|
Elder CareTips:
Mastering The Eldercare Maze™
July 1,
2004
Please Don't
Poison Mamma
|
The outdoor season is
here. Families are gathering for outdoor reunions,
picnics and other events, and just about every one will
involve great food.
For the seniors in our
midst, summer food involves risk if we don't take
precautions. Older people have immune systems that may
be less efficient than when they were younger. They are
often more susceptible
to getting severely ill from food-borne bacteria.
As a general rule, and especially when you're not sure
how the
food was prepared, how long it's been out of the cooler,
or how clean the cook's kitchen might have been, seniors
should avoid these foods:
•
Raw fin fish and shellfish, including oysters, clams,
mussels,
and scallops. In other words, avoid the sushi;
•
Raw or unpasteurized milk or cheese;
•
Soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined,
and Mexican-style cheese. (Hard cheeses, processed
cheeses, cream cheese, cottage cheese, or yogurt are
usually OK if
they haven't been sitting out);
•
Raw or lightly cooked egg or egg products including
salad
dressings, mayonnaise, cookie or cake batter, sauces, and
beverages. Watch the Caesar dressing if it's made with raw
eggs. Don't go handing out samples of the uncooked cookie
dough.
•
Raw/rare meat or poultry. Cook those burgers and steaks
all
the way through.
Keep everything
well-chilled until just before it's to be served, and
it's best to just discard the leftovers.
|
|
|
