Keeping Produce Safe

With so many reports of “food-borne illness” hitting the news lately, we‘re reminded of the need to keep our food safe. This means not only buying foods that are safe but also handling foods appropriately once they are in our homes.

First, be careful when buying foods.. Buy fresh-cut produce, such as cut whole fruits or bagged salad greens, only if they are refrigerated or completely surrounded by ice. Drink only pasteurized milk, juice or cider. Recent recommendations have urged consumers to avoid eating any raw sprouts.

Next, store purchased foods appropriately. Keep any perishable or cut or peeled produce in a clean refrigerator at 40 degrees F (4 degrees C) or below. Much contamination can happen right in our own fridges if we don’t keep them free of spoiled and old foods, or if we don’t keep the fridge clean. For cooked leftovers, refrigerate within two hours of removing from the heat, store at a shallow depth of only two inches to speed cooling, and keep for four days maximum.

Finally, safe food preparation techniques are necessary to keep food safe until it’s eaten. Wash hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after food preparation. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables under running water prior to preparing. Scrub any produce that you can (anything with a skin tough enough to withstand the scrubbing). Remove any outer leaves of leafy vegetables. Cook all foods until an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) is reached. Eat or refrigerate leftovers within two hours.

For today’s athletes, these safe food-handling techniques are all the more important. All health-conscious individuals, especially athletes, should be trying to increase the fresh produce in our diets to increase both vitamin and fiber consumption, and probably decrease overall calorie intake. In addition, because our schedules are so very busy, we are more likely to take advantage of some of the “convenience” types of produce offerings. As athletes who are constantly looking to improve physical performance, we will surely experience sub-par performances and setbacks in our overall training if we find ourselves experiencing a bout of food-borne illness.  So follow the above guidelines to keep your food safe.