SAFETY Food Handling Safety For A Merrier Season (NAPSA)—There’s noplacelike home for the holidays—especially if you brush up on thebasics of food safety. When stocking up on food for holiday festivities, most people know to steer clear of a dented can on the supermarket shelf but there are other things to consider. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA, about 76 million people suffer from food- borne illnesses every year— many of which could be avoided by taking a few simple precautions. That’s where Donna L. Visiolli, Ph.D., a technical associate in the new product development area of DuPont Packaging comes in. A wife, mother and food chemist, “Dr. Donna”offers the following tips and hints: Consumers can protect their families best by making proper food preparation techniques a habit. “Always wash your hands before handling food, and rinse fresh meats, poultry and seafood before using in any recipe,” said Dr. Donna. “Be sure you allow adequate cooking time at the appropriate temperature to cook meat thoroughly all the way through.” e With extra guests expected for the holidays, buy packaged meats in quantities to meet your Buy prepackaged meats in quantities that meet your needs and avoid multiple handling. needs and avoid the multiple handling. “Deli meats are a good exam- ple,” said Dr. Donna. “Better to choose a prepackaged quantity so that you know it has only been handled once, under the carefully regulated environment at the food processor. “Another good indicator of package integrity is to choose products wrapped in packaging with the DuPont™ Surelock Air Tight Seal™,” says Dr. Donna. The DuPont™ Surelock Air Tight Seal™ quality mark may be found on a variety of pork products from Hatfield Quality Meats and sea- food from Salmolux. Soon more products bearing this mark will be found in local supermarkets.
