FDSC 1000 Writing Assignment 2

Prior to enrolling in Food Science food safety was not something that I thought about on a daily basis. I had heard of restraints closing down because of an E.coli outbreak and had heard of people getting food poisoning, but I never gave anything much thought. The most safety precautions I took was looking to make sure my hamburger was not red in the middle when I grilled out. This all changed after going through the food safety section with in Dr. Bell's class. Learning about staph aureus, trichinella, and other food borne pathogens and parasites made my mind race every time I ate. When I go grocery shopping and pick up a can of soup or a gallon of milk I wonder if I have picked up the one that was contaminated with clostridium boutulinum or e. coli. Now that we have covered the food safety and the procedures I do not worry as much because we have learned how to better protect ourselves. The first thing I did was go buy a meat thermometer to check all the meat that I cook whether it be chicken or ground beef. When handling raw meat I turn water faucets on before handling the meat to avoid cross contamination and I never lave any meat out at room temperature. The hardest part of food safety has been trying to not cross contaminate. Since you can not see any of these nasty critters it is hard to know where you have touched or have not touched so usually by the end of the cooking process I am down on the floor disinfecting the floor and everything within ten feet of the kitchen. Taking the food science class has really opened my eyes to the risk that everyone has to be infected by food borne illnesses, and has also help me know the ways to protect myself and others that I cook for.