

Food safety this Fourth of July


MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Fourth of July is one of the biggest eating holidays of the year, so the chances of getting a food-borne illness are higher.

The best way to prevent sickness is to make sure you keep hot foods hot and the cold foods cold.

In hot weather, foods like potato salad and cole slaw can become too dangerous to eat if left out for more than an hour.

Doctors said you should keep a cooler with you to store those items.

Also, if you are preparing chicken clean your prep area before making any other meals.

It’s best to use one cutting board for meat and one for fruits and vegetables.

If you’re grilling, be careful when using metal brushes to clean the grill.

The bristles can break off and get into your food.

“Then once these metals bristles get into your intestinal track they can cause perforation , obstruction, infection so if you use one of these brushes and you just insist on using it, you need to really clean the grill after you use that to get off any bristles that might still be there. The safest thing to do is just use the one with the plastic kind.”

When it comes to food poisoning, symptoms usually appear two to eight hours after eating and include nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, sweating and diarrhea.
