It’s Farmer’s Market Season. It’s CSA season. It’s bury your face in buttery, sweet corn on the cob season. Fresh, juicy raspberries. Salads with every variety of greens. It’s the very best of summer brought to you by our local farmers.
And now it’s cyclisporiasasis season, too.
Information shared by the Howard County Health Department
Without nationwide diligence in monitoring food safety issues, our food supply is compromised. What we once anticipated as special summer treats are now something to be feared. And it’s not simply a “special treat” issue. Access to fresh fruits and vegetables is an adequate nutrition issue. It’s an addressing food insecurity and hunger issue.
It’s also a terrible blow to our HoCoLocal farms.
Farm map from HoCoGov
While there is information available* about safe ways to consume fresh produce, may folks are likely to deal with this current crisis in food safety by avoiding it altogether.
What happens, then, to our farmers? And to local restaurants?
When election season rolls around we often see people using the term “kitchen table issues.” What could be more relevant to our kitchen tables than the necessity of investing in the science and enforcement of food safety?
Do you have any ideas and or suggestions about this? Let me know.
*How to prevent cyclosporiasis
Cooking produce is an effective way to avoid an infection, as heating food to 158 degrees Fahrenheit or higher kills Cyclospora.
Public health officials advise thoroughly rinsing all fresh produce under running water, even items that say they are prewashed. Do this before eating (if eaten raw) or cooking.
It is also important for home cooks to observe standard food safety rules, and that includes washing your hands with soap and water before and after handling fresh produce.
Public health officials don't yet know what foods may be the sources of the recent cases and stress the importance of washing any fresh produce you intend to eat.
- - “What to know about cyclosporiasis, the intestinal illness hitting the U.S.” Joe Hernandez, Allison Aubrey, Joseph Kim, NPR
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