Kitchen hygiene matters
Salmonella, Listeria or noroviruses: there are quite a few illness-causing germs in foods. However, the most common pathogen behind foodborne infections in Germany is not as common: Campylobacter. Reason enough to take a closer look at this great stranger in the spotlight of the new issue of BfR2GO. Proper food handling plays a major role in determining whether the food has after effects. “Every year in Germany, around 100,000 illnesses are reported that may be linked to bacteria, viruses or parasites in food. The real number is likely far higher,” says BfR President Professor Andreas Hensel. “By following a few simple rules, people can avoid unpleasant and in extreme cases even life-threatening foodborne infections.” The current issue of BfR2GO provides an overview of the ABCs of kitchen hygiene on a pull-out poster.
https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/publication/bfr2go__issue_2_2024__main_topic__kitchen_hygiene-318350.html
Illness-causing germs can land on plates via many different routes. In particular, raw or insufficiently cooked foods of animal origin can be contaminated. They can also be transferred from contaminated meat to uncooked foods such as salads. In an interview, BfR expert Dr Niels Bandick provides clarification about the most common hygiene mistakes people make in the kitchen and explains what people should keep in mind when it comes to storing foods. For an overview of the most important tips, the issue includes a poster which can directly be hung up in the kitchen. The poster can be removed from the print copy of the magazine or downloaded from the BfR website.
In addition to the main focus, the new issue takes a look at dubious health tips and risky social media challenges as well as at the health risks associated with high-dose food supplements. The newest issue also examines sweet treats: One article explains who should be cautious around liquorice and why eating raw dough, however tempting, is best avoided. Another article focuses on novel protein sources such as lupins, insects, and meat deriving from cell cultures, which are becoming more important as a way of meeting growing global demand.
The new issue of BfR2GO takes a journey into the world of poisons, investigates the safety requirements placed on cosmetics, and discusses the improvement of the husbandry conditions for Sepia kept as laboratory animals. As always, the BfR2GO Science Magazine is compact and knowledge-packed and provides up-to-date and well-founded information about research and the assessment of this research in consumer health protection and for the protection of laboratory animals.
Each issue of BfR2GO presents a topicrelated to one of the BfR’s current fields of work as the main focus. It additionally includes reports, interviews, and news from all of the BfR’s areas of work.
The magazine is published on the BfR website in both German and English and can be downloaded for free or ordered for perusal free of charge. For those who wish to receive future issues of BfR2GO can subscribe for free at:
https://www.bfr.bund.de/de/wissenschaftsmagazin_bfr2go.html
About the BfR
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in Germany. The BfR advises the Federal Government and the States (‘Laender’) on questions of food, chemicals and product safety. The BfR conducts independent research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.
This text version is a translation of the original German text, which is the only legally binding version.