Just in time for barbecue season, the U.S Department of Agriculture is launching a new initiative to educate consumers about how to protect themselves from food-borne illness. Health Blog reports:
While most food-borne illnesses have declined in the U.S. in the last fifteen years, infections from salmonella, the most dangerous bug, have held steady over the same period, and actually rose 10% in 2010 compared to the 2006-2008 period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The USDA campaign will draw on the four-part mantra of safe food handling: clean hands and surfaces often; separate foods like meat and vegetables to avoid cross-contamination; cook foods to the proper temperature and use a meat thermometer and chill food promptly in the refrigerator if not consuming after cooking.
The entry also references a Cornell study from last year, which showed that many consumers may be lax about safely handling food in the home.
Previously: Everything you ever wanted to know about hand hygiene and Report shows the high cost of foodborne illness
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