Information from the Human Services Center :
Food poisoning -- Self Prevention Plan --

Tokyo will enter the rainy season soon. We will be annoyed by constant dampness for the time being. During this season, we have to be especially cautious about food poisoning. Is your food safe?

Food poisoning at home cannot be made light of

Now we are entering the rainy season. During the period from early summer to early autumn, there are many cases of food poisoning every year. Many of us still clearly remember the large-scale food poisoning incident caused by the e. coli bacteria O-157 in school lunches in 1996. The causes of food poisoning include bacilluses (Salmonella, Campylobacter, and O-157, etc.), viruses (Norovirus etc.), natural poisons (poisonous mushrooms and globefish, etc.), and others. But about 90% of the cases are bacterial food poisoning. The contaminated food does not change in its smell or taste because the food poisoning bacterium is different from the bacteria responsible for decay. We are not necessarily safe eating something which does not seem to be rotten. A lot of people think dining out, such as restaurants and catered box lunches, is the cause of food poisoning. But, home meals have often generated it, too. Looking at the cases reported to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, about 20% of the cases of food poisoning are caused by home meals. In general, the symptoms of food poisoning at home are not serious, and only one or two persons suffer from it, so it is difficult to distinguish from something like a cold. However, in some cases, it can lead to serious illness if treatment for food poisoning is delayed, and in some cases, it can even lead to death.

Points of prevention of food poisoning. -- "Beauty" and "Cleanliness" are different--

The three principles of prevention of food poisoning are "not to have, not to increase, and to kill" the food poisoning bacteria. Food poisoning at home can be prevented by the easy steps shown in the chart below, so we want you, especially the students who are cooking for themselves, to carry them out. "Sanitary" and "cleanliness" are more important than "Beauty" in the prevention of food poisoning. Tableware, hands, fingers, and tightly wrapped foods which look beautiful are not necessarily "clean". Even if it’s a bit old, the "clean" kitchenis the one where the food poisoning bacterium is kept from proliferating by everyday care, is the "clean" kitchen. Still, you experience symptoms such as stomachache, diarrhea, and vomiting, or high temperature and bloody feces, be sure to consult the Human Services Center or another medical institution immediately.

Check your meal making!

• For meat and the fish, etc., check the “Best before” time, and wrap them separately in plastic bags.
• For perishable foods, buy them at the end of your shopping trip, and go right home without stopping on the way.
• Keep the refrigerator at 10 degrees Celsius or less, and the freezer at -15 or less. Open and shut the door quickly, and don't pack too much stuff in them (the standard is about 70 percent full).
• Don't defrost meat naturally. Use a microwave oven etc.
• Wash your hands and fingers well with soap. If you have a wound, you should to use gloves etc. because "staphylococcus aureus" can proliferate.
• Cook with enough heat (the food poisoning bacterium will be killed at 75 degrees with 1 minute or more of cooking).
• Use clean and dry towels. Wash the kitchen knife, the cutting board, and the sponge whenever you start to prepare a new ingredient, and disinfect them in hot water.
• Heat hot dishes to 65 degrees or more, and keep cold dishes at 10 degrees or less.
• When warming something again, heat it enough. Miso soup etc. should be heated until boiling.
• The foods which have passed the consumption time limit should be thrown away.