Food Safety and Avoiding Foodborne Illness

Food safety is important for everyone, but especially if you have cancer. You may have a weakened immune system as a side effect of your cancer or its treatment. This can put you at higher risk of getting sick if handling, preparing, or consuming unsafe foods. 

What is a food-borne illness?

When food is contaminated with a virus, bacteria, mold, or parasite, it can cause you to get sick. This is called a foodborne illness, or more commonly "food poisoning." Eating contaminated foods while getting cancer treatments can put your body under extra stress.

What can I do to avoid a food-borne illness?

When handling, preparing, or consuming uncooked fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) and some animal products, follow the food safety recommendations listed below. This is especially important for unpasteurized or raw milk, eggs, soft cheeses, raw or undercooked meat, poultry, fish, and seafood.

You should use the following basic steps of food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.

Clean

• Wash your hands with warm soapy water before and after preparing foods.
• Thoroughly rinse all produce, scrubbing skins and peels, even on items like melon rinds that are not eaten.
• Wash the top of canned goods before opening. Avoid dented or misshapen cans.
• Thoroughly clean all food prep surfaces including utensils, cutting boards, and plates.
• Use separate cutting boards for raw meat and fresh produce. Label these cutting boards for future use.

Separate

• Avoid cross-contamination to keep bacteria from transferring from one food to another.
• Store raw fish, seafood, poultry, meat, and eggs away from fresh produce or ready-to-eat items in the refrigerator.
• Do not cut fresh produce or ready-to-eat foods on the same cutting board that you previously used to cut raw fish, seafood, poultry or meat.
• When using a marinade for meat, poultry, fish, or seafood, do not reuse the marinade as a sauce or dressing.

Cook

• Use a food thermometer to ensure meats, poultry, fish, seafood, and egg dishes have been cooked to the proper temperature.
• Check the temperature in different spots on each piece of food to make sure it is safe to consume.
• Check for the temperature that is ideal for the food you are making. Refer to the following safe food temperatures as recommended by the USDA-FDA:

Chill

• Place foods into the refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours of cooking.
• Food should be chilled to 40°F or below, so be sure to keep plenty of ice in coolers for outdoor dining.
• Keep fish and seafood on ice before cooking.
• On a hot summer day, if the temperature is 90°F or hotter, keep foods chilled until within 1 hour of cooking. Throw out foods that have not been chilled for more than an hour. Do not leave foods sitting out in the hot sun, keep foods covered and in a cooler/or on ice.
• Do not thaw frozen foods at room temperature. Foods should be thawed in the following ways:
  • In cold water.
  • In the refrigerator.
  • In the microwave.

What else should I be mindful of?

• Pay attention to expiration dates.
• If foods do not look or smell right, do not eat them.
• Wash your hands often throughout food preparation. If you’re outside and unable to access soap and water, keep hand sanitizer nearby.
• Keep foods covered, especially when dining outdoors.

For additional information related to food safety, refer to the following resources:

Outdoor Dining (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)

4 Steps to Food Safety (Foodsafety.gov)