final paper draft

Julisa Centeno

Eng101 Final Draft

12/4/13

Dr. Jason Smith

 

                                                How dirty is your food?

 Ever thought about how dirty your food is? Many people never clean their hands or the surfaces they cook on, they also don’t separate their foods. Cross contamination is the process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one substance to another, with harmful effect. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention every year in the United States over 48 million illnesses occur, there are over 128,000 hospitalizations, and more than 3,000 deaths caused by organisms that cause harmful even fatal diseases.  I believe all people should join The Partnership for Food Safety. Every year billions of people get sick from foodborne bacteria. The Partnership for Food Safety’s mission is to put an end to illnesses and deaths from foodborne illness in the United States. They teach us why washing your hands and surfaces are extremely important when dealing with food, why separating your food avoids cross contamination that may cause fatal diseases, and why cooking your food to the proper temperature can kill bacteria that can kill you or the people you love.  These three simple steps can avoid many foodborne illnesses such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Norovirus.

Bacteria can spread across anything and on to anywhere. Before touching any type of food one must always make sure to wash their hands often with warm water for at least thirty seconds before and after handing any type of food.  Washing your hands and surfaces often make a huge difference. When washing your hands and cleaning surface you can avoid bacteria that can spread on the any forks, spoons, knifes, and plates that you eat on. When cleaning any surface it is often a good idea to use paper towels that can be thrown away. Many times when using cloths bacteria gets stuck within, causing the bacteria to transfer from one counter to another. When deciding to use cloths it is a good idea to often put the cloths in a pot with boiling water and steam them. This causes all bacteria to die, which avoids any type of bacteria to travel within your home. Many times it is never noticed how many things are touched throughout the day that carries bacteria, yet it is still managed to go to fast food restaurants and eat food without washing your hands. Washing your hands is not only one of the most important things to do, it is a crucial to do to avoid bacteria or any type of food borne illnesses that can be fatal.

            Most times cross contamination causes bacteria to spread. When cooking any type of raw meat it is never good to cut the meat on the same cutting board as to where you cut your vegetables. Doing so can cause many types of bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Norovirus. E. coli is a type of bacteria that may cause diarrhea, problems breathing, vomiting and even urinary tract infections also known as (UTI’s). Salmonella is another type of bacteria that causes fever, headache, and cramps. Although it is not deadly it is extremely painful and lasts up to a week. Norovirus is a very common virus.

Undercooked food is never healthy.