Bilbao alert to food poisoning – Norte Exprés
The Health and Consumption Area of Bilbao City Council recalls that the summer months are a particularly critical time for food poisoning because high temperatures favor the development of microorganisms, so even more care must be taken with food poisoning.
As recorded by the Deputy Mayor and Delegate Councilor for Health and Consumption of the Bilbao City Council, yolanda ten“at this time there is a greater tendency to eat outside the home and it is more likely that food is not kept at the right temperatures, hence the need to follow a series of precautions. Simple habits that if we internalize them in our routine will avoid scares”.
For this reason, the Health and Consumption Area of the Bilbao City Council proposes the adoption of the following precautions that can prevent numerous diseases caused by improper handling or storage of food:
1. Correctly cook foods of animal origin.
Food can be contaminated by microorganisms, which can be destroyed by heat. The temperature to which the food must be subjected must be sufficient for it to reach a minimum of 70 °C in the center of the product, at least for 2 minutes. Examples:
- The tortillas must be well curdled.
- The hamburgers must be well done (more than 65ºC inside).
2. Consume food immediately after being cooked.
Avoid leaving cooked food at room temperature. It’s the best way to keep germs from spreading.
3. Properly store cooked food.
Foods that cannot be consumed immediately or leftovers that you want to keep must be stabilized in the refrigerator, below 6 °C.
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4. Sufficiently heat cooked food.
To preserve them after preparation, you can keep those foods that allow it (soups, purees, stews…) warm until consumption.
Other types of food that cannot be subjected to heat (salads, gazpachos, etc.) must be refrigerated immediately. Leftovers should be refrigerated as soon as possible, no more than 2 hours at room temperature.
It is not always possible to use leftovers from a previous meal, but if you decide to do so, heat the leftovers to the maximum temperature before consuming (70 ° C two minutes). If you use a microwave to cook or reheat food, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to choose the appropriate time and power, ensuring that the above temperature is reached.
5. Do not consume perishable foods that are exposed to room temperatureme.
In bars, cafeterias, restaurants, etc., all perishable foods must be protected by display cases and kept in adequate sanitary conditions. They must be refrigerated whenever necessary.
6. Prevent Anisakiasis
In order to prevent anisakiasis, if you are going to prepare at home raw or undercooked fish (culinary preparations such as anchovies in vinegar), do it after being kept frozen for five days at -20°C or below. This temperature is only reached in refrigerators with three stars (***) or more. If your refrigerator has less than three stars, buy the fish already frozen or keep it frozen for at least 2 weeks.
FOOD POISONINGS
They are those diseases that are produced by the ingestion of food with the presence of pathogenic germs or their toxins. Thus, the disease can originate from the ingestion of bacteria or viruses carried in the food (infection), or from toxins produced by those previously formed in the food (intoxication), or by parasitic forms in specific phases of their evolutionary cycle ( infestation).
An aspect that must not be forgotten is that microbial contamination, even high, does not have to manifest itself in the perceptible deterioration of the food. Appearance is not enough.