides remember the famous proverb, “When in doubt, throw it out”!.

sam asked:


The term food hygiene has been defined, by Codex Alimentarius (an international organisation for the development of food standards and guidelines) as “all conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety and suitability of food at all stages of the food chain.”

As will be seen from this definition the term “food hygiene” encompasses a wide range of measures that can be applied from the growth of food products and the raising of food animals, through harvesting and slaughter, processing, delivery, storage and final sale. However, for many, food hygiene will be equated with cleanliness; the cleanliness of food premises and food handlers.

Whilst the cleanliness of those who handle food and their equipment and surroundings is essential for good food hygiene to occur it is only one of the measures necessary if food is to be safely prepared.

Of equal or perhaps even more importance in maintaining good standards of food hygiene is the avoidance of cross-contamination and good temperature control. Cross-contamination is the passing of food poisoning bacteria from contaminated, usually raw food to ready-to-eat food. Such cross-contamination can occur in three ways, direct contact of e.g. raw meat with ready-to-eat food, the drip of raw food juices such as blood onto a ready-to-eat food and the use of unwashed hands or equipment to handle both raw food and ready-to-eat food.

Good temperature control is essential if satisfactory standards of food hygiene are to be achieved. In most investigations that occur following the outbreak of a food-borne disease a failure in temperature control is identified as one of causes of the event. Foods which are suitable media for the growth of pathogenic (disease producing) bacteria - mainly moist high protein foods such as meat, eggs and dairy products - must be kept either cold or hot. They should not be allowed to languish in the danger zone between 5°C - 63°C for any longer than absolutely necessary.

This means that good food hygiene practices will include the correct storage of cold food at 5°C or below and hot food at 63°C or above. Good food hygiene will also require that food is properly cooked and if not used straightaway that it is cooled quickly to 5°C and if reheated later that this is done quickly to a good temperature.

As far as cooking and reheating temperatures are concerned for potentially contaminated foods, like raw meat and poultry, the usual recommendations in food hygiene textbooks is 75°C for 30 seconds.

Besides cleanliness, temperature control and the avoidance of cross contamination food hygiene measures will also include a safe supply of water for food preparation and cleaning, pest control and the proper training of staff in the principles of food hygiene.

The modern approach to food hygiene puts considerable emphasis on food safety management systems, which are designed to provide assurance that the correct food hygiene practices are always in place. The internationally accepted HACCP approach is now incorporated as a mandatory requirement in Food Hygiene Regulations across the globe. HACCP stands for “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” and is a system that establishes the stages in the food business that is absolutely essential (critical) for food safety and seeks to control and monitor them. Such critical controls might include thorough cooking of food, avoidance of cross-contamination and adequate refrigeration of perishable items etc.

So food hygiene really is a wide discipline and its implementation requires commitment and investment in time and money by those who carry the responsibility of providing and preparing food for consumption by the public.

Susan Thixton asked:


Last year turned out to be the worst in history for pet food recalls. While there is no way to be 100% certain that a pet food is not tainted or will be recalled, there are some red flags to look for when selecting your dog’s or cat’s food. Avoiding these common pet food ingredients can greatly improve your odds in purchasing a healthy, safe pet food.

Judging the safety or the nutritional value of a pet food starts by ignoring the advertising, the price of the pet food, and ignoring the front of the bag. The real signs to the safety of a dog food or cat food lie on the back or side of the bag or can in the ‘Ingredient Listing’. Regardless of what marketing terms (‘choice’, ‘premium’, and so on) are on the front of the bag or can of pet food, a pet owner cannot determine the quality or how safe the food is unless they look at the ingredients. With dry foods there can be 90 different ingredients (or more), with canned foods there can be 50 or more different ingredients. But don’t panic…you don’t have to understand hundreds of different pet food ingredients! You just need to be aware of a few key ingredients…pet food ingredients that you do NOT want to see in a dog food or cat food (or treats).

‘Wheat Gluten’, ‘Corn Gluten’, or ‘Rice Gluten’. These three ingredients were the bad boy pet food ingredients of 2007. Tainted glutens were found to be the cause of thousands of dogs and cats becoming ill and dying. It is not that glutens themselves are toxic to pets – these ingredients have been used in pet foods for years. The problem was the source or manufacturer of the glutens – imported from countries with far less quality standards than in the US. (The majority of glutens used in the US pet foods are from imported sources.) These imported glutens contained added chemicals that caused crystals to form in the kidneys of dogs and cats.

Not only is it important to avoid dog foods and cat foods (and dog and cat treats) that contain glutens because of the possibility of dangerous added chemicals, it is important because they add no real quality nutrition to the food. Glutens are used as a thickener AND as a source of protein in pet food. Adult maintenance dog foods must provide a minimum of 18% protein, adult maintenance cat foods must provide a minimum of 26% protein. If the meat source of the pet food does not provide enough protein, glutens are often added to boost the protein level of the pet food. The best nutrition for your pet comes from a meat protein pet food not from a gluten protein. Avoid dog foods and cat foods (and treats) that contain ‘corn gluten’, ‘wheat gluten’, or ‘soy gluten’.

‘By Products’. By-products have never been the cause of a pet food recall, but they are definitely ingredients you want to avoid feeding your pet. To give you an understanding of by-products, I’d like to compare this pet food ingredient to pies – you know, the dessert! How many different types of pies you can think of? There are apple pies, cherry pies, chocolate pies, meringue pies, meat pies, mud pies, pie in math, cow pies (yuck!) – I think you get my point. Now imagine if you purchased yourself a prepared ravioli dinner at the grocery and you looked at the ingredients and you see ‘pie’ listed as the first ingredient in your dinner. Hmmm, pie in ravioli – what kind of pie? You wouldn’t know if it was apple pie or mud pie or even cow pie. All you would know is that your dinner contained ‘pie’. Considering ‘pie’ could be anything from apple pie to cow pie – my guess is that you wouldn’t be having ravioli for dinner. Same thing with by-products in pet food.

AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials – the organization responsible for all animal feed manufacturing rules and regulations) defines by-products as “meat by-products is the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth, and hoofs. It shall be suitable for use in animal food. If it bears name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto.”

So, with respect to pet food – a by-product is a catch-all ingredient name. All left over meat materials from the human food industry are clumped into one ingredient name – by-product. There is NO certainty of what you are feeding – one batch of pet food might be more intestine by-products while the next batch of pet food might be more liver or bone by-products. There is NO way of knowing what is actually contained in the pet food ingredient by-product (the pet food manufacturers themselves couldn’t tell you exactly). Avoid dog foods and cat foods (and treats) that contain By-products of any kind…Chicken By-Products, Beef By-Products, Chicken By-Product Meal, Beef By-Product Meal, and so forth.

‘Meat Meal’, ‘Meat and Bone Meal’, or ‘Animal Digest’. These three ingredients are similar to by-products. AAFCO defines Meat and Bone Meal as “the rendered product from mammal tissues, including bone, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably to good processing practices.” Again, a catch all ingredient name for the left-over parts of animals used for human food. No consistency to what is contained in these ingredients (all three of these pet food ingredient definitions are similar) – no way of knowing what is actually in your pet’s food. Avoid dog foods, cat foods, and dog and cat treats that contain ‘meat meal’, ‘meat and bone meal’, or ‘animal digest’.

‘Animal Fat’. In 2002 the FDA tested many different brands of dog food (cat food was not tested) for the presence of the drug pentobarbital. Many brands of dog food tested positive to contain the drug. Pentobarbital is the drug used to euthanize dogs, cats, cattle, and horses.

How can the drug that is used to euthanize animals be found in pet food? The answer – euthanized animals are rendered (cooked) and the end ingredients are placed in pet food. It has long been rumored that euthanized dogs and cats (from animal shelters and veterinarian offices) is the major source of the pentobarbital in pet food. However no one has been able to prove or disprove this rumor to date. The FDA/CVM (Center for Veterinary Management) developed testing methods on two separate occasions to determine the species source of the drug. No results have ever been determined. The pet food manufacturers adamantly deny they use rendered dogs or cats – but NO clinical evidence has ever been released to confirm the pentobarbital is from euthanized cattle and horses in pet food as they claim.

However, the one thing the FDA/CVM has determined through their testing is the pet food ingredient ‘animal fat’ is the most common ingredient to contain pentobarbital. In other words, if you are feeding a dog food or cat food (or treats) with the ingredient ‘animal fat’ in the ingredient listing – you are (more than likely) feeding your pet euthanized animals. Not every batch of pet food tested that contained the ingredient ‘animal fat’ has proved to contain pentobarbital – but why would any pet owner want to take the chance? Avoid dog foods, cat foods, and dog and cat treats that contain the ingredient ‘animal fat’.

‘BHA’, ‘BHT’, ‘TBHQ’, and ‘Ethoxyquin’. These pet food ingredients are chemical preservatives and you might have to look through the entire ingredient list to find them. It is worth the look because there is plenty of clinical evidence to associate all four of these chemical preservatives with cancer and tumors (simply do a Google search on any one of these chemicals). All four of these chemical preservatives are rarely used to preserve human food and if so, are used in quantities far less than what is allowed in pet food. Avoid any dog food, cat food, or dog and cat treat that contains ‘BHA’, ‘BHT’, ‘TBHQ’, and ‘Ethoxyquin’ on the label.

‘Corn’, ‘Wheat’, ‘Soy’. While there is no scientific evidence that proves these ingredients are dangerous to pets – they are potentially dangerous ingredients associated with recalls in the past (1995, 1999, and 2005). These grains are highly prone to a deadly mold (aflatoxin). It is suggested (by AAFCO) that all pet food manufacturers test grains for the mold, but as recalls of the past have proven – that doesn’t always happen. I do not think these ingredients are as risky as others mentioned above, but they are ingredients I avoid for my own pets.

There is more to selecting a true healthy pet food for your dog or cat than avoiding the above mentioned ingredients. This is just a start - based on pet food history, AAFCO ingredient definitions, science and opinion of many pet food experts including myself. There are many quality pet foods available that do NOT use the above ingredients and that add health promoting ingredients to their foods and treats. Continue to learn as much as you can about what you are feeding your pet and ALWAYS read the labels!

Rich jammes asked:


Many of the symptoms caused by allergies are also similar to food poisoning. This is especially true of stomach upset, diarrhea, and unpleasant side-effects along those lines (see gluten allergy symptoms for some specific examples).

With the possibility of having identical symptoms, how do you know if you really have allergies, or if you are dealing with food poisoning?

First of all, the allergy symptoms are not identical to food poisoning symptoms in most cases. There are often other effects that are not the same as food poisoning.

In most cases, food poisoning is a one-off thing. Someone left the meat out of the fridge for too long. The food was contaminated during processing. One of the ingredients went bad, and was added to the dish unnoticed. There are many causes for food spoilage, but they are usually not consistent. In other words, don’t expect that since you got food poisoning from the left-overs last week, that you will get sick every time you eat left-overs.

Indigestion

Food poisoning has become a way of life for those that enjoy the taste of new types of food. The good chances of getting indigestion do not prevent them from searching for exotic restaurants where they can devour large quantities of strange and delicious food. Until severe food poisoning occurs and a hospital stay is had, the experimental eater will continue playing roulette with new types of food.

The animals in the forest and the fish in the sea understand the meaning of food poisoning very well. There is a large variety of food in the forests and in the sea, it is much larger then the variety we have in our supermarkets, but animals and fish will eat only food that they are accustomed too. Nature has provided them with that wisdom, and few break nature’s rules. If they do they will surely get sick or die. The only species that disobeys natures command to eat food that is customary is the human species. Is it any wonder that they often get indigestion and many times die?

Avoid Food Poisoning

Always wash your hands and everything else that comes in contact with food. This includes utensils, cutting boards, countertops, table ware, and cook ware. Wash hands with warm water for at least 20 seconds before handling food, after handling uncooked meat/produce and wash between preparing each type of food. Separate raw foods from other kinds of food and use a separate cutting board for meat and vegetables. Do not use the same utensils or dish ware with uncooked or other foods. Keep it out of the danger zone (40 F and 140F) by cooking it thoroughly. Check the internal temperature of meat with a clean thermometer and make sure it’s at least 140 F. It is not good enough to just eye ball it to see if it’s brown.

*Keep the area near the utensils food and food products clean.

*Wash the row food products properly before cooking.

*Don’t keep the food at the room temperature for more than two hours.

*Cook the food properly.

*Temperature of freeze should be 0 to 4 degree Celsius.

*Light charcoal barbecues well in advance, making sure you use enough charcoal and waiting until it is glowing red (with a powdery grey surface) before starting cooking.

*Always wash your hands thoroughly - before preparing food and after touching raw meat and before eating.

*Keep pets away from food, dishes and preparation surfaces.

*Keep hot food hot and cold food cold after you serve it. Never leave food out at room temperature for more than two hours, and keep it protected with a clean cover at all times.

John Abraham asked:


Food poisoning is a general term for health problems arising from eating contaminated food. There are different ways for food getting contaminated and they are by bacteria, viruses, environmental toxins or pesticides etc.. The symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea and nausea are generally attributed to the food poisoning.

The presence of poisonous substances like bacteria, fungus or toxins in the food will result food poisoning symptoms. Now a days food poisoning is very common as our vicinity is fully filled with bacteria. You may have had mild food poisoning - with diarrhea and an upset stomach - but your mom or dad just called it a stomach bug or stomach virus.

Symptoms

Whenever you were affected with food poisoning, generally doctor will first diagonise for the symptoms like upset stomach, diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps and dehydration, to more severe illness such as paralysis and meningitis. The confirmation test for food poisoning is testing the stool which finalizes whether the person is suffering from food poisoning?.

Most food poisoning effects (symptoms) on body clear up in a few days on its own. It should not be neglected if food poisoning illness is continued for more days and immediately medical attention should be given. The probability of food poison is more for children, elders, pregnant women and persons who use antacids heavily .

Causes

Consumption of contaminated food is the main source for food poisoning to an individual. These agents can include toxins, bacteria, viruses, or parasites. All contaminants are not food poisoning agents and there are more than 250 agents that causes food poisoning. No doubt the most populated bacteria is the prime agent for food poisoning. The most prevalent types of food-borne bacteria are E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter, and Shigella. The symptoms from consumption of food poisoned by bacteria appear only after 12 to 72 hours of consumption.

Poor sanitation or preparation leads to food contamination. If food handlers are not properly cleaning their hands after using toilets will certainly contaminate food. Improperly packaged food stored at the wrong temperature also promotes contamination.

Treatment

It is practically proved that without any treatment the symptoms of food poisoning disappear shortly. If symptoms are severe or persist for more than 3-4 days, talk to your doctor. But in the case of children and aged persons medical attention must be sought immediately. Keep a sample of any remaining food as well as a sample of the patient’s feces, which can be tested for the presence of infectious microorganisms. If the cause is non-infectious, such as poisonous mushrooms, you may need to be treated urgently to eliminate the poison from your body.

Treatment of food poisoning is usually aimed at preventing dehydration. In severe cases fluids and salts may be administered intravenously in hospital. Appropriate antibiotics are used depends upon the poisonous bacteria present in the food. Patients usually recover quite rapidly from an attack of food poisoning and rarely experience long lasting health consequences. In very rare cases, there is a risk of septicemia if bacteria spread into the blood stream. Both dehydration and septicemia can cause shock - a condition that is sometimes fatal. For more information on signs of food poisoning go to foodpoisoning.com.

James Noyes asked:


Constipation, bloating, lethargy, depression, and unnecessary weight gains are just some of the results of consuming what is considered a “normal” diet in the modern world today.  Many experts also feel that the current diets maintained by many people today is in fact a major contributor to the many diseases encountered in much of the modern world. Perhaps our long held traditions of cooking most of what we eat are not the best way to go.

In fact, many individuals today are re-discovering the ancient benefits associated with consuming raw foods. More and more people are beginning to realize that many of the preprocessed foods found in today’s society don’t provide nearly enough to maintain the healthy mind and body they desire. These same individuals are actually looking back to what our ancient ancestors, and even to what some of the so-called “primitive cultures” of today are eating…to re-discover the benefits of consuming a diet rich in natural raw foods.

At this point, there are probably many of you reading this who are saying “but what about the taste factor…and can we really digest uncooked food properly?” With those questions (and others) in mind, lets take a look at both the myths and benefits associated with a raw food diet.

A raw food diet can, in most cases, provide many more nutrients that the body needs for optimum health…than a diet consisting mainly of cooked foods

That fact that most raw foods are packed with far more nutrients than their cooked counterparts is one of the biggest reasons people choose to pursue a diet rich in natural raw foods. As most of us already know, the more essential nutrients we can get through our foods…the better we will generally feel.

Our body’s cells thrive with proper nutrient intake…that in turn, boost our immune systems, and increases our vitality and longevity.

Unfortunately, when most foods are cooked above 105 degrees Fahrenheit…they start to lose some of these vital nutrients necessary for cell regeneration and optimum health. Even more disturbing…is the fact that some of these foods will become more toxic to the body after they have been cooked than when they were in their raw forms.

Through proper knowledge, natural changes in food cravings, and the abundance of recipes available to the raw food advocate, raw foods can be just as tasty (or even better tasting) than cooked foods

One big complaint about raw food is the taste factor. Many feel that raw food is just not as appetizing as cooked food. While relatively speaking, there may definitely be some taste difference at first…is it really right to subject our bodies to an endless supply of excessive fats, salt, and other nutrient deficient foods and substances passed off as food (junk food) just to satisfy our currently “warped” taste buds.

As most of us have experienced in the past, when we actually begin to change to a more healthy diet…our cravings for unhealthy foods diminish also. This is also true for a diet consisting of mostly raw foods. As we consume more and more raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and other sources of raw foods…our bodies actually begin to crave these nutrient rich foods.

On top of the obvious health benefits of consuming a diet rich in raw foods, there are now many wonderful recipes available that can truly bring out the tasty natural flavors in most foods. Due to the growing popularity of raw food diets in today’s society there are now a vast array of tantalizing recipes out there that can help provide a great blend of the natural flavors associated with these raw foods…and create truly great dining experiences.

Many times, heating foods can destroy vital enzymes necessary for proper digestion

Another concern with eating a diet consisting mostly of raw foods is that it will be harder for our bodies to digest the food than it’s cooked version. In truth, when we cook foods above 105 degrees Fahrenheit…we not only cook away vital nutrients, but also destroy the enzymes necessary for proper digestion.

The valuable enzymes not only assist with digestion, but they also help with the absorption of food. Without these necessary enzymes, we tend to feel bloated, constipated, and lethargic…and lack of proper digestion actually causes us to eat more, which in turn creates weight gains.

While eating a diet consisting of just raw foods may be too intense for many, the benefits of a diet high in natural raw foods may be just what’s needed to regain a more healthy body full of vitality with just the right balance for increased longevity

Many proponents of the raw food diet feel that there is an increased “life force” associated with raw food than what can be found in cooked foods. Many people actually feel that this important life force can be cooked out of many foods…robbing us of the vital energy necessary for healthy lifestyle.

So is it necessary to totally deprive ourselves of eating less nutrient rich foods? (cooked or otherwise)

Personally, I feel there is still a place for these less nutritious foods…but as we pursue a more healthy diet consisting of a rich blend of natural raw foods, our cravings for these other inferior types of foods will become less and less.

While we have discussed some of the most important points associated with maintaining a diet high in raw foods, I encourage you to truly explore this valuable subject further…and maybe you will find that increasing your raw food intake will help provide the healthy mind, body, and soul we all seek to have.