How to avoid exposure to salmonella bacteria in food

The dangers of salmonella in food

The presence of salmonella bacteria in the food you eat can cause you to suffer from gastoenteritis. This can happen to you with symptoms of nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, headache, chills, and blood in the stool.

You can experience these symptoms for two to seven days.

When you eat foods that contain salmonella bacteria, you will not immediately feel sick. Pain will appear at least 2-3 days after you eat these foods. So, it may be difficult for you to know what foods are causing you pain.

You have to keep track of what foods you ate in the past three days, and this may not be easy to remember.

In addition to causing digestive problems, certain types of salmonella bacteria can also cause typhoid fever or better known as typhus. This disease is caused by bacteria Salmonella typhi contained in contaminated food.

Foods that are at risk of containing salmonella

Salmonella is a bacteria that lives in the intestines of many livestock. You can become infected with salmonella bacteria when you eat food contaminated with animal feces that contain salmonella bacteria.

Some foods that can generally be contaminated with salmonella bacteria are as follows.

Raw meat, poultry and seafood. Feces can get into raw meat and poultry during the slaughtering process. Meanwhile, seafood can be contaminated with salmonella from contaminated water.
Raw eggs. In chickens infected with salmonella bacteria, the chicken can produce eggs containing salmonella before the shell is formed. So, salmonella bacteria can be contained in eggs. Meanwhile, egg shells can actually be a barrier to eggs contaminated with salmonella bacteria from the outside.
Fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables can become contaminated with salmonella bacteria from contaminated water. This contamination can occur during washing, water treatment, or contact with contaminated raw meat or poultry.

Can you tell which foods contain salmonella?

Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause food poisoning if it gets into your body. So, you need to avoid foods that contain salmonella.

However, to find out whether the food you eat contains salmonella bacteria or not, this is not easy.

Salmonella bacteria in food certainly cannot be detected by just looking at the food or just by smelling the food.

To determine the presence of salmonella bacteria in food, this can only be done by testing in the laboratory. Unfortunately, this is not a simple matter.

However, you can do a number of things as below to reduce your risk of getting food poisoning due to salmonella bacteria.

Cook the eggs until they are completely cooked, both egg whites and yolks.
Cook whole meat to 63 ° C, ground beef to 71 ° C, and poultry to 74 ° C. This is because at that temperature most of the bacteria in the food can die, so it can minimize your risk of getting an infection.
Store hot and cold food separately.
Don't leave food open for more than two hours.
Distinguish cutting boards or other cooking utensils for raw and cooked foods.
Clean eating and cooking utensils after using them.
Always wash your hands before handling food.