4 Ways to Make Safer Food Selections Your Guide to Safer Eating Out and Who’s at Risk, Risky Foods, and Cause of Illness Taking Out Foodborne illness is preventable if you take the right precautions Introduction RISKY FOODS WHO IS AT RISK CAUSE OF ILLNESS You’re probably already taking precautions (This is a partial listing) against foodborne illness at home, but you need Raw or Undercooked eggs: Everyone, especially Salmonella enteritidis to be careful when you are away from home too. Caesar salad dressing; soft- Older Adults Here are four easy steps you can take to protect cooked eggs; Monte Cristo Young Children yourself and your loved ones when you are sandwich; meringue pie; some Immune-Compromised selecting foods that are ready to eat at a restaurant, delicatessen, take-out counter, or puddings and custards; mousse; grocery store. sauces made with raw eggs (e.g., Hollandaise) Raw dairy products: Everyone, especially Listeria monocytogenes 1 Be aware of Raw or Undercooked Raw or unpasteurized milk; Pregnant Women Shiga toxin-producing Foods Foods from animals such as meat, some soft cheeses like… Older Adults Escherichia coli poultry, fish, shellfish, and eggs when eaten raw Camembert, Brie Immune-compromised or undercooked sometimes contain harmful Campylobacter Young Children viruses and bacteria that can pose a risk of Salmonella foodborne illness. Young children, pregnant Raw or rare meat: Everyone, especially Shiga toxin-producing women, older adults, and those with compromised Hamburger, carpaccio Older Adults Escherichia coli immune systems are particularly vulnerable. You Young Children are at increased risk if you suffer from liver Salmonella disease or alcoholism, if you have decreased Raw or undercooked Everyone, especially Vibrio vulnificus stomach acidity (due to gastric surgery or the molluscan shellfish: Raw clams Persons with liver disease Other vibrios use of antacids), or if you have a compromised or oysters on the half shell or alcoholism Hepatitis A immune system due to: steroid use; conditions Immune-compromised such as AIDS, cancer, or diabetes; or Raw fish: Everyone, especially Parasites treatments such a chemotherapy. Sushi, ceviche, tuna carpaccio Immune-compromised Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Older Adults

To reduce your chances of foodborne illness you should stay To learn more about foodborne 4 away from: illness and ways to prevent it, talk . Raw fish or shellfish – oysters, clams, Ways to Make sushi, sashimi, ceviche to your health care professional. . Meat or seafood ordered undercooked and food with uncooked egg ingredients – Safer Food such as “runny” fried or poached eggs; Environmental Health dressings or sauces such as hollandaise, Selections Field Services homemade mayonnaise, and Caesar salad dressing; desserts like chocolate mousse, New Castle County Your Guide to Safer meringue pie and tiramisu. University Plaza Eating Out and Taking Out Chopin Building Suite 105 258 Chapman Road 2 Ask About Preparation Recipes vary. DELAWARE HEALTH If you’re not sure whether a ready-to-eat Newark, DE 19702 item contains undercooked ingredients, Phone: 302-283-7110 AND SOCIAL SERVICES ask how the food is prepared. Fax: 302-283-7111

3 Request that Food be Thoroughly Kent County DIVISION OF PUBLIC HEALTH Cooked If the item you are interested in Thomas Collins Building Suite 5 Health Systems Protection selecting contains raw or undercooked 540 S. DuPont Hwy meat, fish, shellfish, or eggs, ask if that Dover, DE 19901 ingredient can be eliminated. If the food Phone: 302-744-1220 is prepared to order, ask for it thoroughly Fax: 302-739-1957 cooked. Sussex County 4 Make a Different Choice With Georgetown State Service Center certain foods, such as oysters on the half 544 South Bedford Street shell or an egg-based mousse, it may be Georgetown, De 19947 impossible to accommodate your request Phone: 302-856-5496 for thorough cooking. In that case, Fax 302-856-5065 simply choose something else. It is a

minor inconvenience compared to the major problems caused by foodborne illness.