Flowers in California

Flowers in California

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Fearing What We Eat

I'm not a big fan of food poisoning.  For that reason, I kept an online article I received about how to avoid it.  Tonight I got around to reading it.  As I may never eat again, avoiding food poisoning should be quite easy from now on.

I wash my hands, wash all food, wash kitchen linens often and err on the side of safety with food freshness.  "If in doubt, throw it out" is my guiding principle in the kitchen.  (Sadly that's the only guiding principle I really have in the kitchen.  Perhaps this explains my cooking.)  While I do take these precautions, I have never been extremely concerned about the potential for nasty culprits lurking in the food.  Apparently, according to this article, we should fear them at every turn.  It's not good news.

I don't mean to make light of the serious illnesses that foods can cause.  I know that people really suffer and it is awful that food poisoning can make people terribly sick.  What I find interesting is the number of foods about which we are warned in this article.  A partial list includes:

Raw fruits and vegetables
Shellfish and Fish
Poultry and Eggs
Canned Foods
Meat, Stew and Gravy
Sandwiches, Salads and Pastries
Processed Foods

That doesn't leave a lot to relax and munch on.

We should follow safe food practices.  I think, though, that we can only do so much to be careful.  I don't know that it's helpful to learn the dangers associated with each food.  Any food, if improperly handled, can be a problem.  The article mentioned that risk too.  Unfortunately, there is never a guarantee of food safety.

I will delete the article and proceed with my established safety procedures in the kitchen.  My cooking may lead to frequent disappointment, occasional signs of hope and a degree of confusion but I don't want to add fear to the mix.  Things are fine just the way they are.

JAHD

1 comment:

  1. It's easy to get wrapped up in all of this stuff, isn't it? There's a real culture of fear that the media and advertising creates.... I'm not arguing with the food poisoning thing...that's for real. good for you for sticking to your routine - it's worked so far, right? :)

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