QUESTION 3: FOOD SAFETY

FOOD SAFETY 

Food Poisoning: Food poisoning is most often caused by bacteria from food that has been poorly handled, stored or cooked. The food may actually look, taste and smell normal but still be no good 

Some people are more at risk from food poisoning than others, especially young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people suffering illnesses which compromise their immune systems.

The symptoms of food poisoning may vary depending on the type of bacteria or contaminants causing the illness. You may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

Nausea 

Stomach cramps

Diarrhoea

Fever

Headaches

Symptoms can occur within 30 minutes after eating, or a number of hours later. They can be mild or severe. Some bacteria can also cause other symptoms and problems. Listeria bacteria may cause miscarriage or other serious illness in susceptible people.

Food safety zone

Leaving food out to long at room temperature can cause bacteria to grow to dangerous levels that can cause serious illness. Bacteria grows most rapidly at the temperatures between 5°C- 60°C, doubling the number in as little as 20 minutes. This range is often called the Danger Zone.

Never leave food out of the refrigerator for over 2 hours. If the temperature is above 90°F. Place food in a container of ice.

Cross contamination is relevant to our week 2 cooking of the chicken parmigiana bake because we had to be careful with handling the chicken and making sure that we washed our hands before touching other foods and after every time touching the chicken.