Most of us worry about the food we consume, and we carefully read labels to learn what we are putting in our bodies. Occasionally, an outbreak of E Coli or Campylobacter or other pathogen is linked to food, and we turn our attention from nutrition to the basic safety of our food. For example, sprouts have been linked in this AP story to an outbreak of salmonella at Jimmy Johns restaurants. This article discusses the use of hot water baths to kill isteria and other pathogens on cantaloupes.

These stories of otherwise healthy foods like sprouts and cantaloupes posing serious health risks made me start thinking about ways we can protect ourselves from these sorts of dangers in food. One of the best blogs on this subject is written by Bill Marler, an attorney who has handled cases involving food poisoning resulting in injury or deaths. Another great article from Consumer Reports on food safety can be found here in this report on 9 foods that should be handled very carefully.

It turns out that we can take some common sense steps to protect our families and ourselves from these types of risks. Here are some tips from these sources cited above to consider:

• use pasteurized milk and eggs
• make sure meats, poultry and fish are heated thoroughly
• wash raw produce very well

I hope these tips will help keep you and your family safe.