Does the "flu bug" frequent your work place? Did you ever think it might be a food-borne illness? Often symptoms are the same: stomachache, diarrhea, vomiting. They can occur anywhere from a half hour to two or more weeks after eating a contaminated food. Have you ever heard comments around your office such as the five that follow?
WORKER NO. 1:
"Too often I've seen the catered lunch delivered around 11 a.m. (who knows how long it sat out during the delivery process), served at noon,left sitting in the conference room till 1:30 p.m., and then leftovers offered to staff."
FOOD SAFETY TIP
Never leave perishable food -- such as milk, cheese and other dairy products; eggs; meat; poultry and seafood -- at room temperature over two hours. Once fruits and vegetables are cut, it is safest to also limit their time at room temperature to a couple of hours.
WORKER NO. 2:
"Recently I saw an episode of Seinfeld on "double-dippers." They were the people who stood around the chips and would dip, bite, and eat. Followed by dip, bite, and eat WITH THE SAME CHIP! This could have been filmed at our office!"
FOOD SAFETY TIP
The best defense may be a good offense on this one. Beat the double-dippers to the dip; put enough dip on your plate to enjoy with all your chips.
WORKER NO. 3:
"We have a dishcloth in our break room that is used for everything from cleaning the sink and table to washing coffee cups. I've seen this same dishcloth there for the past two months. It started out white 97- it's now sort of a dingy gray. I think it's probably putting more germs on things than it's wiping off."
FOOD SAFETY TIP
Encourage the use of disposable paper towels to wipe off the sink and tables. Place your food on a napkin or paper towel rather than directly in contact with the table surface.
Either wash coffee cups in a dishwasher or wash them with hot, soapy water using a freshly cleaned dishcloth, then rinse with hot water, then air-dry. Don' t re-contaminate clean dishes by drying them with dirty towels -- especially towels that also are used as hand towels! If you have little control over how cups are cleaned, bring your own cup that you can clean appropriately. Also keep on hand some special cups for when you serve coffee to your visitors.
WORKER NO. 4
"I don't think we ever remove anything from the refrigerator at work. One day when I couldn't find room for my lunch bag in it, I started pitching things. I tossed everything that was past the 'use by' date on the label. The refrigerator was almost empty by the time I got done."
FOOD SAFETY TIP
Some companies have a policy of once a week tossing all foods left in the refrigerator. They may even have a sign on the refrigerator so no one is caught unaware. A food is "saved" only if there's a note on it requesting it be left until a specific date.
WORKER NO. 5:
"I'm surprised by the number of people who don't wash their hands after going to the restroom. And then they put their hands in the popcorn bowl in the break room."
FOOD SAFETY TIP
There's a cartoon where a person is leaving the restroom and a big sign above the door flashes a warning to everyone: "Didn't Wash Hands!" A more subtle strategy might be to place a hand-washing poster in restrooms in a prominent place! Many local health departments have posters you can use. If you'd like to make your own poster, here's an idea adapted from a Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Conference. Draw an outline of your hands with the 10 fingers and thumbs spread apart. Use the caption: "The 10 Most Common Causes of Food-Borne Illness. Wash Hands Often!" Added tip: people who don't wash their hands probably won't look at a poster above the sink! Consider placing posters at eye level inside bathroom stalls and in front of urinals.
Hand-washing is considered the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Truly, your health may be in your hands!
FINAL THOUGHTS
As new strains of bacteria emerge and as we depend more on each other for keeping food safe, it's important that we all handle food safely. But until then, consider . . . snacking at the office is a frequent contributor to weight gain. Who knows? If you avoid some of the office foods you feel are handled improperly, you may have less "flu," plus lose that extra 10 pounds!