FEATURE - LIVE CHATS ON FOOD SAFETY FROM USDA WEBSITE
INTRO: The US Dept of Agriculture is now offering live chats about food safety on their askKaren.gov website. USDA’s Patrick O’Leary has more. (1:53)
ASK KAREN IS – USUALLY - A “VIRTUAL” FOOD SAFETY EXPERT: TYPE IN A QUESTION, GET AN AUTOMATED ANSWER, 24-7, FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE’S ON-LINE DATABASE.BUT NOW DURING WORK DAYS, KAREN COMES TO LIFE - TO CHAT ABOUT FIGHTING FOODBORNE ILLNESS.
Diane Van, USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service: The askkaren dot gov website has lots of great food safety information, but sometimes it’s helpful to interact with an expert, in case you have a follow up question. That’s the great thing about our new live chat feature. You can dig a little deeper into the food safety topic of your choice.
Let’s say you ask, “why is e-coliO157H7 harmful in meat?” We’ll answer, it’s a bacteria that can make you sick, and is very harmful to certain at risk populations. Your follow up might be, “how can I get rid of e-coli?” And we’d say: cook your meat and poultry to safe internal temperatures. 165 degrees for poultry, 160 degrees for ground beef. And keep raw meats separate from other foods.
WHO IS BEHIND THE KEYBOARD? EXPERTS FROM THE USDA MEAT AND POULTRY HOTLINE TAKE TURNS BEING KAREN, DISHING OUT ANSWERS AND ADVICE.
Van: Our most frequently asked questions deal with food storage and other handling issues, such as “how long can I keep meat in the refrigerator?” That’s more of a quality issue. Or, “is food safe if left out overnight?” We answer that perishable foods should sit out no longer than 2 hours at room temperature,
SO WHEN THE EXPERTS AREN’T TAKING PHONE CALLS AT 1-888-MPHOTLINE, THEY’RE AVAILABLE AT ASKKAREN DOT GOV FOR LIVE CHATS ABOUT FOOD SAFETY - MONDAY THRU FRIDAY FROM 10-4 EASTERN. IN BELTSVILLE, MARYLAND FOR THE US DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, I’M PAT O’LEARY.
