Handling Your Food Safely

During and after breast cancer treatment, your immune system may be weakened. You want to stay away from bacteria and other organisms that can make you sick. Here are some steps you can take when buying and preparing food to keep your food safe and your body healthy.

Food Safety in Your Home

• Wash your hands frequently, using warm to hot water (not too hot) and lots of soap. Lather your hands for about 30 seconds before you rinse. Scientists estimate that about half of all food-borne illness could be eliminated by proper handwashing. Wash your hands:
  • before and after eating
  • after using the restroom
  • after changing diapers
  • after touching pets
  • after you sneeze or cough
  • after handling raw meat, eggs, poultry and fish
  • after handling garbage
• Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, even when you're not going to eat the rind or peel. The knife slicing through the peel can drag contaminants such as bacteria onto the part you're going to eat.
• Use different knives and cutting boards for meat, produce, and bread. Use different knives and cutting boards for raw and cooked foods.
• Cook all foods to the proper temperature. For a complete list of proper cooking temperatures for foods, see the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food safety fact sheet.
• Don't use foods that are past their expiration dates.
• Don't leave protein-based foods out of the refrigerator for more than two hours. This includes anything with milk, eggs, mayonnaise, cream, meat, poultry, fish, etc. If protein-based food has been out for more than two hours, throw it away.
• If air builds up under a food container lid or inside plastic food packaging (such as the packaging for hot dogs), throw out the food. This air is gas is coming from bacteria growing in the food.
• Store oils, nuts, and seeds in a cool, dry place. If you live in a hot climate, you may need to keep them in the refrigerator.
• When you swim, you end up drinking tiny amounts of water. Stay clear of public swimming places (beaches or pools) that may have high bacteria counts, especially children's pools.

Food Safety Includes Safe, Clean Water

If you get your water from a private or small community well, you also may want to have your tap water tested. Well water can become contaminated with bacteria. City water supplies and municipal wells that serve large numbers of people are regularly tested for contamination. Private and small community wells are not, unless you have it done.

If your immune system is weak from breast cancer treatment and you have a private or small community well, you may want consider the following tips to ensure your water is the safest it can be:

• Boil your water. Bring water to a rolling boil for one minute before using it.
• Choose bottled water carefully. Water with labels that say "well water," "artesian well water," or "spring water" may not be safe. Choose water with a label that says:
  • reverse osmosis treated, or
  • filtered through an absolute 1 micron or smaller filter.
• Install a filter on the taps in your house. If you install a filter, make sure it removes E. coli and Cryptosporidium bacteria. Change the filter at the recommended times. The National Sanitation Foundation web site has information on how to choose water filters for your home. If you install a quality filter, you probably won't need to boil your water.