The beautiful sunny weather is invigorating outdoor pools and ice cream parlors – but ice cream and other foods are also growing at the moment. It’s not just germs that make food inedible, such as yeasts, that are finding it. Disease-causing molds and bacteria are also quickly cavorting in dishes – preferably those prepared with eggs.
Germs double every 20 minutes
In ten percent of the samples tested, so many gut bacteria are found that the supplies may no longer be used, food inspectors report. The heat causes germs to double every 20 minutes, but refrigeration systems also don’t work properly. One example: meat spoils twice at 5°, five times at 10°, and ten times faster at 20° than at 0°C.
In 2002, there were almost 250,000 intestinal infections, 72,000 of which were caused by salmonella. According to the German Nutrition Society, however, the number of unreported cases is very high: gastrointestinal infections caused by bacterial contamination of food are only noticed when they occur in clusters.
“Hoarding” is currently doing more harm than good
The pasta salad prepared with mayonnaise from the outing or the cold cuts from the long Sunday brunch should rather not go back into the refrigerator, but be consumed on the same day. Busy stockpiling easily leads to stomach and intestinal infections in the hot temperatures. Note: Cooling can only slow down the multiplication of pathogens, not stop it completely!
| Pathogen | Symptoms | Food |
| Salmonella |
After 5-75 hours: Diarrhea, vomiting, chills, fever, abdominal pain, lasts a few days |
Meat, poultry, egg products |
| Staph | After 1-7 hours: Nausea, diarrhea, sweating, abdominal cramps, lasts 1-2 days | Meat, poultry products, milk, puddings, sauces, cheese, dressings. |
| Bacillus cereus | After 8-24 hours: Diarrhea, intermittent vomiting, lasts 1-2 days. | Meat and poultry dishes that have been kept at room temperature or cooled slowly, soups, mixed dishes |
For sensitive individuals, it can be fatal
For risk groups, such as older people, small children, pregnant women or people with weakened immune systems, poisoning with salmonella can be dangerous, in individual cases even fatal. Therefore, these groups of people should be careful and pay special attention to hygiene when purchasing, storing and preparing their food.
How do you deprive germs of the basis of life?
- Do not let food stand for a long time and process it quickly
- After purchasing all perishable goods immediately store in a cool place
- Keep away insects, pests
- Keep kitchen surfaces clean
- Meat products not in the packaging, but in suitable Gefäß aufbewah ren; meat well durchbraten
- Do not keep food warm for a long time
- Cooling hot food should not take longer than three hours.
- Take special care with dishes containing raw egg: tiramisu, mayonnaise or minced meat.
