PRIVATE MENTOR / HOUSEHOLD / Food Safety

Posted: 5 Dec 14

BASIC FOOD-HANDLING CONSIDERATIONS

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1.  Purpose

Just a quick bulletin of possible practical use to you -- and a placeholder for subsequent system-building processes.

Specifically, a couple of suggestions to help you save money, minimize food waste, and avoid poisoning yourselves or others.

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2.  Problem Solved

You open your refrigerator and are confronted with open containers.

• "Now, how long has this been here?"  
• "Hmm... looks okay... smells okay... must be okay... I think."
• "Oh, I don't know.  Better throw it out, just to be safe."

If this concerns you, then you might consider the following suggestions.

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3.  Suggested Procedural Options

DATE-MARK ALL FOOD CONTAINERS

• Keep a magic marker in the kitchen -- at all times -- even better -- several markers. (Grease pencils are good for writing on moist containers, erasable, and are, thus, very suitable for the whole job)
• When food ARRIVES -- or when you can -- re-write the expiration date ON THE PACKAGE (if available) so all can quickly see it (often they are tiny or hard to find or illegible -- and once you find it, you don't want to have to search again and again -- I don't know why some manufacturers aren't more considerate toward busy folks).
• If there is no expiration date to be found, then write the date of purchase (better than nothing -- food can lurk around for years -- and that's not all that reassuring).
• When you OPEN the food, write that date, too (like "O: 12/5/14") -- you'll be glad.
• WHEN STORING OPENED FOOD, CONSIDER PLACING THE WHOLE CONTAINER OR CONTENTS IN A ZIP-LOCK BAG AND WRITE THE DATES ON THIS.

KEEPING FOOD FROM BECOMING AN ENEMY

Here are a couple of useful Google searches:

• Shelf-life for open food
• Shelf-life for sealed food
• Food Poisoning
• To avoid food wastage
• To avoid food contamination

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Do you have something to add?  Please comment below.

David Nelson

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All Original Content © 2014, The MENTOR Enterprises / ELMS, All Rights Reserved. BUT, I hereby waive those rights, to this extent: You may freely copy and pass this along -- and are urged to do so -- as long as it's all done free of charge, unchanged, you include this statement, AND you inform me as to how it is being used -- at YOUR convenience but, hopefully soonest.

HEALTH: 16 Cancer Causing Foods You Probably Eat Every Day

Posted:   29 May 14


Purpose

Here is something you might find interesting, if not life-changing.  Also this website has a wealth of other interesting articles.  In no way is this an endorsement of the site.  It is pretty impressive to me and seems very credible -- making claims that are readily verifiable.  You may want to do some verifying before taking action.  And, of course, keep your physician "in the loop."

From the website:  NaturalOn.com  (self-reputed to be the World's number one Natural Health site)


From the Introduction to the Article

"It’s probably not something you think about every day, whether or not the foods you are eating could contain carcinogens, but with almost 1.5 million people diagnosed with some type of cancer just last year, perhaps it’s time to look at what is in our foods that could be causing such a huge number of new cancer patients. Here is a list of the top 16 foods that you most likely consume every day that may contain carcinogens or be suspected of causing cancer. [more...]"


Extra Information -- About GMO's.

You've probably been hearing the term, more and more.  Here is a Wikipedia discussion of GMO's

Eat in Good Health,

David Nelson


All Original Content © 2014, The MENTOR Enterprises / ELMS, All Rights Reserved -- BUT, I hereby waive those rights, to this extent: You may freely copy and pass this along, if you think it will do some good -- as long as it's free of charge, unchanged, and you include this statement.

USA.gov - Super Bowl Sunday: Food Safety

Posted:  28 Jan 13

On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 11:46 AM, USA.gov Team <subscriptions@subscriptions.usa.gov> wrote:

Super Bowl Sunday: Don’t Have a Food Safety Foul Whether or not your favorite team made into the Super Bowl this year, Super Bowl Sunday is always a fun day to get together with friends and family, eat lots of good food and cheer for good old fashioned American football. While eating all those delicious finger foods is easy, sometimes keeping food bacteria-free isn’t. USA.gov makes sure you keep your guests healthy with these food safety tips: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says unclean hands are one of the biggest ways to spread bacteria. With flu season in full swing right now, it’s more important than ever to wash your hands before preparing foods and make sure you do so for at least 20 seconds with soap. The USDA also suggests using one cutting board for uncooked meat and another for veggies and other foods so they won’t be contaminated with bacteria from the meat.  Prevent foodborne illness when you’re shopping for Super Bowl Sunday by staying away from canned goods that are deformed or jars that have cracked or loose lids. Make sure to refrigerate food that requires it, and dispose of food that looks or smells suspicious. Foodborne illness is like a bad halftime show – no one wants either on Super Bowl Sunday. Slow cookers and crock pots are popular cooking tools when it comes to meatballs, chili and other all American favorites. Foodsafety.gov answers some common questions about slow cooker faux pas to help you get to game time without worrying about what’s going on in the kitchen. For example, unthawed food should not go directly into a slow cooker; it must be properly thawed before you heat it up. If you have any questions about keeping your food safe before sharing it with your friends and family, Foodsafety.gov has all the information for you in one place. Learn about recent recalls and alerts from the government, how to keep all different types of food safe, how to avoid food poisoning and much more. If you have questions, contact us. STAY CONNECTED TO USA.GOV: Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Our Blog