Contest| "Tools to Spark Culinary Inspiration #12"

Hello friends welcome to my blog.

What do you understand by the word "food poisoning?" In your own words, explain
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Food poisoning is a discomfort or sickness gotten from food or drink we take in. These are caused by germs contaminating our food or drink. It is usually not serious as some people get better within some period of days with little or no treatment While to some people it is very severe.

What are the symptoms of food poisoning? And what are some tips to avoid it.

Symptoms of food poisoning could sometimes be mild or severe and these symptoms are;
1 Vomiting
2 Diarrhea
3 Fever
4 Abdominal pain
5 Headache

These symptoms of food poisoning can be avoided

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• If proper hygiene of hand washing is maintained before touching or preparing our food.
• Clean and wash dirty dishes
• Cook food thoroughly like raw meat to kill traces of bacteria and separate raw and cooked food to avoid contamination.
• Cool leftover food in the refrigerator as quickly as possible and use it within two days.
• Don't eat expired foods even if they still look or smell nice always respect expiry dates.
• Wash your vegetables and fruits with clean running water.
• Use separate cooking utensils for each type of food to avoid contamination
• Always disinfect surfaces in the kitchen like frequently touching surfaces like handles of cabinets, refrigerators handles, handles of water dispensers, light switches etc
• Reject contaminated food by ensuring that food packing is intact, and clean, with no tears or any sign of damage. Make sure that you are served food carefully.

What are the symptoms of food poisoning?

Diarrhea
This is a symptom with loose or watery stool for 3 or more times in day. Make sure to drink fluid to remain dehydrated.

Headaches
headache comes as a result of being dehydrated. Dehydration makes you weak and gives you a headache. Resting and drinking fluids helps in recovery from food poisoning.

Vomiting
This a natural response to food poisoning as the body tries to remove the harmful organisms in the body

Fever
Your body temperature rises as a result of your body fighting the infection this helps boost the activity of white blood cell

Muscles ache
Some people get body aches when they get an infection like food poisoning. This happens because your body vessels release histamine to widen your blood vessels.

At what point can we say that a particular food is safe for consumption?

A food is said to be safe for consumption when all through the process of its preparation is safe and does not cause harm to the consumer. Some guidelines to ascertain this are;

Freshness

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Ensure to always get food or drink when they are still fresh. Always check out if a food smells bad or off from its original smell.

Visual examination
Inspect the food to rule out there are no signs of spoilage, unusual texture, mold or decolouration on the food, then it is said to be safe for consumption.

Storage practices
Ensure the food is well-stored without leakage or exposure to dust, soot, rodents, flies, chemicals and unclean utensils because all these affect the food to be unsafe for consumption

Expiration date
Always check the date marked on packaged or perishable food this will tell you if they are still safe for consumption. This is seen on best before date which indicates the date the food will remain at its best quality.

With these guidelines, you can be sure that your food is safe for consumption.

This is my entry. I am inviting @emmaprince, @ubikool and @chima09.

Cc; @ninapenda