Food Safety for Seniors:
Background information
___________ County
Cooperative Extension Service
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
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In the good old days…
• Food produced close
to home
– Ate food in season
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
2
In the good old days…
• Shopped for or
gathered perishable
items daily
– Eggs, milk, meat
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
3
In the good old days…
• Ate at home
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
4
In the good old days…
• Cooked longer, used
higher
temperatures
– No microwave ovens
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
5
In the good old days…
• Used lots of salt to
preserve meat
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
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In the good old days…
• No Escherichia coli O157:H7,
Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria
monocytogenes, no BSE (mad cow
disease)
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
7
In the good old days…
• Didn’t know some kinds of arthritis
can be traced to foodborne illness
• Didn’t know how many people got food
poisoning
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
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Why worry about seniors?
• Fundamental component of their
independence is the ability to prepare
foods at home
– Home prepared food is major source of
foodborne illness for everyone
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
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Why worry about seniors?
• We love them
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
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Seniors are at high risk
• Immune systems
weaken with age
– Decrease in number
of disease fighting
cells
– Surgery can also
affect immune
system
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
11
Seniors are at high risk
• Reduced stomach
acid and increased
use of antacids
– Increases number of
bacteria that enter
small intestine
• Increased use of
antibiotics
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
12
Seniors are at high risk
• Decreased
peristalsis
– Rapid growth of
pathogens in gut
– Possible
formation of
toxins
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
13
Seniors are at high risk
• Underlying illnesses
–
–
–
–
2001
Diabetes
Kidney disease
Cancer treatments
Malnutrition
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
14
Seniors are at high risk
• Believe they are
less susceptible to
get foodborne
illness
– “Never got sick
before”
– “Won’t happen to
me/us”
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
15
Don’t recognize symptoms
• Diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever,
sometimes blood or pus in stools,
vomiting, severe exhaustion
• Appear ½ hour to weeks after eating
• Most last 1 to 10 days
– Some have life long effects
– Some kill
2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
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2001
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
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