10 Holiday Diet Dangers
When making your list and checking it twice, don’t forget about food safety during the holiday season. “While the pace is hectic, it’s crucial to slow down in the kitchen and remember the importance of food safety, so that friends and family don’t leave with any unwanted gifts, such as E. Coli or Salmonella,” says Debra Holtzman, JD, MA, an internationally acclaimed safety and health expert and award-winning author of “The Safe Baby: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Safety (Sentient Publications)
According to the Federal estimates, about 76 million Americans will suffer from food-borne illness and at least 5,000 will die this year. “Anybody can get a foodborne illness, but a greater risk for more extreme complications exists in infants and children, older people, pregnant women, post operative or individuals with compromised immune systems.” says Holtzman. Indeed this underscores the importance of food safety, exceptionally during the popular holiday entertaining season.
Debra Holtzman offers tips for keeping healthy and worry-free when hosting friends, family and pets:
1. Avoid leaving perishable food at room temperature for over two hours, where bacteria can grow to harmful levels. On the buffet table you can keep hot foods hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers and warming trays. Keep foods cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice.
2. Use pasteurized juices and cider. Pasteurization is a heat process that kills harmful bacteria. If you aren’t sure if a product is pasteurized, boil it for a minute and let cool before serving.
3. If you make your own eggnog, use pasteurized liquid or pasteurized shell eggs, and not raw eggs. Raw eggs could be contaminated with Salmonella—a leading cause of foodborne illness. The store-sold eggnog in cartons is pasteurized.
4. When cracking eggs for your Christmas cookie dough or favorite cake batter, be sure to use eggs pasteurized in their shells so licking the spoon remains safe and fun.
5. Keep spiked holiday punch and eggnog out of the reach of children and pets. Alcohol affects children (and pets) more drastically than adults, so even small amounts of alcohol can be dangerous. Remove all partially empty cups as soon as possible.
6. Place your chocolate goodies and Hanukkah gelt out of reach of pets. Chocolate is toxic, and sometimes even fatal for animals. The toxic substance which chocolate contains is called theobromine, a compound which is very similar to caffeine. Baker’s chocolate (pure, unsweetened chocolate or cocoa powder) is the most dangerous.
7. Other food items that can be toxic to pets include onions, caffeine products (coffee, tea), garlic, grapes, raisins, avocado, and macadamia nuts.
8. Foil-wrapped baked potatoes should be kept hot or refrigerated to prevent botulism. Also, avoid using green or sprouted potatoes. They contain a toxin called solanine, which can cause gastrointestinal problems.
9. Ask guests beforehand if they or their children are allergic to any food. This also applies to the peanut oil that people often use to prepare latkes.
10. Do not serve hard, round food (including candy canes) to small children because they pose a choking risk.
Debra Holtzman has a master’s degree in Occupational Health and Safety and is an attorney. She been appeared on major TV news and radio shows around the world and was chosen a Reader’s Digest Everyday Hero. “The Safe Baby: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Home Safety” (Sentient Publications) offers parents money savings tips and easy-to-implement solutions to provide a safe, healthy, and green living lifestyle for children and pets.
Hollywood, FL December 2008
Courtesy Of
FeaturesUSA
