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Before you spread out your morning muffin or your take-out salad, think about the last thing that rested on your desktop before you dig in. Was it your briefcase that sat on the train floor on the way to work, the morning newspaper, the package delivered by the messenger, or the hands of a co-worker who just left your office? Any or all of these could be carrying enough microbes to make you sick. Resting on a surface for only 5 seconds is all it takes for food to pick up bacteria. Before you throw your muffin in the trash, taking a few simple precautions can all but eliminate the problem. First, and often most forgotten, wash your hands before eating. Mother did know best. Next keep a stash of disinfectant wipes in your desk drawer and wipe off your desk top often, especially before eating. And last, don’t put food directly on the desk or eat off the bag that carried your food. Use a clean disposable plate, paper towel or a napkin as a barrier between the food and desk surface. When you pour your next cup of coffee, think about the last time the office pot was cleaned. If you can’t answer that question, be a sport and give it a scrub, not a rinse but a soap and water wash. If the paper cups are stacked next to the pot, they should be placed bottom up, so you only touch the cup you use. Same with spoons put the bowl end down. Now everyone won’t be touching all the cups or spoons. Liquid milk should be kept cold in the refrigerator or on an ice bath, powdered creamer should be covered, and sugar should be in individual packets. Office refrigerators, because they are cold, are less likely to be breeding grounds for harmful substances. But spills, open containers, and foods that have been around long enough to mummify can harbor airborne bacteria and mold that does grow at cool temperatures. If you can’t induce your office mates to help keep the frig clean, keep your food well wrapped and covered. And, a good tip, store your lunch on the highest shelf where there is less chance of spillage and dripping from other foods. Many office microwaves resemble biohazard dumping grounds with residue splatters and specks of every meal ever heated. Unlike conventional ovens that cook by dry heat, which incinerates leftover residue, microwave ovens heat food by waves that agitate water molecules, creating friction and heat. It’s these dancing water molecules that cause splatter when food is not covered. And, the residue, with each subsequent reheating, becomes more pungent and can fall off the oven walls into the next item being heated. Microwaves can sterilize microbes, but in order to do this the internal temperature of the food has to reach 160o F. This is highly unlikely in a minute or less of reheating. The simplest way to eliminate the problem is keep the microwave clean. The easiest way to keep the oven clean is to cover all foods being heated. A piece of wax paper or even a paper towel or napkin will do the trick. And, remember, metal cannot be microwave, so do not heat foods in aluminum tins, wrapped in foil, or closed with a twist tie. Next time you get the “24-hour virus”, with stomach pains, fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, think about the last thing you ate at the office. You probably got a dose of mild food poisoning. One way to cut down on foodborne illness at the office is to email this story to your co-workers. A little caution goes a long way. © NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc. Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with12 current titles and sales in excess of 5 million books. Look for The Calorie Counter, 4th ed., Pocket Books. For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to www.TheNutritionExperts.com. Today, Jo-Ann’s main focus is publishing a nutrition counter series for Pocket Books. The books are widely available at your local or on-line bookseller. Current titles include: The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Calorie Counter, 3rd Ed., 2007 The Calorie Counter, 4th Ed., 2007 The Most Compete Food Counter, 2nd Ed., 2006 -- trade paperback The Complete Food Counter, 2nd Ed., 2006 Coming in 2008 – The Cholesterol Counter, 8th Ed. The Wholesome Wholefoods Counter www.HealthNewsDigest.com Top of Page 
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