Food Contamination - Choosing & Preparing Food (cont.)
Serving
- Keep hot foods hot (140 F [60 C]) or higher and cold foods cold
(about 40 F [5 C]) or lower.
- Do not keep cooked food unrefrigerated or unfrozen
for more than two hours.
Who's at Risk?
People with certain diseases and conditions need to be
especially careful to follow safe seafood practices. Their diseases or the
medicines they take may put them at risk for serious illness or death from
contaminated seafood.
These conditions include:
- liver disease, either from excessive alcohol use, viral hepatitis, or other
causes
- hemochromatosis, an iron disorder
- diabetes
- stomach problems, including
previous stomach surgery and low stomach acid (for example, from antacid use)
-
cancer
- immune disorders, including HIV infection
- long-term steroid use, as for
asthma and arthritis.
Older adults also may be at increased risk because they
more often have these conditions. People with these diseases or conditions
should never eat raw seafood--only seafood that has been thoroughly cooked.
(Source: National Fisheries Institute,
http://www.nfi.org)
Last Editorial Review: 8/13/2002
