Consultation on food and other complaints

Citizens have received complaints and consultations with Health and Welfare Center regarding various foods, such as "the food we just bought are moldy" and "the shop I used was unsanitary." At Health and Welfare Center, we ask the consultant in detail about the contents and, if necessary, inspect the complaints at an inspection organization such as the Health Research Institute to investigate the cause.

In addition, stores and restaurants where the cause of the complaint is suspected, enter the facility and investigate the cause in the same way. If the cause is to the business operator, we provide guidance on improving facilities and handling food to prevent recurrence, and strive to ensure the safety of food.

Food poisoning, which was previously thought to be summer, has recently been increasing in infectious diseases such as norovirus in winter, and it is necessary to take care of prevention throughout the year.
In summer, when temperature and humidity are high, food poisoning bacteria grow, and bacterial food poisoning such as Campylobacter and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (such as O157) tends to be more common.
Also, from autumn to spring, food poisoning including infectious gastroenteritis due to norovirus, is prevalent.
The causes are that people infected with norovirus contaminate food by cooking, and in many cases where bivalves such as oysters are eaten unheated.
Whether the food is contaminated with food poisoning bacteria is not determined by changes in taste, smell, or color. Be aware of the following and prevent food poisoning at home.

• Hand washing
  Wash your hands thoroughly before cooking, cooking, and before eating.

• Cleaning and disinfection of cooking utensils
  Not only do you wash cutting boards, kitchen knives and towels, but also do not forget to disinfect. It is recommended that disinfection be performed with boiling water or chlorine-based disinfectant. (Alcohol does not work for norovirus.)

• Heating
  Make sure that the food that is heated and eaten should be cooked. Bacteria die at 75 ° C or more for 1 minute and norovirus kills more than 85-90 ° C for 90 seconds.

• Eat right away
  Eat cooked food immediately and do not leave it indoors for a long time. If you can't eat it right away, let's refrigerate.

• Health management
  Avoid handling food directly if you have symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting.

If you suspect food poisoning, consult a doctor and consult Health and Welfare Center. In order to spread the damage and prevent recurrence, Health and Welfare Center will investigate the cause.
In the case of food poisoning due to norovirus or bacteria, it may take several days for symptoms to appear. Therefore, it is not always the cause is the food you ate just before you get sick. Therefore, it is necessary to check the food content over a few days.