Healthy Lifestyle

Healthy Lifestyle - Dining dangerspublished: Saturday November 1, 2008
Heather Little-White, Contributor

As you contemplate where to eat during The Gleaner-sponsored Restaurant Week, you may be salivating about the delectable menu offerings. However, you should also wonder if your restaurant of choice is a breeding ground for bacteria and other illness-causing bugs.
Food poisoning is a painful dilemma which could ruin your plans for a memorable dinner. The most vulnerable are the elderly, the young and persons who already have weakened immune systems. It's just as easy to get food-borne diseases at any fast-food restaurant as it is in fancy five-star restaurants where reservations are required before dining.
Bacteria-causing illnesses

The most common food-borne illnesses which may have their genesis in a single meal are caused by bacteria such as salmonella, camplybacter, E. coli and a group of viruses known as the Norwalk-like viruses. Symptoms may cause you to become sick in a couple of hours after tasting tainted food. You may start to experience cramps, nausea, diarrhoea, fever, vomiting and dehydration.
The spectrum of food-borne diseases is constantly changing as several important diseases of unknown cause result from such complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States estimates that 76 million cases of food-borne illnesses occur each year with more than 5,000 deaths.

Contamination

Food-borne diseases are common and there are many avenues for contamination if precautions are not taken during production and meal preparation. Healthy animals may not be of themselves contaminated but during slaughter, meat may come in contact with contaminated contents of the intestines.
Fruits and vegetables may be contaminated if washed in water contaminated with animal manure or human waste.
Food poisoning can be caused by oysters and other filter-feeding shellfish contaminated with human faeces in the sea. During processing, food-borne microbes can be introduced into food by unwashed hands of humans who are infected; by cross-contamination from raw agricultural products; or when microbes are transferred among cutting boards and kitchen utensils. Foods should be cooked properly and stored according to the prescribed temperatures.

Be alert
Despite the risks of dining out, you should not shelve the experience. There are a number of things you can look out for to ensure your restaurant of choice is up to public-health standards. Checks done before the visit will give you some peace of mind as you anticipate having a delectable meal and a pleasant dining experience.
Even if you are used to a particular restaurant, standards could fall if there are new employees or change in management. Management will not deliberately serve bad food as this is the worst form of advertising.

Heather Little-White, PhD, is a nutrition and lifestyle consultant in the Corporate Area.

Do your homework before digging in
· Check out the restroom
Indications of poor bathroom hygiene include overflowing waste-paper baskets, lack of toilet paper, inadequate soap, running water, paper towels or a hand dryer. If the bathroom is well maintained, it suggests that the same standards could apply to the kitchen. If employees use the same restroom as patrons, there should be a sign reminding employees to wash their hands after using the toilets.
· Assess the servers
Are they wearing clean clothes? Are fingernails short and clean? Are hands free from open sores and burns? Is hair netted up and is personal hygiene up to par?

· Inspect food presentation
Meat, poultry and fish should appear cooked. Send it back to the kitchen if it looks suspect. Cooked foods should be served hot and cold foods served cold. Fresh foods such as fruits and vegetable salads should look and smell fresh. Salads should be cold and crisp and salad bars should be regularly refreshed. Foods on self-serve buffet lines should be replaced, not refilled, as the number of persons who passed through may not have taken proper hygiene precautions while serving themselves.
· Public-health inspection report
Check out the restaurant's most recent public-health inspection report. The Public Health Department checks on things that you will not be able to see, such as temperatures of refrigerators/ coolers, sanitising procedures, lighting, storage procedures and garbage disposal.

· Signs of insects and rodents?
Signs of rodents, roaches, flies or any other insects and evidence of droppings from rodents or signs of a rat trap indicate that there is inadequate sanitation and pest control.
· Observe serving procedures
Do servers touch the rim of the glasses or parts of the silverware that go to the mouth? Do they hold that part of the plate where food is served? When serving refills, does the rim of the pitcher touch the glass? Are glasses to be refilled taken to the food-preparation area? Are used plates, silver and glasses mixed with clean utensils and food?
· Beware of leftovers
Select manageable portions of food to prevent taking home food in boxes (doggie bags). The danger is the two- or three-hour time between when the food is served and when it gets home to be stored safely.
· Management's attitude
Management's attitude to a problem you may identify will indicate whether you should patronise that restaurant again.
As you select foods to tantalise your palates during your dining experience, take all precautions to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses, which could leave you with a nightmare you'll never forget.