Tips for a Hot Season : Shellfish Safety, Part 2

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 3 of 3)

Under the National Shellfish Sanitation Program, a collaborative federal-state program that FDA administers, the government tests the water in harvesting areas for contamination from, for instance, bacteria caused by the dumping of raw sewage. If the water is highly contaminated, those harvesting areas are closed. As a result, though shellfish sold off the back of a pickup truck at the beach may seem fresh, there's a chance it may have been harvested from contaminated waters. To protect yourself, ask to see either a shipping tag or the shipping number of the shellfish — all shellfish caught in approved waters must carry such a number. If you plan to go shellfishing yourself, call your state fisheries department beforehand to find out which waters are safe for harvesting, says Busch.

No matter where you buy your shellfish, handle them correctly to head off food poisoning: Store your catch in an ice-filled cooler, head for home as soon as possible, and refrigerate the fish immediately. Cook the fish thoroughly; raw shellfish carry the greatest risk of food poisoning. Shellfish steamed for only a minute or two can also pass on a variety of food-borne illnesses: gastroenteritis, hepatitis, cholera, and other serious diseases. Your safest choices are dishes in which the shellfish is cooked for a long time at a high temperature, as baked scallops are, for instance. Finally, since raw shellfish probably contains some bacteria, it should be avoided by pregnant women, infants and young children, the elderly, and people with a compromised immune system or a blood, stomach or liver disorder.

You can also avoid food-borne illnesses by taking a few precautions on all your summer outings: Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Prepare and refrigerate cold foods in advance so that they're cold before you put them in the cooler. In your cooler, keep food separate by wrapping items in plastic bags or wrap. Once you're at the beach or park, place your cooler in the shade. For hot food, don't partially cook a food at home, take it to your outing, and finish the cooking: This encourages the growth of bacteria. Cook all food thoroughly and store it properly. Finally, always keep utensils and containers for raw food separate from ones for cooked food.

Though sun and water and food can pose special problems just when you're trying to forget yours, a little knowledge and planning can help make your summertime a safer season.

The Right Shades

It's important to protect your eyes from ultraviolet radiation in the summer — and all year round. Ultraviolet light increases the risk of cataracts, so it pays to wear sunglasses that protect against the rays when you're out in the sun.

FDA defines a sunglass as a spectacle lens that protects the human eye from bright sunlight. The agency has proposed a revised voluntary standard for sunglasses. Summarized, the characteristics recommended by this standard include:

Sunglasses must block 99 percent of UVB. A UVB-blocking sunglass is adequate to protect the eyes in moderately bright sunlight, such as is found in low-altitude, urban areas in temperate to northern latitudes.

A UV-blocking sunglass blocks 99 percent of both UVA and UVB. A UV-blocking sunglass is adequate to protect human eyes in intensely bright sunlight, such as is found in low-elevation snow fields and non-equatorial beaches.

Such sunglasses should block 60 to 90 percent of visible light to adequately reduce glare and increase visual comfort. Adequate traffic signal recognition should be provided by these sunglasses.

To be adequate to protect the eyes during prolonged daily use in extremely bright sunlight, such as is found in high-elevation snow fields and equatorial sand beaches, a UV-blocking sunglass should block 92 to 97 percent of visible light and have side-shields (or be goggles). Side-shields are needed in extremely bright sunlight to prevent reflected UV and visible light from entering the eye. These sunglasses have poor traffic signal recognition properties and may produce severe loss of visibility in dim light.

Sunglasses should not be used at night, in tunnels, or in similar dim environments.

The only medical claims allowed on sunglasses are that they may prevent cataracts and photokeratitis.

All sunglass lenses must pass FDA's safety test for breakage.

Consumers should check the label or ask the retailer to determine if the sunglasses being purchased are adequate for their use conditions.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.