When What You Eat Makes You Sick

These days it seems that you have to really watch what you are eating and where you are eating. Kind of takes the fun out of the experience, doesn’t it? The fact of the matter is that eating out has become a little like a round of Russian roulette, you never know when you might wind up with food poisoning.In the US alone,the Center for Disease Control indicates that spoiled food is the reason for 76 million illnesses; 5,000 deaths; and over 325,000 stays in hospital yearly. Those statistics are quite scary. It puts a whole new light on staying at home and enjoying your own cooking, so long as you follow safe food preparation procedures.Here are a few more statistics that will get your attention. There are about 250 kinds of diseases that can infect people via the food they eat. Let’s break this down into something a little easier to follow. One method of food poisoning is through infectious agents such as parasites, bacteria and viruses. Another one is via a toxic agent like mushrooms and foods not cleaned properly that may contain pesticides, etc.The only sure-fire way of preventing food poisoning is to practice rigorous hygiene and sanitation. This is no small task, but is critical to the well-being of people who eat at your establishment, or your home for that matter. No one really wants to wind up in the hospital with vomiting, a nasty headache, nausea, serious stomach cramping, a fever, bloody diarrhea, blurred vision, and possible kidney failure leading to death. Blood tests are the usual standard for detecting food poisoning, but a urine test might also be called for to confirm the diagnosis.How to avoid food poisoning is a bit of a dicey proposition, but being careful with your choices will help in the long run. For instance, don’t buy torn packages of food; buy meats or frozen items just prior to leaving the store; don’t directly handle raw foods; and keep all working surfaces and hands clean. This cannot be emphasized enough, wash your hands until you get totally sick of it, and then wash them some more.Take time to read the proper cooking temperature for certain foods, more specifically meats; don’t leave meat or other hot foods standing on the counter for long periods of time; and cover them when putting them away in the fridge.Food poisoning from home cooked meals is one thing. If you contract food poisoning after eating out, that is another matter. In circumstances like that, immediately contact a personal injury attorney and discuss your case. You may be able to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for your pain and suffering.Never assume that speaking to a lawyer is going to cost you serious money, as most lawyers are willing to give their first consultation free. They will be able to advise you if you have a good case or not.