Survey finds sick people often wrongly blame their last meal

An Australian survey has revealed many people incorrectly blame food poisoning on the last thing they ate.

The Food Safety Information Council released findings from a national study ahead of Australian Food Safety Week which runs from Nov. 8 to 15. The poll conducted online in August included 1,221 people over the age of 18.

According to the survey, 66 percent of respondents recall experiencing some form of food poisoning and 51 percent of those incorrectly blame the last thing they ate.

Lydia Buchtmann, the council’s CEO, said the focus of this year’s food safety week was busting some of the myths around food poisoning or gastroenteritis.

“One of the most common myths is that it was the last thing you ate that gave you food poisoning when in fact it could have been something you may have eaten many days or even months ago,” she said.

“In the past, health authorities have had to rely on interviewing people to get them to remember what they had eaten so they could identify what made them sick. Luckily, these days we have new technologies that assist us in connecting victims with foods. Social media posts are also helping to quickly identify potential outbreaks.

“Whole genome sequencing can trace unique DNA patterns of the viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites that cause foodborne disease that can then be compared among infected people and a suspected food source, if it is available. If the same DNA is found in the food, and the people who have become ill, it suggests a common source of the problem that can then be eliminated, including removal of implicated foods from retail sales.”

Smelling food and the 5-second rule
Other myths being addressed include the belief that sanitizer is better than handwashing. Hand sanitizer does not work on some pathogens, including highly contagious viruses like Norovirus. The better option is to wash hands with soap and running water and then dry thoroughly on a clean towel.

The so-called 5 second rule is where food dropped on the floor is deemed safe to eat if picked up within five seconds. Bacteria don’t politely wait to contaminate food.

It is not possible to tell if food is contaminated by smell or taste. You can get food poisoning from items that smell and taste great. Bacteria can grow quickly in food that has been left in the temperature danger zone of between 5 and 65 degrees C (41 to 149 degrees F) with no change in the smell or appearance. 

The confusion on shelf life is another problem. “Best before” is an indicator of quality and food can be eaten safely after this date. However, you should consume food before its “use by” date.

Burgers should not be served rare. Ground (minced) meat products such as hamburgers and sausages need to be cooked until they reach 75 degrees C (167 degrees F) inside because bacteria on the outside can be transferred throughout the meat when it is ground.

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