Learn about food-borne illnesses before one hits

Thanks to traditional and online media, most of us hear about food advisories and recalls quickly.

The elderly, children and adults with weakened immune systems are generally most susceptible to food-borne illnesses. However, it pays for everyone to be aware of what common food-borne illnesses are, how to find out about recalls, and how to prevent food contamination in the home by learning the safest practices for food preparation and storage.

I don't recall hearing much about food-borne illnesses when I was growing up, other than my mother's warnings that I would get trichinosis if I did not cook pork thoroughly. (This bacteria lurks in undercooked pork and wild game, but our mothers' warnings -- and federal legislation banning the feeding of raw-meat garbage to hogs -- must have worked because there are only about 12 cases per year in the United States, according to Centers for Disease Control reports, www.cdc.gov.)

Common food-borne illness risks include salmonella, listeria and E. coli. In a list of about 65 closed and open recalls since January 2007, about one-third were connected with E. coli., 14 were listeria-based and the remainder were salmonella and other contaminants or potential allergens, according to the Department of Agriculture's Web site, www.usda.gov.

I wasn't aware of listeria until I heard recent recall announcements in the news. According to the CDC, there are at least 2,500 people per year who become seriously ill with listeria, and 500 people die from it annually. A person with listeria can have flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, nausea and/or diarrhea. Infection can spread to the nervous system, causing headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance or even convulsions.

According to the CDC, there are at least 40,000 cases of diagnosed salmonella in the United States each year, and about 600 people die per year from the illness. The CDC estimates there are probably more cases of salmonella than are reported simply because people may not recognize their flu-like symptoms of fever, diarrhea and cramping to be salmonella.

Most people who are infected with salmonella recover in about seven days without treatment. Serious cases of salmonella can be effectively treated with antibiotics. Since bacteria are found in raw meats and eggs, people should not eat raw eggs or any products containing raw eggs (such as uncooked cookie dough). You should also avoid cross-contamination of other foods when preparing raw meats and chicken at home by washing counters, utensils and hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water after handling raw meats.

E. coli is another food-borne illness we hear about frequently. Based on a 1999 estimate reported by the CDC, 73,000 cases and 61 deaths due to E. coli occur in the United States each year. Infection with E. coli often leads to bloody diarrhea and occasionally leads to kidney failure.

It is most commonly associated with eating undercooked, contaminated beef as well as from eating contaminated leafy, green vegetables such as spinach and lettuce. The bacteria can be found on cattle farms and, to my dismay as a mom, is commonly found in petting zoos.

Food-borne botulism, another frequent warning of my mother's, occurs only about 28 times per year in the United States. About 8 percent, or two patients die per year from botulism.

The best way to stay current on the products that have been recalled is to take advantage of the many free information resources provided by multiple government agencies. The FDA and the USDA work together to provide food recall information, and they have developed a comprehensive Web site called www.recalls.gov. You can find current recalls, subscribe to e-mail newsletters that will let you know the latest information available, and search their database for specific product or company names. You can also send questions to their e-mail contact at info@cpsc.gov.

Another user-friendly resource provided by the FDA is www.askkaren.gov. To get information by phone, you can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, (888) 674-6854), from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.