Cookouts, potato salad and street vendors: Summer’s tastiest treats can become a recipe for bacteria and food poisoning. A recent study found that food poisoning can be deadly to people living with HIV; the food-borne bacterium salmonella can spread to the bloodstream and major organs. These tips can make avoiding salmonella as easy as (well-refrigerated) pie:
Don’t eat food left outside for more than an hour on hot days.
Pass up raw or undercooked fish (such as sushi), poultry or meat. Utensils (and hands) that prepare these foods must then be washed thoroughly in soap and hot water.
Choose pasteurized milk and eggs (safeeggs.com).
Avoid foods that contain raw eggs, such as homemade Caesar salad dressings, homemade ice cream, Hollandaise sauce and cookie dough. (Most commercial dressings, ice cream and mayo contain pasteurized eggs, cutting salmonella risk.)
Check food recalls on fda.gov or by phone (poultry and meat, 404.639.2213; fruit, veggies and seafood, 888.723.3366). Recently, the Food and Drug Administration recalled cantaloupes thought to have been contaminated by polluted irrigation water.
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