Food Hygiene Essentials

Most of us in the western world think of dysentery or “Shigella” as a disease of the summer months. Have you ever thought why? Firstly, is it true? Is dysentery a disease of the summer months?

Ok, now I’m going to confuse you a little more because the answer is yes and no. No because dysentery is not only a disease of the summer months and yes because it is mostly proliferated throughout the western world during the summer months, but why?

Dysentery is a disease that is spread via contaminated food and water. A lot of our summer produce is picked in warmer regions of the world where the water sourses osed to irrigate and to wash produce before packing may not be of the best quality and may contain many contaminants. In addition, workers who pick and pack produce may be carriers of certain types of dysentery causing bacteria.

Another major cause of dysentery during summer months for westerner’s is travelling to warmer climates. Whereas locals in many areas of the world may have developed immunities to many bacterial and protozoic species, all of these may be new for us. By being tempted to eat as the locals do we are often exposing ourselves to sources of food and water contamination.

Dysentery is caused by several major causes lets have a look at a couple of them.

Bacterial Dysentery. Bacterial dysentery is caused primarily by the bacterium Shigella dysenteriae. The disease it causes is called shigellosis. This bacterium is a gram negative, non motile, rod shaped, non spore forming facultative anaerobic species that produces a toxin called shiga toxin which is what causes the reaction which we know as dysentery.

Allow me to translate that mouthful of scientific jargon for you. Firstly Gram testing is a form of bacterial staining devised by a man called Mr. Gram which adheres to proteinous outer shells but not to fatty shells. As the vast majority of gram negative bacteria have a Lipopolysaccharide outer shell the dye will not stick, therefore the bacteria are classified as gram negative. Non motile means that they have no mechanism by which they can propel themselves within the medium they are in. Non spore forming means that the bacterium does not have the capability of reducing it’s structural size to permit it to survive periods when conditions are not suitable for bacterial growth, hibernating in short. Facultative anaerobic means that it can live in an oxygen rich environment or in one which is void of oxygen. It is usually when in the anaerobic phase that facultative bacteria will produce their toxins.

The symptoms of dysentery are high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, severe dehydration. Shega toxin is a potentially deadly toxin. Patients with dysentery may experience projectile diarrhoea and projectile vomiting simmultaneously. This is a very unpleasant condition which I have experienced personally. With this disease fluid intake is vital even if that means via infusion and a strict hygiene regeme is vital to rule out the possibility of re infection. Recovery usually takes anything between one to two weeks but in many areas of the world high mortality is common due to improper conditions with which to treat this condition. Mortality rate is particularly high in children and the elderly.

Amoebic Dysentery. This form of dysentery is also spread by the ingestion of contaminated food and water. It is caused by a cyst forming amoebic species. The disease is called intestinal amoebiasis.

This disease is most common in the developing world but not only. One case was reported in St. Petersburg which is quite close to the artic circle. Both bacterial and Ameobic Dysentery are prevelant in developing countries and often get confused. Most cases of travellers dysentary are in fact bacterial or viral in origin. Amoebic dysentery is a parasitical disorder and will not be effected by antibiotics. This form of dysentery may cause infection and enlargening of the liver and blood in stools. Other symptoms remain very much the same as in bacterial dysentery. Metronidazole is the preferred treatment for Amoebic Dysentaty.

Note. Not all species of amoebae are cyst forming.

You will find the transcript of a recent article below in which US officials blatantly play down the dangers of  food poisoning by stating that overall although food poisoning is very unpleasant it does not cause many deaths.

I would like to stongly protest against this type of polotician’s manipulation of facts and misreprisentation of the function and the environmental importance of the food hygiene authorities. Yes, I agree that overall there are not so many deaths caused by food poisoning compared to some other forms of death. But is not heart attack brought on by the ingestion of too much salt in the diet a type of food safety issue? And is not every death of a person poisoned by food one too many? What kind of talk is this? Not to mention the suffering of hundreds of sick people. This is a pointless statement the purpose of which is merely to shift attention from the issue at hand to other areas of concern.

It is true that food hygiene inspectors are hard pressed to cover all their territory but their work is crucial because it keeps the awareness of the need for food hygiene in the mind’s eye of suppliers. If only consumers knew how many times they walked on a food hygiene knife edge during the course of their lives!

The potential for catastrophy in areas of food contamination is extreme. Bacteria such as Yerisinia, Anthrax,vibrio, tuberculosis, clostridium, listeria salmonella, e-coli, mycotoxins from molds, amoeba, virus’ and deadly parasites are but a hairs breath away from being put on out tables, literally. It doe’s not take much laxing of reglation enforcent in the area of food hygiene to reach a level where these bacteria will be commonly ingested. Unscrupulous people who are always on the look out for the chance to make a quick buck will exploit any and every opportunity which comes their way. If they get the chance.

Emplyees who do not receive sick days from their employer will do everythig they can to mask the fact that they are in no condition to work with food. People who are not educated in hygienic ways from their home environment will do everything to avoid washing hands, cleaning under nails, showering and brushing teeth simply because they hate being told what to do by others especially if their superiors are not part of their own cultural groups.

In addition I would not advise people, especially the elderly, to eat too much peanut butter!

I consider the comments made in this article to be highly irresponsible. See if you agree with me.

The Article

“ALBANY — After an outbreak that sickened hundreds and brought the peanut industry under the spotlight, officials addressed public concerns on food safety.
As a finale to the health department’s “Lunch and Learn” series, officials presented a presentation on prevention of food borne illnesses Thursday.

“Part of leading a healthy life, is handling food in a correct manner,” Dougherty County Environmental Health Director Jim Pericaud said.

Based on Thursday’s presentation, officials estimate that one is 130 times more likely to die from a heart attack than a food borne illness. Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that 200 diseases are transmitted through food, with 76 million such cases occurring each year. Of those, 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die.

“Food poisoning does not have a high morality rate, but it’s not a pleasant occurrence,” Pericaud said.

In essence, the best advice is to practice basic food safety at home and to examine restaurant procedures. At restaurants, the advice given by Pericaud was to pay attention to food temperature, employee conduct (i.e. hand washing, hair restraints) and to inspect the dining room environment.

“If customer areas are not being kept clean, the kitchen is probably just as bad or worse,” Pericaud said.

Part of practicing food safety can also pertain to grocery shopping. The best method is to shop for the frozen food items last, to ensure they do not spoil, and to check the code dates on items as well as the general housekeeping of the store.

“You want (frozen food items) in the freezer until the last possible minute,” Pericaud said. “Don’t let that food spoil.”

At home, officials recommend people to practice proper thawing and cooking practices, serve food immediately after cooking, put leftovers away and to clean and sanitize food contact surfaces with a capful to a gallon of water worth of bleach.

In regards to the food that may be left behind, or even before the food is cooked in the first place, what makes a difference in how much bacteria is on the food comes down to temperature.

“Over time, anything you put in the refrigerator will grow bacteria,” he said. “If you put food in the freezer, that stops bacteria growth dead.”

For thawing in particular the microwave, the refrigerator, a cold stream of water or even putting food on the stove frozen all work as good methods. Although, before any of that is done, it is always best to conduct a practice common for preventing bacterial transmission — hand washing.

“The hands transmit a lot of bacteria,” Pericaud said. “Even if you wash your hands with regular soap you are going good.”

At the end of his presentation, Pericaud pulled out a peanut butter sandwich and began to eat it — which answered a question that has been on a number of minds after a salmonella scare sickened hundreds nationwide.

“Peanut butter is a very safe and nutritious type of food,” he said. “I would not stop eating peanut butter.”

Pericaud’s presentation wrapped up a four-day series which has been held in observance of National Public Health Week, and attracted more than 150 people. Given the attention it pulled, officials are confident that the series successfully carried out the health department’s mission.

“This goes back to our main areas of our work, which is prevention. Every year we have so many illnesses because of how food is handled,” Dougherty County Health Department Adult Health Director Vamella Lovett said. “(The series) was very successful. It’s outstanding people took the time to come out.”

Pericaud’s presentation was one of two held Thursday. The other offering was “Be Active: Walk, Run, Roll,” by David Cooper, health promotion coordinator for the Southwest Health District”.