Getting food poisoning is absolutely no fun, as many of us can unfortunately attest to. You feel betrayed by your meal, and it can set you off of a certain type of food for months if not forever. There can be serious health consequences as well, namely the dehydration that follows a food borne illness. And, unfortunately, food borne illnesses are not at all uncommon. They have many causes and every single year one out of six people living in the United States gets one. This means almost 50 million people get sick, over 100,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 even die every year from food borne diseases alone.
Fortunately, there are ways to combat the spread of food borne illnesses. X-ray food inspection, for one, can be hugely helpful in detecting contaminants. X-ray food inspection can help to spot physical contaminants that make their way into food. While x-ray inspection for food might seem space age or even a little weird, it can prevent many food born illnesses. In fact, food can even be contaminated by metal. If you run food through a metal detector, you could pick up on three main groups of metallic contaminants: ferrous, non ferrous, and stainless steel.
And other than detecting contaminants that have already found their way into foods, there are also ways to stop food borne illnesses from even occurring in the first place. For example, it’s important to refrigerate your leftovers, as harmful bacteria is much more likely to grow in a warm environment than a cold one. A fridge should never be kept over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, as the cold environment can actually help to prevent the growth of the strains of bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Freezers can also help to combat food borne illnesses for the same reason that a refrigerator can, and should never be kept over 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Vacuum sealers can also help prevent a food borne illness from occurring by keeping food fresher for longer. The utilization of a vacuum sealer actually can keep food fresh two to three times longer than plastic bags and containers.
No one wants food poisoning, but fortunately there are steps we can take to prevent and mitigate its spread. From high-tech x-ray food inspection to simple food storage, we can keep more people safe from a food borne illness than ever before. X-ray food inspection represents how far we have come, and how far we can still go to keep our food safe.