Staying Healthy
Spring cleaning? Prioritize your fridge and pantry
Avoiding food poisoning starts in your own kitchen.
- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
With spring's arrival, maybe you're planning to attack those dusty baseboards, smeared windows, and cluttered closets. But if you've been neglecting your refrigerator and pantry, these hard-working storage areas should take priority — and they need far more than annual cleaning to help you avoid food-borne illnesses, Harvard experts say.
It's not a minor threat. Each year, an estimated one in six Americans — 48 million people — get sick from germs in food, according to the CDC. About 128,000 of them are hospitalized and 3,000 die as a result of food-borne illness.
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About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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