Well, with Staph it's over in about 24 hours. Other more dangerous foodborne like e. coli and botulism are less frequent but almost always deadly to people with immune deficiencies and young children. Salmonella, which is often associated with poultry is more common and also deadly to young kids and immunocompromised people. So how can you safeguard yourself? Typically, the foods which are dangerous are low acid/low sugar/low salt foods containing a lot of protein and moisture which have been held for a certain period of time between 41 and 140 degrees. The bulk salads like potato salad, coleslaw, 4 bean salad, all of those are premade and the deli clerk does nothing but dump it in a bowl and charge you to scoop it up. Even these can be contaminated if kept out for too long. SO...

1) Make sure cold food such as lettuce is kept below 41F. Make sure hot stuff such as the fried chicken at the deli counter is kept at above 140F.

2) observe the general cleanliness of the facility and the personnel involved in preparing your food. Check that the staff takes the time to clean, wash their hands, and have a way to sanitize food contact surfaces.

3) Make sure YOU wash your hands often. The general rule of thumb for everyone washing their hands is lather and rinse under hot water, as hot as you can stand for as long as it takes you to sing the National Anthem.

4) In commercial establishments, make sure that ground meat, poultry, and stuffing is cooked to at least 170F. This kills all e. coli and salmonella. Watch for a foodservice manager walking around with a notepad and temperature probe.

These are only some of the guidelines as outlined in many food safety guides. There's no way to fully protect ourselves. Sometimes even the most stringent rules can fail. But don't let me kill your pleasure. We've survived all this time and I've yet to eat a piece of sushi that gave me a stomach ache

Kuan