Food Safety for Older Adults . . .

Begins at Home

Preparing meals each day can be hard work. We often take time to select the right foods to make meals nutritionally balanced and tasty. However, we often do not spend a lot of time on making sure that our meals are prepared safely. Particularly as we get older, we need to handle our food safely - it's for our health.

Typically the health of older adults is more fragile. This, in combination with possible nutritional deficiencies and gradual changes in sight and smell, can make older
adults susceptible to foodborne illness.

As we age, we produce less stomach acid. Stomach acid helps digest food and kill microbes in food, so it is the first line of defense in preventing foodborne illness. Aging
also weakens our immune system. A single bout of foodborne illness might make one person sick for a few days but could be devastating for an older adult. Visions also
weakens as we age. Fifty percent (50%) of Americans with severe vision problems are over age 65. The inability to distinguish between colors, especially blues and
greens, can make detecting food-related problems difficult. This might affect the ability to detect: molds growing on food, counter tops that might need additional cleaning,
or spots and spills on cooking pots and eating utensils. Taste may also be affected, making it difficult to distinguish off-flavors related to spoiled foods.

Living on a fixed income can add to the food handling problems of older persons. A tight budget and thriftiness may make some older people keep questionable food for
too long. Many of our older population are Depression-survivors and are keenly conscious of not being wasteful. Furthermore, when cooking for one or two, food is often left
over and safe-handling practices might not be used.
For their health, older adults can and should Fight BAC!TM Fighting BAC! means following these simple food safety practices:

CLEAN: Wash hands and surfaces often
SEPARATE: Prevent cross-contamination
COOK: Cook foods to proper temperatures
CHILL: Refrigerate foods promptly

Serv Safe is a certification class for Restaurant managerial staff. You may want to check for the framed certificate at your favorite restaurant. Successful completion of the course and a grade of 75 or better on the exam entitles restaurants in NC to an extra 2 points on their sanitation grade.