Risky recipes: food poisoning, and how to prevent it.

Risky Recipes

CAFETERIA CASUALTY SURPRISE

(easy to make)

Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) from a food handler (approximately 1 in 10 people qualify) 1 large pot of cooked macaroni, still warm 1 container of mayonnaise or creamy dressing Whatever else you like in a macaroni salad

Combina all ingredients while pleasantly warm. Place mexture in a large, deep container and refrigerate long enough to chill the outer layer. (This gives people the illusion the salid is fit for consumption, which adds to the suprise 4 to 12 hours after they eat.) Serve to a large group and begin counting the casualties.

While a child in early elementary school, I had the good fortune of being an observer of, rather than a participant in, the results of this recipe. The cook for our public school cafeteria in a small community failed to cool the noodles when she mixed her macaroni salad. She placed the warm concoction in a large bowl and wheeled it into the walk-in refrigerator. Because of the bulk of the mixture, the center didn't cool enough to stop the growth of staph organisms.

Since the early grades were served first, I had my portion from the edge, where adequate cooling had occurred. The upper grades were served from the center, where the salad had remained warm long enough for bacterial growth to take place.

The first sign of trouble began to appear late that ofternoon, during a football game. One by one, players began to get nauseated and rop out. The game was canceled as the sumptoms intensified, and the action moved to my physician father's office, where about 100 students and teachers were treated.

Because of the samll size of the office, the patients had to lie in rows on the floors of the examining rooms, hallways, and even the waiting room. One patient's mother bought pots and pans from a local hardware store to give people something in which to vomit, because there weren't enough emesis basins to go around. Unfortunately, there was only one restroom in the office, and since diarrhea is another sumpton of staph food poisoning, the competition for the facility was intense. By 8:00 that evening the crisis had passed. A few patients had been sent to a hospital in a neighboring town, and the rest had gone home.

One ot the most common causes of food poisoning is Staphylococcus aureaus. Foods such as custards, hams, hollandaise sauce, creamy salads, and cream-filled desserts are the most common sources of the poisoning. The staph organism is carried without symptoms in approximately 10 percent of the United States population. If the organisms are shed from the respiratory system or an infected sore into foods such as the ones listed, they grow rapidly if not kept cold. They produce a toxin that causes sudden nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea within an average of four hours after ingestion. Onve the toxin is formed, it is not destroyed by normal cooking processes.

To avoid this type of food poisoning, be sure to chill ingredients before mixing them. Keep cold items cold. Be especially vigilant at picnics to keep such items chilled until served, and to return leftover cold foods to a cold environment before they reach warm temperatures. To cool bulk foods more rapidly, place them in several shallow small containers, rather than deep large bowls, so the cold can penetrate more readily.

PERFRINGENS PERFECTION

1 large quantity of meat or beans cooked for a crowd

The important thing to remember in preparing this recipe is to keep the meat or beans warm, not hot and not cold.

Clostridium perfringens is another type of food poisoning. It is milder than staph, and second in incidence in the United States. It occurs most often in foods such as meat or beans cooked in bulk and stored at temperatures that allow the organisms to multiply. To avoid it, either rapidly chill foods, or keep them above 140[degrees]F. Symptoms appear 10 to 12 hours after eating the contaminated food, and include abdominal cramps and diarrhea lasting 10 to 20 hours. Perfringens is actually an infection: the organism produces the toxin as it grows in the infected person's intenstine. It takes a large number of organisms to produce the symptoms. Bacteria can multiply very rapidly in food at warm temperatures, so the number of organisms necessary to produce symptoms can be reached in a few hours.

BOTULISM IN A BOTTLE

1 canner full of vegetables

This is an easy recipe. Just use a water bath instead of a pressure canner in canning the vegetables.

Clostridium botulinum is a common soil organism that forms spores that preserve it in dry conditions. These spores are very resistant to heat. They have been known to withstand heating at 212[degrees]F for as long as five hours. Under moist conditions and in the absence of air, the organism can grow and produce a toxin that is one of the most potent poisons known. The toxin binds to nerve cells, blocking signals. The first nervous system symptoms--blurred vision, progressive weakness throughout the body, and difficulty in chewing and swallowing--occur in 12 to 48 hours and sometimes a week after ingestion of the poison. About 25 percent of the people who get these symptoms die of respiratory or heart paralysis. Botulism toxin may be produced in canned and bottled foods that have been improperly sterilized. It can also occur in hams and sausages that do not contain preservatives; in fact, the word botulism is derived from the Latin word botulus, meaning "sausage."

The botulism spores are more easily destroyed in acid foods, so fruits may be canned in a water bath. More neutral foods such as meats and vegetables must be processed in a pressure cooker, where higher temperatures are reached. Manufacturer's directions should be followed carefully when home canning. Boiling a home-canned product before tasting (meat, corn, and spinach for 20 minutes; other low-acid vegetables for 10 minutes) destroys the toxin. If there is any sign of spoilage, the product should not be eaten.

Infants from birth to about 1 year of age are susceptible to infant botulism. In this case the organism grows in the baby's intestine and produces the toxin. The baby suckles poorly, has difficulty swallowing, and is unable to hold up its head. After the baby gets older, it has enough normal bacteria growing in its intestine and the botulism organism no longer is a problem. Infant botulism can be prevented by avoiding feeding the baby foods that contain large amounts of botulism spores, such as honey, or those foods that promote germination of the spores, such as spinach.

In the United States there are more cases of infant botulism than the food-borne type. For example, in 1987 there were 17 cases of food-borne botulism reported to the Communicable Disease Center, and 59 cases of infant botulism.

CUSTARD CRISIS

1 favorite custard pie

Remove from oven before it is cooked to firmness. Leave on kitchen counter to cool to room temperature for 21 hours.

Serve at a party.

A recipe similar to this was followed and the pie was served at an office party. Three people were hospitalized, and one, a previously healthy man, age 40, died.

While the usual symptoms of salmonella food poisoning include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, chills, fever, and headache, the bacteria can invade organs other than the digestive system, causing complications that require lengthy hospitalization, even in healthy people.

The incidence of salmonellosis has been, in general, increasing. The increase in the northeastern part of the United States since 1976 has been more than sixfold. The new epidemic is associated with inspected, uncracked, and sanitized grade A eggs. Researchers now suspect that the egg yolk becomes infected before the shell forms. While eggs are implicated in about three fourths of the cases, other foods such as raw meat, poultry, raw milk, fish, and shellfish--any raw food of animal origin--may carry salmonella.

Some simple practices can help you avoid problems with salmonella. Use an acrylic or other nonporous cutting board to work with raw poultry or meat. Wash your hands, knives, counter, and cutting board with detergent and hot soapy water before handling other foods. Start with a fresh dishcloth after cleaning up. Save your porous (wooden) cutting boards for other foods. Cook red meat to an internal temperature of at least 160[degrees]F, and poultry to 185[defrees]F. Eggs should be cooked firm. In dishes in which they are combined with other ingredients, the dishes should be cooked to firmness and not left runny. In recipes that normally call for raw eggs, such as ice cream, eggnog, and mayonnaise, switch to recipes that call for cooking the eggs for the base sauce to 160[degrees]F. Keep eggs and meats in the refrigerator unless you are preparing them. Store eggs in their cartons rather than on the door, where the temperature is warner. Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator or, if in a hurry, under cold running water. Refrigerate food containing cooked meat, poultry, or eggs within two hours after cooking.

Salmonella is a common organism in nature, and animals such as turtles, dogs, cats, and other pets may carry it. Hand-washing after handling pets is a good practice.

Simple hygiene, following directions, keeping hot things hot and cold things cold, and thoroughly cooking animal products can take the risk out of your recipes.

Sandy Eickmann has a background in medical technology. Currently she assists her dentist husband in his office.