Cooking Tips to Avoid Bacterial Infection

Sept. 15, 2006 — -- Health officials say consumers should not eat fresh bagged spinach, after 20 states reported dozens of new cases of E. coli, including one that ended in death.

Here are some guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for food preparation to help you reduce the risk of bacterial contamination:

During food processing, other foodborne microbes can be introduced from infected humans who handle the food, or through cross contamination from some other raw agricultural product.

The way that food is handled after it is contaminated can also make a difference in whether an outbreak occurs. Many bacterial microbes need to multiply to a larger number before enough are present in food to cause disease. Given warm moist conditions and an ample supply of nutrients, one bacterium that reproduces by dividing itself every half hour can produce 17 million progeny in 12 hours.

As a result, lightly contaminated food left out overnight can become highly infectious by the next day. If the food were refrigerated promptly, the bacteria would not have multiplied at all. In general, refrigeration or freezing prevents virtually all bacteria from growing but generally preserves them in a state of suspended animation.

What can consumers do to protect themselves from foodborne illness in fruits and vegetables?