Tips to Keep Your Super Bowl Party’s Meal Safe

Author: David J. Holcombe, M.D., M.S.A., Regional Medical Director, Region 6 (Alexandria Region)

It’s almost time for the Super Bowl, and like all big events, that means it’s time for a party. And where there’s a party, there’s plenty of food. And since most of us don’t serve large meals often, there’s a greater potential for food contamination. The Louisiana Department of Health warns it’s important to be wary of food borne illnesses and take precautions to keep yourself and all of your party-goers healthy this Super Bowl Sunday.

Food borne illnesses are frequent, affecting well over 48 million people in the U.S. each year. Such illnesses are also a significant cause of sickness and result in over 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually as reported by the CDC. The older and sicker (or younger) the patient, the more likely they are to have a tragic outcome.

In addition to Salmonella, other illnesses related to food include E.coli, Shigella, Hepatitis A, Listeria and Norovirus. These are all common causes of food poisoning, sickening millions of people annually in the U.S.

Food borne illnesses are caused by a great number of agents including viruses, bacteria, vibrios and others. Sometimes it is a situation where the food itself contains the toxins, while at other times the illness is caused the growth of the bacteria (such as Salmonella) within an infected person. In any case, the symptoms usually include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, sometimes explosive and even bloody.

Protect Yourself

As you prepare your Super Bowl meal, the goal is to keep germs from finding their way into your food. To keep your foods safe during preparation and as you serve items, put these tips in your playbook. This will ensure that a case of food poisoning doesn’t put a damper on your party.

• Don’t leave food in a hot car.
• Keep your kitchen clean, especially cutting boards, sponges and knives.
• Make sure your refrigerator is 40 degrees and your freezer is zero.
• Cook red meat to 160 and poultry to 180 degrees F.
• Never leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator for more than TWO HOURS.
• Keep cold party foods on ice.
• Heat leftovers to 165 degrees and keep them above 140 F.
• Put hot foods into small units for rapid cooling.
• If it looks strange or smells strange, throw it out.
• Wash your hands before, during and after food preparation.

The Top 10 Causes of Food Poisoning

Viruses, especially noroviruses, cause about 63 percent of all cases.  Noroviruses are the culprits in the infamous cruise ship outbreaks of diarrhea and are also responsible for the periodic closures of some Louisiana oyster beds. It requires very few viruses to cause an infection and the transmission potential is staggering, often affected an entire cruise ship in a matter of days. Noroviruses can also spread through an entire nursing home or other institution in a very short time.

Next is Salmonella, causing about 20,500 infections occurring every year in Louisiana with nearly all caused by food-borne transmission. Salmonella, like Escherichia coli, Shigella, Listeria and Campylobacter (all also among the top 10 culprits), invades the intestinal wall and causes significant fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Symptoms are preceded by an incubation period lasting anywhere between six hours to three days, with symptoms lasting up to week. Poultry products (including the annual holiday turkey) are particular culprits since up to 90 percent of chicken carcasses are contaminated with Campylobacter and around 20 percent with Salmonella and Listeria. Turkeys and chickens share similar germs (as do some reptiles).

Other agents include Clostridium perfringens (as was identified in the recent Louisiana incident), Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. All three of these produce toxins, the former after being ingested and the latter two prior to being ingested. In other words, with Staph and Bacillus, the poison is already in the food before you take a bite, while Clostridium perfringens produces it in your gut. In any case, victims get sick in a few hours after eating the food, often prepared and stored under improper conditions for that Super Bowl shindig, but usually get better within a few days.

Rounding out the top 10 are Vibrio parahaemolyticus and its close cousin, Vibrio vulnificus, both saltwater organisms. Vibrio Parahaemolyticus (causing about 45,000 cases a year) is often associated with partially cooked shrimp, and can cause an unpleasant episode of diarrhea.

Vibrio vulnificus is found in raw oysters, another holiday favorite and causes about 100 cases a year. While most people can eat oysters with relative impunity, those with severe liver disease run a life threatening risk with Vibrio vulnificus.