The germ who came to dinner (1978) Pt. 3 of 3

We are the carriers of stafylo cocky. They're frequently found in the nose and hair. And if you're suffering from a sore throat or boils, you will be carrying millions of them. These bacteria don't cause illness themselves, but give out a chemical or toxin that is very poisonous to us. Once in the food, the toxin can even survive boiling for a short time. If it is eaten, it works fast, sometimes within 2 or 3 hours. The foods most at risk tend to be cooked meats, cakes, and sweets. We put stafylo cocky on these foods in the course of handling them. Bacteria always need help to get from place to place. This is called cross infection. Raw food and our own bodies bring bacteria into the kitchen. They can easily travel by hand, knife, board, or even apron. Never use the same items for raw and cooked food without thoroughly washing or disinfecting them. Temperature is our main weapon. Either keep food cold or hot. This applies equally well to raw and cooked foods. below 10° centigrade if cold and above 63° centigrade if the food is to be kept warm. In either case, bacteria cannot breed and that is vital. Food poisoning can kill the very young or the old. It is extremely unpleasant for anyone. You won't automatically poison food if you take risks, but would you deliberately gamble with the health of your family or customers? In the past, unhygienic conditions resulted in terrible outbreaks of food and waterbornne diseases. [Music] We couldn't do much about them till we knew how and why they occurred. Now we virtually eliminated them. Yet we frequently fail to use the same knowledge in our own kitchens. And headlines like these still [Music] appear. The Department of Environmental Health keeps records of such cases. And as an environmental health officer, part of Ned Kingcott's job is to investigate food poisoning incidents. Obviously, the cases the press pick up tend to be the most dramatic and serious, but there are many more which are investigated by environmental health departments that don't come to the attention of the public and probably an even greater number which don't come to the attention of the authorities at all. However, there is one common element which runs through the vast majority of these cases and that is a breakdown in temperature control during the preparation of the food. And by that I mean a combination of insufficient cooking and or failure to keep the food at the right temperature while it's being prepared. I've chosen three typical case files from our records. To illustrate how this can happen, the first classic of its kind happened at a hotel. Over a 100 people were ill after eating roast duck. Ned Kingot. The ducks originated from two duck farms. Investigations revealed that some of the ducks had Salmonella in their intestines. When they were prepared for sale, these bacteria would inevitably be spread around. The hotel allowed them to multiply by not storing them properly. Some of the ducks were undercooked and keeping the sliced meat warm before carving would have allowed sufficient growth to cause illness. Salmonella often enters the kitchen in this way, but careful storage keeps the number to a safe level. The next case occurred in the staff canteen and involved clustring. Again, the bacteria came into the kitchen on meat. Roasting did not kill the heatresistant spores. The joints were left to cool in the kitchen overnight, allowing the spores to germinate and multiply. When sliced, the meat was stored in a heated cabinet. This was not hot enough to kill the bacteria, and 30 members of staff went down with food poisoning. In this case, I heard a familiar cry, but we've done it this way for years. In the last case, the contaminated meal was a cold buffet lunchon. Staf looake were found in the mayonnaise. It had been prepared the day before and stored overnight in a warm place. The source of bacteria was the chef's own hands. Some people naturally carry Staflcocky. In each case, the bacteria were given the chance to multiply. Correct storage would have prevented these outbreaks. Never till this century did hundreds of thousands of us eat at least a third of our meals away from home. Food poisoning is most likely to occur where large quantities of food are prepared. So, caterers bear a heavy responsibility to keep our food safe. Never before have housewives relied so much on convenience foods. So industry also has its part to play. But finally, we have to rely on ourselves and what we do in the kitchen, whether at home or at work. Keep working tops clean and they won't harbor bacteria. Hot water will prevent them being spread around. The heat used in cooking will kill them, but remember those spores. So, always store food correctly. These precautions are just common sense once we know a little about these tiny living organisms, the bacteria. [Music]