"Ate scrambled eggs and ended up in the infectious disease": 5 products that deteriorate quickly and unnoticed
'02.05.2021'
Source: Life hacker
One girl was sorry to throw yesterday's salad. And one boy thought that the fish could be kept in the fridge for days. They both did not come to work that day ...
We don't want to scare you, but this is really serious. In 2018, the WHO named food poisoning as one of ten threats to human health. On this list, they go along with natural disasters and malaria. Life hacker.
Every year, 600 millions of people fall ill due to spoiled or infected products. This is about every tenth inhabitant of the planet.
Some pathogen bacteria are difficult to spot. From them the food does not become covered with a multi-colored mold and does not smell like a cat tray. These vile products will look great and ask in your mouth. But you do not give in: watch the storage conditions and process food well. We tell where you can lurk a threat.
1. Eggs
- What is the danger: Salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens can live in a raw egg and on its shell.
- How to avoid: wash before use, bring to readiness.
Before eating, you need to wash not only hands, but also eggs. And not all packaging at once, but as it is consumed. In factories, chicken eggs are treated with hydrogen peroxide. Disinfection increases their shelf life, and when you rinse off this substance, the bacteria on the shell multiply faster.
“It is enough to rinse eggs for boiling under running water. It is preferable to cook them hard-boiled, that is, not less than 10-15 minutes. To disinfect eggs for cream or dough, it is better to wash them with soap or hold them in a soda solution before use, ”says Olga Bondarchuk, infectious disease specialist of the highest qualification category.
Raw eggs are a particular hazard: in custard, desserts, Caesar sauce. For example, tiramisu can be prepared only from the freshest eggs and left to soak exclusively in a cold place.
What can happen
“Once, after work, I didn’t have the strength to cook, so I decided to fry eggs. I have never washed eggs before and didn’t think something could happen. The shell looked as usual, I left the yolk liquid - so delicious. The next morning I felt bad: nausea, frequent visits to the toilet. Then the temperature rose, vomiting began. Colleagues took me to the hospital. The diagnosis is salmonellosis. I lain in the infectious disease for another two weeks. Now I'm washing EVERYTHING, including bananas and tangerines. ” Alena, 30 years.
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2. Meat
- What is the danger: it can be infected with tapeworms and other parasites, different types of bacteria, for example, toxoplasma.
- How to avoid: cook at high temperatures, freeze, do not store more than two days, even in the refrigerator.
When you bought fresh meat, it is better to cook it on the same day or to freeze it. If yellowish or blue spots appeared on the piece - these are bacteria. There is a temptation to cut off the top layer and cook the rest. But it is better not to do that: microbes penetrate the entire depth.
Bacteria multiply very quickly in the heat, so in hot weather, carpaccio or undercooked steaks are big risks. Meat should be roasted completely, pre-marinating. Even 30 minutes in wine or lemon juice will help get rid of germs.
The temperature at which all types of bacteria die - 120 degrees.
Stuffing - even more insidious product. In its structure there is air, which helps microbes to share. When cuts of different animals get into the mince, the risk of cross infection grows - the transfer of bacteria from one medium to another. It is impossible to control how many cows have fallen into the meat, unless you make it at home from one piece. Therefore, in the summer it is also better to fry the meatballs completely.
Sausages and sausages seem to be products without a shelf life. But they have it. Sliced sausage or an open pack of sausages should be eaten in a couple of days, especially if they were outside the refrigerator.
What can happen
“Once I ran hungry to study and decided to eat a sausage in the dough. On the counter there were many, all hot and seemingly fresh. I ate quickly, so it was only in the middle of the sausage that I felt a strange, sour taste. But behind the hot dough, he felt weak. I quickly finished everything, washed down with tea. After a couple of hours I was very much tied up, and passed the whole day with a wild stomach ache. More sausages in the dough, I did not eat. Nastya, 28 years.
3. Finished products
- What is the danger: the more people and equipment concerned food, the higher the risk of cross-infection.
- How to avoid: cook yourself.
Mayonnaise salads in bulk. Sets for kebab marinade. Even slicing fresh vegetables or fruits. They went through a lot of hands, cutting boards and tar. The more contacts - the more different bacteria. Mayonnaise masks the taste, so you may not notice how you eat such a salad with some bread.
“Staphylococci grow rapidly in salads with mayonnaise, so the buyer risks getting an infection. It can be very difficult: with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. I especially don't recommend buying sliced melons and watermelons in summer. Even with a clean knife, staphylococci, streptococci and other microbes pass to them, which rapidly divide in sugar-containing fruits and berries, ”says Olga Bondarchuk.
Note that cooked products can spend no more than two hours outside the refrigerator. Not in a row, but in aggregate. Even the cakes, pastries and cookies, which have butter, egg cream or margarine, are dangerous.
What can happen
“One summer I bought butter cookies, which I poisoned terribly. They looked wonderful and smelled. They were also delicious! Only when I ate half a bag did I feel a nasty, bitter, oily aftertaste. Maybe the butter in the composition was stale, and maybe the biscuits were stored incorrectly. I was sick all day. Now I check the expiration date and composition, I try to take cookies without butter and margarine. ” Julia, 51 year.
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4. Fish and seafood
- What is the danger: the fish begins to decompose at + 15 ° C, the process of rotting goes very quickly.
- How to avoid: buy frozen fish, cook fresh and immediately roasted.
Fresh seafood can not tolerate room temperature, but in the cold can not lie for days. If raw shrimps or fillets have lain in the fridge for more than 12 hours, do not make a tartar of them for a pleasant summer dinner.
They may seem perfect, or just smell a little more fish, but actually be full of bacteria. Fry seafood well or bake in the oven. In the summer it is better to take frozen or salted fish - so you protect yourself from parasites and germs.
What can happen
“Once I bought fresh salmon in the fish department of a good supermarket. It was very hot outside, but the road to the house took only 15 minutes. I put the fish in the fridge and cooked it in the evening. Salmon is easy to overdry, so I made medium steaks. It was very tasty, no suspicious tastes. But at night, both my husband and I became ill - a terrible upset stomach, nausea. The whole next day it was painful to watch the food. I think it was the summer heat and weak cooking that let us down. ” Tonya, 27 years.
5. Cottage cheese and dairy products
- What is the danger: may disappear much earlier than the shelf life, if stored incorrectly.
- How to avoid: take the pasteurized products, not purchased for future use.
After opening the package, yoghurts and cottage cheese begin to oxidize, so it is advisable to eat them in one day. If you leave an open pack in the refrigerator, it may appear treacherous white fluff, which is not always easy to see. Taking down the fluff and eating the rest is a bad idea.
“Mold is a fungus. It forms mycelium, which spreads throughout the entire thickness of the product. Therefore, when mold occurs, it all becomes unfit for food. In addition, the fungus changes the taste of the entire product, and not just a piece where mold is visible, ”notes Olga Bondarchuk.
If you feel bitterness or sourness on the first spoon, mercilessly throw away the milk product. Even if the shelf life has not expired. Your health is definitely more expensive than the amount you gave for yogurt.
Farm milk and cottage cheese can spoil in a few hours. Remember that when you buy products from your hands, no one can guarantee you that they have passed the necessary steps of control and quality control.
How to avoid becoming a victim of insidious products:
- check the expiration date of everything;
- when you open the package or jar, stick a date sticker;
- put in the fridge a basket with the inscription "Quickly eat" and put there products with a small shelf life;
- wash everything that can be washed, even if you are not going to eat the skin;
- get a separate board for meat and disinfect it with vinegar, hydrogen peroxide or antibacterial agents;
- in hot weather, roast meat, fish and eggs well;
- Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent cross contamination.
- cut vegetables, fruits and meat at home, do not buy ready-made kits;
- keep the adsorbent with you and take it immediately if you have eaten something wrong.
