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Pizza put 2,300 people in the hospital last year

Pizza put 2,300 people in the hospital last year

Pizza is more dangerous than you think! The cheesy dinner option is always a great choice of food for any occasion, but according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), saucy pies landed 2,300 people in the hospital last year with pizza-related-injuries. From lacerations from cutting pizza to burns and molten cheese, it seems everyone’s favorite food has a dark side. Others wound up getting treated for injuries resulting from falling in a pizza joint or even falling out of bed while reaching for a pizza — don’t act like pizza in bed isn’t a thing. The pizza stats were part of a the CPSC’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) injury report release associated with consumer products and emergency room visits. Pizza isn’t the only food product landing people in the hospital. In 2017, there were so many people cutting themselves attempting to slice avocado, “avocado hand” is…

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Back-to-school food safety for parents, kids

Help children avoid food poisoningAdobe Stock

Chances are you’ll worry more about finding foods for your child’s lunchbox that they’ll actually eat, than you will about whether those foods will be safe to eat by the time they get there. More than 48 million Americans will become stricken with food poisoning this year. That’s nearly 1 in every six people resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and more than 3000 deaths. Children are the most vulnerable to foodborne illnesses, so it’s worth taking extra precautions when packing their lunches. “One thing parents might want to do before school starts is pack a simple lunch with a cold source, and leave it on the counter,” said Marianne H. Gravely, Senior Technical Information Specialist of the Food Safety Education Staff at the USDA. “Wait the amount of time the child has to wait until lunch, and see if it’s still cold.” This activity gets the kids involved in their lunch planning but it also starts to teach them to become aware of the…

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How to tell you have food poisoning and what may have caused it

How to tell you have food poisoning and what may have caused it-expiration date

Summer is a big season for food poisoning. All of those backyard parties and picnics can lead to some pretty questionable food handling habits. One in six Americans — about 48 million people — will deal with some type of foodborne illness this year, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That means you’ve ingested bacteria, viruses or parasites that can really do a number on your body. But how do you distinguish funky food from a safe snack, and how do you know it’s not some other ailment? Food poisoning symptoms According to the Mayo Clinic, your food poisoning symptoms will differ depending on what your food was contaminated with, as well as your age. Very young or elderly people, pregnant women and those with weaker immune systems or chronic diseases face a high risk in contracting a foodborne illness, but food poisoning can affect anyone. Here are some…

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10 things you should never store in the refrigerator

10 think you should never store in the refrigerator

The fridge is a great place for most fresh ingredients, but there are a few foods that will fare better if left at room temperature on your countertop or in a pantry. The average family of four in America throws out about $1,600 worth of food every year — often because the food wasn’t stored properly for maximum life span. Check out this list to learn how to make the most of some of the most common groceries. 1. Coffee beans If you’re shelling out serious cash on the best coffee beans, you better know how to store them. The National Coffee Association recommends storing beans in an opaque, air-tight container at room temperature. Air, moisture, heat and light are all enemies to your beans, so store in a dark and cool location, but never the fridge. Coffee is soft and porous and likes to absorb other flavors around it — in the…

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Is it okay to drink water you left out overnight?

Is it okay to drink water you left out overnight?

Many people like pouring a glass of water for their bedside at night — but is there anything wrong with drinking that same glass the next morning? What about that half drank bottle of water in your car cupholder? Of course, most people don’t think twice about drinking day old water from a clean source. Our bodies tend to become dehydrated as we sleep at night, and it’s not uncommon to reach for the remainder of that cup of water when we first wake up. But what’s the difference between fresh poured and older H2O? tasting Fresh vs. stale water Anyone who drinks water — that’s everyone lucky enough on Earth — could tell you that water that has been left out has a different taste to it. It’s not dissimilar to other beverages: When you leave soda out it goes flat; when you leave wine out the flavor changes. When water sites out,…

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U.K. proposes ban on plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton swabs

U.K. proposes ban on plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton swabs

In a sweeping movement to help reduce the amount of non-recyclable consumer waste, the U.K. government has announced plans to ban the sale of plastic straws, stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton swabs. “Plastic waste is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world,” Prime Minister Theresa May announced in a statement on Wednesday, in which she called the U.K. government to be “a world leader on this issue.” Downing Street also said in the statement that it would work with industry in developing alternatives and ensuring “there is sufficient time to adapt.” The proposal would exempt plastic straws used for medical reasons. The ban is a small step in an overall effort to reduce plastic pollution from finding its way into the Earth’s oceans. According to the announcement, 150 million tons of plastic find its way to the water each year. This trash is responsible for killing one million birds and…

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Incredible facts about eggs you never knew

Incredible facts about eggs you never knew

Whether they’re Benedict, baked, or hard-boiled, Americans sure love eggs. In fact, just last year, we ate 2.7 TRILLION of them, according to the Incredible Egg. But our favorite breakfast protein is hiding some fun facts. Did you know that most eggs are laid between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.? Or why some eggs float and others sink? Read on to discover more egg-citing facts and learn why eggs are all they’re cracked up to be. america’s egg basket According to the American Egg Board, Iowa is the leading producer of eggs in the United States with more than 54,000 hens and 8,000 employees hard at work. Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania are the next top three producers. According to the Incredible Egg, across the country, 251 million eggs are laid each day. inspiring chefs’ hats According to The Culinary Institute of America the folds in a chef’s hat — officially called a toque — supposedly…

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Keep milk out of the fridge door, and other storage tips

Fridge designers are toying with you. While you think the door shelf looks like it was custom fitted to your milk carton, it turns out, milk stored in the door may make you ill. Store milk on a middle shelf, and only use the door to store items that don’t need to maintain a cool temperature. A well organized fridge is important for safe food storage and also to help you minimize waste. Here are a few tips to from Good Housekeeping UK that will help keep your fridge foods fresher longer. Ideal temperature: Set your temperature gauge between 33ºF and 39ºF so your food items never warm above 41ºF. Avoid putting food that are still warm from dinner in the fridge as they can cause the temperature to rise and spoil other foods — leading to those unpleasant feelings of food poisoning. Storage tips: Keep open jars of jam, jelly or condiments refrigerated. Cooked foods should…

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Energy drinks worse for you than other caffeinated beverages

Energy drinks worse for you than caffeine alonePexels

If your go-to jolt of energy comes from a convenience store canned drink, you might want to think again. New research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests that energy drinks can mess with your body more than other caffeinated beverages like soda or coffee. The small study focused on the effects of energy drinks vs. coffee on the heart. The results were concerning. Scientists gave half of the participants a common commercially-available energy drink. The drink had four ounces of sugar as well as 320 milligrams of caffeine — the same as drinking about four cups of coffee. The other half of the volunteers received a carbonated soda-like beverage with the same about of caffeine, mixed with lime juice, cherry syrup. Over the next 24 hours, researchers measured the participants’ blood pressure and heart activity. After six days, the participants were given the other beverage. Drinking either beverage…

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How to safely roast a turkey this Thanksgiving

How to safely roast a turkey this ThanksgivingPixabay

Thanksgiving hosts have a lot to worry about when preparing the year’s most anticipated feast; lumpy gravy, broken wine corks, unexpected dinner guests. But while there are plenty of things that can go wrong, there is only one thing that can truly turn the holiday merriment into misery. Food poisoning. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year, about 48 million people will get sick from a foodborne illness. While summer’s picnics and camps are prime time for foodborne illness, these diseases also spike sharply during the holiday season. Marianne H. Gravely, Senior Technical Information Specialist of the Food Safety Education Staff at the USDA, gives us some tips on making sure you prepare a Thanksgiving feast that’s memorable — for all the right reasons. Storing a turkey before Thanksgiving Start by cleaning out your refrigerator. Whether you’re making all of the dishes yourself, or guests are bringing some to your house, all this food needs a place to…

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