Choosing what to eat a constant worry

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, December 7, 2006

Call it a leap of faith or an act of selective forgetfulness. The other night, I had spinach. And nothing happened.

It was my first taste of Popeye’s favorite food, and one of mine, since three people died and more than 200 were sickened a few months ago after eating California-grown spinach tainted with the E. coli bacteria.

I ate it, but I can’t say my dinner was worry-free. The chances of coming to harm are exponentially greater driving on the freeway than consuming anything I’m likely to eat. Still, you hear the news, you worry.

Some headline-grabbing contamination cases have scared me off permanently.

It’s been 13 years since Jack In The Box was selling killer hamburgers. The chain long ago changed its cooking practices, and its burgers are surely as safe as any at a fast-food place. But I’ll pass, thanks.

Odwalla juice isn’t on my shopping list either, although the company now pasteurizes its products. Odwalla drinks made with unpasteurized apple juice poisoned people with E. coli in 1996.

Spinach? Once the all-clear came and it was back in stores, I knew I’d be enjoying spinach salad again.

Now comes trouble for Taco Bell, a not-too-unhealthy, price-is-right favorite of my boys. By Thursday, at least 84 people in the Northeastern U.S. had been confirmed as having the E. coli strain thought to be linked to food served at Taco Bell restaurants.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on its Web site Thursday that no specific food had yet been implicated, although Taco Bell pulled green onions from its menu items nationwide.

Green onions? Tacos?

What’s troubling about recent contamination cases is that they could scare us away from the very foods we ought to be eating.

I’ve gotten used to at least trying to avoid the really bad stuff, the known health hazards. I have my weaknesses – say, vanilla ice cream – but I can’t recall the last time I ate a doughnut. I’m all for Tuesday’s vote by the New York Board of Health barring restaurants from cooking with artificial trans fats. That ban should boost awareness of a big contributor to heart disease.

Kathy Gilman, a nutrition educator with Washington State University Snohomish County Cooperative Extension, offers common-sense perspective on high-profile food scares.

“Let’s look at the dangers,” she said.

If you turn away from fresh foods – produce, lean meats and chicken – thinking processed ones are bacteria-free, you’re sacrificing nutrition. “Healthier, more nutrient-dense foods are going to do more for our bodies – if handled properly,” said Gilman, who said she puts spinach “in everything.”

“If you choose chips instead of fruits and vegetables, there are long-term effects of those foods. They do nothing good for our eyesight, hair, skin and arteries,” Gilman said.

She shares her food-safety lessons with everyone from preschoolers to restaurant workers.

“Do the simple things: Keep hot foods hot, cold foods cold; store foods at proper temperatures; keep surfaces clean; don’t cross-contaminate; and make sure you’re washing your hands,” Gilman said. By washing hands she means vigorously scrubbing in soap and warm water for 20 seconds, “as long as it takes to sing the ‘ABCs.’ “

A few more tips: For sanitizing, put a capful of bleach in a squirt bottle of water, spray on surfaces, let sit for 30 seconds, and then wipe clean. In the refrigerator, keep meat juices away from foods that won’t be cooked. Use separate cutting boards and knives for meats and vegetables.

Gilman said state law requires gloves in commercial food preparation. “With any mass production, there’s always the chance that something can be tainted. Everything has bacteria, it’s there,” she said. “You can’t be totally psychotic.”

With all her kitchen care and common sense, there are things Gilman won’t eat.

“I avoid deli food,” she said. “It’s not enough that they have a food handler permit. You don’t know how long that potato salad has been there. I have watched them put fresh produce in a bowl and put the old on top.”

Eeww. One more thing to worry about.

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.