| Food and Water Safety
Hand washing
Hand washing is essential. Wash hands with warm soapy water for 30 seconds:
- Before and after handling food
- Between handling raw and cooked foods
- After using the restroom
- After handling the garbage
Grocery Shopping:
- Purchase foods with sealed packages
- Purchase canned foods that are not leaking, bulging or dented
- Purchase only pasteurized milk and dairy products; avoid all moldy cheeses such as blue cheese
- Avoid alfalfa sprouts
Storing Food Safely:
- Refrigerate or freeze all perishable foods immediately after returning home
- Have a thermometer handy:
- Keep refrigerator at 40oF or lower
- Keep freezer at 0oF
- Store raw meat and poultry on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator
- Leave eggs in their carton and store them on a shelf, not the refrigerator door
- Store canned and shelf-stable food in cool, dry place
- Avoid leaving perishable food out of the refrigerator longer than 2 hours
- Cover leftover foods with an airtight lid, plastic wrap or aluminum foil
- Use leftovers within 3 – 4 days
Preparing:
- Wash utensils, can openers, cutting boards and countertops in hot, soapy water before and after coming contact with meat, poultry or fish.
- Wash all fruits and vegetables.
- Throw away outer leaves of leafy vegetables (such as lettuce and cabbage)
- Keep two cutting boards: one for raw meats, poultry and seafood; the other for ready-to-eat foods and produce
- Keep raw food away from cooked food
- Wash cans before opening
Thawing:
- Thaw meats in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf
- Microwave on the defrost setting
- Do not thaw meat at room temperature or on the counter
Cooking and Reheating:
Foods need to be well cooked
If you have a food thermometer, the safe minimum internal temperature is 165oF for most food.
Avoid raw fish and raw shell fish (including sushi)
Cook chicken until juices run clear
Cook poultry separately from stuffing
Cover, rotate or stir foods once or twice while reheating.
Reheat all leftovers to 165°F
(The food should be steaming hot)
Drinking Water:
The public water supply may contain a low level of parasites that can cause diarrhea
If your CD4 count is 200 or below:
- Boil tap water for 1 minute
- Use filtered water: distillation, absolute 1-micron filtration and reverse osmosis are effective types of filtration (The Pur® Plus is an example of a personal water filter)
- Water filters may be purchased at most stores that sell household kitchen supplies. They can also be purchased at certain drug stores.
Additional Water Safety Tips:
- Parasites are removed or killed when preparing commercial canned and bottled soda. Seltzer, fruit drinks, steaming hot tea and coffee also are safe to drink.
- Avoid fountain soda and fruit drinks mixed with tap water. Parasites are not killed when these drinks are prepared.
- Beverages served in restaurants can contain parasites because they may use tap water or ice made with tap water.
- In the GMHC dining room only filtered water is used for drinking and making ice.
Bottled Water:
Not all bottled water is safe to drink. When choosing bottled water make sure it is appropriately filtered for harmful bacteria (absolute 1-micron filtration and reverse osmosis are effective types of filtration). Check the list below to make sure the water you are drinking is safe for your consumption.
Bottled Water Brands Safe to Drink
Dasani/Purified
Calistoga/Drinking
Crystal Geyser/Spring
Palomar Mountain/Spring
Poland Springs/Spring
Ralph’s/Distilled
Sparkletts/Distilled
Sparkletts/Spring
Vons/Albertson’s
Bottle Water Brands:
Not Safe to Drink
Evian Spring Water
Fiji Natural Artesian Water
Naya Spring Water
Perrier
San Pellegrino
Saratoga
Vittel
Sources:
http://www.gmhc.org/health/nutrition/factsheets/food_safety.html
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Food_Safety_for_Persons_with_AIDS/index.asp
Association of Nutrition Services Agencies Water Safety Handout accessed at www.ansa
Updated 10/08
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