Food Safety Starts at the Supermarket

There is a lot we can do to protect ourselves from foodborne illness. Much of it starts at the grocery store. Here are a few tips from the Food and Drug Administration:

* Pick up your packaged and canned goods first

Don't buy food in cans that are bulging or dented or in jars that are cracked or have loose or bulging lids.

Don't eat raw shellfish and use only pasteurized milk and cheese and pasteurized or otherwise treated ciders and juices if you have a health problem, especially one that may have impaired your immune system.

Choose eggs that are refrigerated in the store. Before putting them in your cart, open the carton and make sure that the eggs are clean and none are cracked.

Select frozen foods and perishables such as meat, poultry or fish last. Always put these products in separate plastic bags so that drippings don't contaminate other foods in your shopping cart.

Don't buy frozen seafood if the packages are open, torn or crushed on the edges. Avoid packages that are above the frost line in the store's freezer. If the package cover is transparent, look for signs of frost or ice crystals. This could mean that the fish has either been stored for a long time or thawed and refrozen.

Check for cleanliness at the meat or fish counter and the salad bar. For instance, cooked shrimp lying on the same bed of ice as raw fish could become contaminated. When shopping for shellfish, buy from markets that get their supplies from state-approved sources; stay clear of vendors who sell shellfish from roadside stands or the back of a truck. And if you're planning to harvest your own shellfish, heed posted warnings about the safety of the water.

Take an ice chest along to keep frozen and perishable foods cold if it will take more than an hour to get your groceries home.

Hammond is a fromer member of the Mercer County Board of Public Health and a current member of the Mercer County Local Emergency Planning Committee and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Planning Committee.