(NC) – People with a weakened immune system are at greater risk of life-threatening complications from food-borne illness.
This is because harmful bacteria, such as Listeria, E.coli and Salmonella, can multiply in improperly cooked or handled food and cause severe illness when consumed, particularly in people whose ability to fight off infection has already been compromised.
Conditions that can weaken the immune system and make people more vulnerable to food-borne illness include alcoholism, cancer (especially for people receiving chemotherapy), diabetes and HIV/AIDs. Your level of immunity will also be lower than usual if you are taking high doses of drugs, such as steroids or immune suppressants.
According to the experts at Health Canada, if you have a weakened immune system there are things you can do to protect yourself:
• Talk to your doctor about your increased risk of food-borne illness.
• Take extra care when handling, storing, preparing, and shopping for food.
• Avoid consuming high-risk food, such as raw seafood, non-dried deli meats and unpasteurized products like brie cheese.
• Separate raw food from ready-to-eat food, clean your hands before and after handling raw meat and frequently during meal preparation, cook food to a safe internal temperature verified by using a digital food thermometer and chill leftovers within two hours.
People with a weakened immune system are one of four groups identified by Health Canada as being at greater risk for serious food-borne illness. The other three groups are children aged five and under, adults aged 60 and over, and pregnant women.
The website www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/foodsafety offers a number of helpful resources on safe food handling, including downloadable food safety brochures for each of the at-risk groups, lists of foods to avoid and safer alternatives, a guide to safe internal cooking temperatures and an interactive tool for safe food handling at home and at the grocery store.
You can also order your copy of the guide Safe Food Handling for People with a Weakened Immune System on the website, or by calling toll-free 1-800-O-Canada.