— Lisa Balivet

So, uh, you know, e for, for e coli, I think there's gonna be some sort of, uh, wash that you can probably buy commercially. There's probably some recipes for in-house made solutions that might have some effect on that. Um, do some, uh, deeper reading, you know, on those produce, for example, washes that are available. But on this other side here of my thought process is gonna be the more important approach, and that is to cook and to otherwise reheat your food properly. And if you've got a concern about e coli, then you, the, the, the guideline is to bring that product up to the temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. And at that temperature, it needs to be heated through for at least 15 seconds. And so it's a pretty short period of time, uh, but it needs to, everything needs to be, uh, brought up to that temperature. So not just the part at the, you know, a against the pan, but you need to stir and distribute that heat. So everything gets heated throughout, uh, to that evenly high temperature. And, uh, when it comes to reheating food, we have the same guideline in terms of that, that ideal food handling scenario. We bring those things up to 1 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Um, for those 15 minimum 15 seconds, keep in mind that, uh, the cooking time versus temperature works on this, uh, spectrum. So if you increase the cooking time, uh, you can decrease the temperature. And I don't know what all those are off the top of my head, that, you know, each, each one has a, a different point on the scale. So if you had, in other words, a, a delicate textured item that you didn't wanna apply high heat to, you can keep the temperature low, but ex extend the cooking time, and you can look up that information as, uh, a reference for you. Okay? Now, keep in mind, uh, also that, you know, cooking is certainly proper. Cooking is certainly important. Uh, cleaning, you know, washing is important in terms of the produce itself, but also these right here, your hands are the number one issue when it comes to cross-contamination. And, uh, you know, a common, uh, then source of not just e coli, but other foodborne illnesses, um, are, will be some sort of fecal matter. And, you know, the, the common foodborne illness is a, uh, is, is due to fecal oral transmission. So it's somebody's stuff out the rear end getting into your mouth via cross-contamination. And again, the hands are the typical culprit. But don't forget that your cutting board, as well as your knives and other utensils can also transmit these microorganisms. Okay? And, uh, there is a number of things to keep in mind here, but the, the basics are gonna be to, uh, wash and sanitize everything really in your, your daily use environment and when you're prepping on an ongoing basis through your prep period. And then also to apply heat properly to your food when cooking and reheating.