Food Safety and AIDS

Author: admin
April 2, 2008

 

   When you’re HIV positive, you have to watch not only what you eat, but also how you prepare your food. Some uncooked foods may put you in danger of bacterial or other infections. Avoid undercooked or raw meat or fish (although salt water fish is generally safe if prepared professionally). Meat should be well done (thoroughly cooked). Raw eggs and unpasteurized milk carry a risk of salmonella infection. Avoid salad dressings (such as Caesar salad dressing) and unpasteurized eggnog if they are or contain raw eggs. Use pasteurized eggs (frozen or processed) rather than fresh eggs when making homemade ice cream, eggnog, and mayonnaise.

 

When cooking eggs, make sure that the yolks and whites are firm, not runny. Raw vegetables and fruit must be washed to remove all dust. Cut off any mouldy parts. You can use grapefruit seed extract or bleach in the water when you wash these foods. About ten to 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract or one teaspoon (4 millilitres) of bleach per litre of water should kill organisms on the surface of the vegetables or fruit. Before you handle any food, wash your hands with soap. Wash them again after you touch any raw meat or fish. Try to buy your meat fresh or thaw it quickly. Use one cutting board for meat and another one for fruit and vegetables.

Plastic cutting boards are easier to keep clean than wooden ones. Wash your cutting boards with hot soapy water immediately after use. Keep shelves, counter tops, cutting boards, refrigerators, freezers, utensils, and dish towels clean.Keep hot foods hot, cold foods cold. Properly cooking food can protect you from food poisoning. Heat kills bacteria. Most cookbooks give cooking times and temperatures for various foods. A minimum temperature of 60 Celsius (140 Fahrenheit) is necessary in order to kill bacteria.

When reheating leftovers or heating partially cooked foods, heat to a temperature of at least 70 Celsius (160 Fahrenheit). Do not taste before cooking is finished. If you are using a microwave oven, first heat the food at full power, then heat for another five minutes at a lower power - 20 or 30 per cent.

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