[Click! Health] Early Heat Causes Food Poisoning Cases to Rise Early... "Pay Attention to Food Temperature"

Food Poisoning Image [Image Source=Getty Images Bank]

Recently, cases of food poisoning have been increasing due to temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. To prevent the spread of bacteria that cause food poisoning, it is important to pay attention to personal hygiene management and adhere to proper food storage temperatures.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a total of 198 suspected food poisoning reports were received from January to April. Compared to the same period over the past five years, there is a tendency for an increase in reports caused by bacterial food poisoning agents such as pathogenic Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens. On the 25th, 53 suspected food poisoning patients were reported at an elementary school in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province, prompting health authorities to conduct an epidemiological investigation.

This year, due to the earlier onset of heat compared to average years, suspected food poisoning cases are also rising early. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety urged, "For vegetables consumed raw, wash them thoroughly and store them refrigerated or consume immediately." For large-scale cooking, they also advised soaking the food in a chlorine-based disinfectant (100 ppm) for about 5 minutes, followed by rinsing under running water 2 to 3 times.

When handling poultry such as eggs and chicken, it is essential to wash hands thoroughly with detergent. During cooking, heating to a core temperature of 75 degrees Celsius for at least 1 minute to kill bacteria that cause food poisoning is also important.

After cooking large quantities of dishes like spicy stir-fried pork (Jeyuk-bokkeum) or braised short ribs (Galbi-jjim), keep them warm using heating equipment that maintains a temperature above 60 degrees Celsius or divide into smaller portions and cool quickly before refrigerating. A Ministry of Food and Drug Safety official stated, "With weather forecasts predicting a hotter summer than usual, extra caution is needed to prevent bacterial food poisoning," adding, "Norovirus-related food poisoning is still prevalent, so it is crucial to strictly follow food poisoning prevention guidelines."