June 08, 2015

By Crystal McDade-Ngutter, Ph.D., Food Safety Education Staff, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA

It’s summer time! Break out the swim suit, sunglasses, sandals and grill. Not only is summer peak season for backyard barbeques, it is also prime time for foodborne illnesses. Bacteria grow fast at warmer temperatures and can make you sick—leaving you with not so good memories of your family barbeque this summer.

Listeria monocytogenes is a dangerous bacterium that you should be on the lookout for all year round—especially in the summer months. Listeria can cause a foodborne illness called listeriosis. It can grow at refrigeration temperatures and is one of the deadliest foodborne illnesses.

Pregnant women are more likely to be affected by Listeria than healthy people. In fact, they are about 10 times more likely than the general population to get listeriosis. Listeria can be passed to your unborn baby, even when you show no sign of sickness. It can lead to premature delivery, miscarriage, stillbirth, and death in newborns.

During pregnancy, it is important to be aware of the foods you are eating. Listeria is commonly found in ready-to-eat foods. These foods include:

• Soft-ripened cheeses (traditional Mexican-style cheeses, Camembert, Brie, Feta, and Ricotta);
• Raw vegetables;
• Store-brought salads (ham, chicken, tuna, and seafood);
• Deli meats; and,
• Hot dogs (a barbeque favorite).

If these foods can’t be reheated or cooked, pregnant women should avoid eating them.

Hot dogs are a certainty at any barbeque. For this reason, it is important to keep Listeria from lurking in your hotdogs especially for pregnant guests, their unborn babies, and newborns. Here are a few tips to keep your grilled hot dogs in tip-top shape:

• Never eat hotdogs straight out the package as a pre-BBQ snack—hot dogs must always be heated to 165°F or higher before eaten.
• Wash hands after handling hot dogs from the package.
• Avoid getting hot dog juice from the package on other foods, utensils, or preparation surfaces.
• After grilling hot dogs, keep the temperature at 140°F or higher until served.
• Make sure leftover hot dogs are refrigerated or put on ice two hours after they are removed from the grill or one hour if the temperature is over 90°F. When you reheat them, heat them to 165^?F or higher.
• Leftover hot dogs that have been refrigerated should be eaten within three to four days.

Properly cooking hot dogs WILL help keep Listeria from making a surprise appearance at your backyard BBQ.

Please visit www.foodsafety.gov for more information about food safety and direct food safety questions to the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or www.AskKaren.gov.

A dog can be a wonderful family pet and loving companion.

But, with the joy of owning a dog there is the responsibility of training and socializing a dog. Children need to learn how to treat a dog; not only their own dog but any dog they may encounter. What follows is a press release that speaks to preventing dog bites.

National Dog Bite Prevention Week  / May 17-23, 2015 Press Release

The American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery and the American Academy of Pediatrics have joined forces with the U.S. Postal Service, non-profit community, insurance industry and veterinarians to educate the public that dog bites are a serious health issue and are avoidable.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs annually – more than half of whom are children. Over the past five years, dog bite injuries are reported to be the 11^th leading cause of nonfatal injury in children ages 0-14 in America.

Dog Bite Prevention Week is an ideal time to educate children and adults on how to handle, train and treat dogs. If you are considering getting a dog, talk with a veterinarian about choosing a dog that will fit in well with your family. As a dog owner, you should socialize your new pet, train your dog with commands, vaccinate your dog against rabies? and other diseases, and neuter your dog, as they are less likely to bite.

The American Humane Association reports that 66 percent of bites among children occur to the head and neck. In 2014 approximately 28,500 reconstructive procedures were done to repair dog bites, as reported by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, which is a 6 percent increase since 2013.

“Even the friendliest dog may bite when startled or surprised. Be cautious; once a child is scarred they are scarred for life,” said Gregory R. D. Evans, MD, FACS, president of the ASRM. “Most children love dogs and like to put their faces up close to the dog’s face. Parents should never permit this. Injuries to the face and hands can be disfiguring or disabling and require prompt, expert medical attention.”

The ASRM and AAP joined this coalition to raise awareness and help prevent devastating, life-changing injuries from dog bites.  Medical experts suggest steps you can take to protect your family from a dog bite:

• Never leave a baby or small child alone with a dog.
• Teach your child to see if the dog is with an owner and looks friendly. Then ask the owner for permission to pet the dog. Let the dog sniff your child and have your child touch the dog gently, avoiding the face, head and tail.
• Tell your child not to bother a dog if it is sleeping, eating or caring for puppies.
• Tell your child not to run past a dog.

If you’re threatened by a dog, remain calm. Avoid eye contact. Stand still until the dog leaves or back away slowly. If you are knocked down, curl into a ball and protect your face with your hands. If you are bitten by a dog take the following steps immediately:

• Rinse the bite area with soapy water.
• Elevate limb(s) that have been bitten.
• For deeper bites or puncture wounds, apply pressure with a clean bandage or towel to stop the bleeding. Then wash the wound, dry it and cover with a sterile dressing. Don’t use tape or butterfly bandages to close the wound.
• It’s a good idea to call your child’s physician because a bite could require antibiotics or a tetanus shot.  The doctor also can help you to report the incident.
• If your child is bitten severely, call 9-1-1 or go to the emergency room.
• When going to the emergency room, advise the personnel of:

o        your tetanus vaccination status;

o        vaccine status of the dog;

o        who the dog owner is; and,

o        If the dog has bitten before.

There are few states that have laws stating how old a child must be before he or she can be left at home alone.

Yet, the National SAFEKIDS Campaign states that no child under 12 should be left home alone, no matter how mature they appear to be. They advise:

While 12 years is the earliest age to even consider that a child can stay home alone, each child is different and may not be ready at 12. Once the decision is made to begin allowing a child to stay at home alone the following suggestions can help insure a safe, comfortable experience for parent and child:

• Practice by letting your child stay at home for brief periods of time

• Always leave a phone number where you can be contacted

• Call your child regularly while they are alone

• Prepare your child for staying home alone. A good book to review together  is Dottie Raymer’s Staying Home Alone, and discuss what it means to make safe choices.

• Be sure your child understands your expectations about he or she is to use alone time. Review what is and is not permitted, such as:
  • TV viewing
  • Answer the phone
  • Cooking or making a snack
  • Using the computer
  • Entertaining friends
  • Going out or visit friends

• Make sure your home is safe for your child:
  • Keep medications in a locked cabinet
  • If you have guns, keep them a locked cabinet
  • Correct anything your child could get hurt on
• Practice correct behavior in emergencies such as:
  • What to do in an emergency
  • What to do if someone were trying to get into the house or apartment
  • What to do in case of a fire
• Before you make the decision to try letting your child be home alone, ask your child if he or she feels confident and ready to stay home alone. If he or she is hesitant, hire a sitter and revisit being home alone in six or more months.

Sources: National Child Care Information Center, National SAFEKIDS Campaign, Jennifer Wolf, About.com

With the weather getting warmer, many of us are thinking of hiking and doing other outdoor activities. If you are planning a trip through one of our national parks, why not take advantage of the “Free Days?”

They are:

• January 19
  Martin Luther King Jr. Day

• February 14-16
  Presidents Day weekend

• April 18-19
  opening weekend of National Park Week
• August 25
  National Park Service Birthday
• September 26
  National Public Lands Day
• November 11
  Veterans Day

Only 127 of our country’s 407 national parks usually charge an entrance fee. So start planning your visit!

If you’re planning a trip that includes multiple national parks, you might consider the $80 annual pass that provides entrance to all national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, and many other Federal lands-more than 2,000 in all.

The America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass is offered free to all active duty military members and their dependents. Information on these and other pass options is available online.

*Fee waiver includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees to the parks. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.

Source: U.S. National Park Service