Melanie Cole, MS (Host): Welcome to Wellness Waves, the essential podcast source for in-demand healthcare information from the specialists at New Jersey's largest hospital, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center. Today, we're talking about food safety and recalls. Joining me is Carlye Gilbert. She's the Director of Infection Prevention at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.

Carlye, thank you so much for joining us today. I mean, this is dizzying right now. What should people know? Let's get started right off the bat. What should people know about the recent food recalls in the country today?

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: Thank you for having me, Melanie. So, the recalls are coming fast and furious, and I understand it's very scary for the community to be able to adjust to. We have more knowledge at our fingertips than we have in the past. So, you know, we've had stomach viruses, and you just had a little touch of something before. Now, we're just a little bit more aware, you know, and required to report these types of clusters and incidents. So, it enables us to look further and deeper. And then, we have better tracking, right, of all of where these foods are coming from.

So each year, 48 million people in the United States experience foodborne illnesses. And then, annually, the food poisoning will allow for 128,000 hospitalizations which will result in 3,000 deaths. That doesn't mean that every one is related to foodborne illnesses, but it can be very, very scary. So when you look at these numbers, it's staggering. There is a way to make sure that you can practice good food safety and prevent foodborne illnesses. So, that's really what we need to share here.

Melanie Cole, MS: That's what we're going to talk about today, all those tips and tricks and, you know, it's all about the learning and being in the know, being educated about it, because that's the way that we advocate for ourselves. So, let's start with how food gets contaminated, Carlye. Tell us a little bit about that process.

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: So, food can get contaminated at the source of use, right? So, it's from where it's picked, it's how it's transported, it's how it's handled. It could be how it's stored in your own refrigerator. So, these are all different ways of where food can become contaminated. Surfaces can become contaminated. That can contaminate your food. So, it's how we handle what we do in our kitchens, what we do in our factories, how we handle foods in our supermarkets, how we transport them, if we're transporting them in the proper temperature ranges. And, you know, there's a lot of variables that go into making sure that food is safe.

Melanie Cole, MS: Well, there's certainly, like you say, a lot of variables, and there's a chain from wherever the food starts till it gets into our refrigerators. What are some of the most common foodborne illnesses that you see?

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: So, we definitely see lots of diarrheal illnesses, right? So, there are five most common organisms that can cause foodborne illness or food poisoning. According to the CDC, they have norovirus, salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter, and Staphylococcus aureus. And the last one is very interesting. Staphylococcus aureus is on our hands, right? So, it really sums up to good hand washing, making sure that you keep things clean, and Staph aureus is the number one common foodborne illness cause.

Melanie Cole, MS: Well, I think we're going to hit that home again about hand washing and good hygiene, because that's so important. Now, before we get into some of these other tips, when should somebody seek medical attention, Carlye? When is it important that they feel that maybe they've gotten food poisoning, that they head off to urgent care or the ER?

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: Most definitely. If you have a fever that's lasting longer than 24 hours, if you're not able to hydrate yourself, if you're feeling dizzy, weak, you're not able to stand, if you're not able to control the output, you know, those are reasons to seek medical attention.

Melanie Cole, MS: Yeah, that's important to know. Now, we've been hearing in the news, in the media, food recalls lately, and it's coming quite quickly, as you said. So, what does that mean really, Carlye? What is a food recall, and how can people check if the food that they have in their refrigerator is something that's been recalled?

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: The FDA has a list and they provide updates. Also, you can look on the CDC website, where they'll have the organisms that are clusters through the food that's being manufactured and transported through the United States. Not all of the food recalls are necessarily due to organisms. Some of the recalls can be due to having allergens in those particular foods that were not claimed initially on the ingredients labels. So, it's very important that you read the recall lists, determine for yourself, perform a, you know, risk assessment for yourselves and your family on what actually recalls pertain to you and your home, and what will pertain to like, you know, susceptible adults, like senior citizens, young children. They're more susceptible to different organisms than what would normally we would just have a touch of something and, you know, healthy adults and we just go about our day.

Melanie Cole, MS: Now, some of the food recalls I've seen have simply been because maybe there was an inspection that was missed. How do we find out? Are there codes, Carlye? Should we be looking at something on our packaging of lunch meat or whatever it is to see if it matches up? And sometimes if it's something that simple, can we then trust it anyway?

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: It's all how the individual facilities are surveyed, right? Are they a high reliable organization, right? Do they practice survey readiness? You know, are they prepared? How are they packing? We don't know from packing facilities and manufacturing facilities.

What you can look at from the user end, you know, the consumer, we look at the Department of Health certifications, right? They should be posting those at the point of service, you know, in their cashiers. If you go to a deli counter, you should have the Department of Health certification, certificate posted there. And, you know, really just asking questions.

I was at the deli counter last night, and I saw the gentleman cleaning the slicers, and I asked him, "How often do you clean your slicers?" And you know, "What is the process?" And he was very kind and it's nice when people ask the right questions and then they answer you calmly, you feel more confident.

Melanie Cole, MS: Wow, you sure do, and that's an excellent question about those slicers. So, I'm going to take that advice right there. Now, what are some of the main, you know, safety rules for food safety at home? What would you like us to think about as we look about our kitchen, in our refrigerator as we're preparing food?

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: Certainly. So, very, very important to keep a hygienic environment, to make sure you keep it clean. Wash your hands frequently, making sure you're washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds with good friction. Washing your cutting boards, your utensils, your countertops, dishes with hot, soapy water. So, making sure that you're using the soap, you're using the friction. And then, rinsing our fruits and vegetables under running water, you know, cleaning them just like you would clean, you know, your dishes. And you look at the surfaces of your fruits and vegetables. If you have a surface of a fruit that's three-dimensional or, I mean, it's, like, peachy or it's a little three-dimensional, it's not flat or smooth, those surfaces may need a little bit more friction and a little bit more rubbing to get in underneath. You know, if you have, like, a melon where the stem would be, that's more three-dimensional where you would put a little bit more friction, you might want to get a little bit more soap in there to clean it, because we don't cook our fruits and our vegetables, right? We like to eat our vegetables fresh mostly. So, we want to make sure that when you're cleaning them and you're cutting them, that they're clean on the outside.

Melanie Cole, MS: Now, tell us about cooking our food to prevent illness. Is there a certain temperature? If we're making spinach, because that's been recalled lately, how do we know if cooking the spinach is going to help us? And what temperature should we be looking for some of these things? Give us some tips when we're cooking our food.

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: Vegetables really don't have a temperature, but once you clean them and you blanch them in hot water, so if you're blanching them in boiling water and then putting them into cold water, that's killing whatever's on the surface of that, okay? And then, for meats, poultry, ground meat, pork, and fish, so they recommend that poultry is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You use a food-safe thermometer to check that internally at the thickest. So, you want to go to the thickest part of the flesh. And then, for ground meat, like ground beef, it's 160 degrees Fahrenheit. And then for, fish and lamb, pork, and then beef solid pieces, it's 145 degrees in that thickest part of the flesh. And then, you should let it rest, so it continues to cook inside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Melanie Cole, MS: Wow, you're giving us really usable advice. I'd like you to summarize here and offer your best advice for all the food recall information that we're getting and really the best tips to keeping ourself informed and hopefully safe from foodborne illnesses.

Carlye Gilbert, MSN, RN, CIC: Certainly. Thank you, Melanie. So, you want to make sure that you're keeping a good hygienic environment in your kitchens. And when you sit down to eat, make sure your hands are clean. Make sure that you're checking the recalls on the FDA website and the CDC. And then, always clean your fruits and vegetables before you eat them. And cook your meats, separate them in the refrigerators where you should, make sure they're not cross-contaminating each other. Always, always check your expiration dates and your use by dates. Those are key.

Melanie Cole, MS: Thank you so much, Carlye, for joining us today. Really great information, so educational. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us today. And for more information, you can always visit newbridgehealth.org.

That concludes this episode of Wellness Waves from the specialists at Bergen Newbridge Medical Center. Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review Wellness Waves on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and Pandora.

The material provided through these podcasts is intended to be used as general information only and should not replace the advice of your physician. Always consult your physician for individual care.