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FOOD SAFTY

Food safety guidelines are important to follow when your immune system is weakened by HIV. Germs can be passed to you from food that is undercooked or handled improperly. A food-borne illness can make you very sick. Symptoms of food poisoning can include fever, nausea, vomiting, cramping and diarrhea. The following guidelines can help you protect yourself from getting food poisoning when you are preparing and storing food.

Preparing Food

• Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly with warm water, a mild soap and a soft bristle brush.You can also use a mixture of 1/2 cup lemon juice to a gallon of warm water.Or, you can remove the skin or the peel from fruits an vegetables before you eat them.
• Cook meat, poultry and fish to a medium or medium-well stage so that they are barely pink. Do not eat rare meat poultry or raw fish or seafood, including sushi or steamed clams.
• Thaw frozen meat and poultry on a plate in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.
• Drink pasteurized milk only. Unpasteurized milk or dairy products can carry Salmonella.
• Do not use eggs that have cracks in their shells. Boil eggs for at least five minutes or fry eggs for at least 3 minutes on each side.
• Avoid eggs that are lightly poached or prepared over easy.
• Also avoid food containing raw or partially cooked eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, homemade ice cream and eggnog, raw cake or cookie batter, Caesar's salad and the Spanish drink, ponche.
• Do not eat soft ripened cheeses, such as Brie and Camembert.
• Throw away moldy cheese.
• Do not eat directly from a storage container because bacteria from your mouth can make the food spoil faster.
• Do not use the spoon you eat with as a serving spoon.
• Make a dilute bleach mix by adding 1-2 tablespoons of bleach to a gallon of warm water. Use this mix to clean ki chen utensils and cutting boards before and after preparing food.
• Plastic cutting boards are easier to clean than wooden cutting boards.
• Wash your hands with warm, soapy water before and after preparing food.
• Storing Food Refrigerate food that you do not intend on eating immediately. If you are making a large amount of food, divide portions into small containers and refrigerate so that the food cools quickly and bacterial growth is slowed.
• Cover food tightly with plastic wrap or store in air tight containers to retain freshness.
• Do not allow drippings from defrosted food to touch other food in the refrigerator.
• Refrigerate all cooking and salad oils. Oils can become rancid when stored for long periods of time at room temperature.
• Do not eat leftovers that have been sitting in the refrigerator for more than two days.
• Do not eat food beyond the expiration date stamped on the container.