San José, Costa Rica. July, 2015.

When food is manipulated, one of the key issues is temperature control, whether it is about those that allow us to keep them and preserve them under adequate cold conditions, as well as those for cooking.

According to Diana Portilla, nutritionist of the Clínica Bíblica Hospital, “it is important to know the adequate temperatures when manipulating foods, whether about those for preservation as well as for cooking, in order to reduce food risk.”

All these kinds of foods can be contaminated, but some are more prone to the growth of pathogens. These are the most common types:

• Dairy products
• Beef
• Eggs
• Fish and seafood
• Cut-up tomatoes
• Vegetable foods treated with heat, such as cooked rice, beans and vegetables.
• Cut-up melons
• Vegetables with cut-up leaves (leafy vegetables the leaves of which have been cut-off, shredded, sliced, cut-up or snapped off).

Prevent health problems for you and your family:

• Teach all the members of your family to carefully and frequently wash their hands, especially after using the toilet, caressing an animal, before meals and after touching raw foods.
• Wash all raw vegetables and fruits that you cannot peal.
• Keep raw foods (especially beef, chicken and seafood) away from the rest until they are cooked.
• Consume as soon as possible the perishable foods or any that have an expiration date.
• If the food has expired, has a strange flavor or strange odor, you should throw it away.

For further information or for requesting medical attention, please call the number 2522-1000, or write to the email citas@clinicabiblica.com or contact us via chat at the website: www.clinicabiblica.com.