A Guide to Seniors

Seniors
Source: Adapted from the Food and Drug Administration, www.foodsafety.gov.

As we mature, our bodies undergo changes that affect the immune system and the gastrointestinal tract. These changes make seniors more at-risk for developing foodborne illness and, once ill, it can take them longer to recover.

Immune System

• As we age, the ability of the immune system to fight disease and preserve health decreases.
• In addition, the ability to fight off infections after surgery or injury decreases.

Gastrointestinal Tract

• As we age, inflammation of the lining of the stomach and a decrease in stomach acid occur. These changes increase the likelihood of infection if a pathogen is ingested with food or water.
• Also, the digestive process slows, allowing for the rapid growth of pathogens in the gut and the possible formation of toxins.
  

Regular physical activity and good nutrition are important factors in maintaining a healthy immune system.

Knowledge of safe food handling is needed to help seniors stay healthy. The best prevention is understanding the safeguards necessary to remain free from foodborne illness.

Symptoms of Foodborne Illness

Common symptoms of foodborne illness include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever, sometimes blood or pus in the stools, headache, vomiting, and severe exhaustion. However, symptoms will vary according to the type of bacteria and by the amount of contaminants eaten.

Symptoms may come on as early as half-hour after eating the contaminated food or they may not develop for several days or weeks. They usually last only a day or two, but in some cases can persist a week to 10 days. For most healthy people, foodborne illnesses are neither long lasting nor life threatening. However, they can be severe in seniors.

Listeriosis: A potential problem for Seniors

Listeriosis is an illness caused by eating foods contaminated with a kind of bacteria, often found in soil and water, called Listeria monocytogenes. Bacteria are too small to be seen without a microscope.

Most people do not get listeriosis. However, pregnant women and newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems caused by cancer treatments, AIDS, diabetes, kidney disease, etc., are at risk for becoming seriously ill from eating foods that contain Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeriosis has flu-like symptoms, such as fever and chills. Sometimes people have an upset stomach, but not always. If the infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions can occur.

It takes an average of 3 weeks for someone to become ill. If you are an at-risk individual and/or have symptoms that concern you, consult your physician. Listeriosis can be treated with antibiotics.

How does Listeria monocytogenes get into food?

Animals can carry Listeria monocytogenes in their intestines without becoming sick. As a result, the bacteria may be spread to meat and dairy products. Listeria monocytogenes is killed by cooking or by other heating methods, such as pasteurization, used to produce ready-to-eat foods.

However, ready-to-eat food can become contaminated after processing within the processing plant or along the route from the plant to your plate. Outbreaks of listeriosis are associated with ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs, luncheon meats, cold cuts, fermented or dry sausage, and other deli-style meat and poultry. In the home, Listeria monocytogenes is destroyed if ready-to-eat foods are reheated to steaming hot.

What seniors and others at-risk can do to prevent listeriosis and other foodborne illness

People at risk for listeriosis and their family members or individuals preparing food for them should:

• Reheat until steaming hot the following types of ready-to-eat foods: hot dogs, luncheon meats, cold cuts, fermented and dry sausage, and other deli-style meat and poultry products. Thoroughly reheating food can help kill any bacteria that might be present. If you cannot reheat these foods, do not eat them.
• Cook ready-to-heat hams to 160°F.
• Wash hands with hot, soapy water after handling these types of ready-to-eat foods. (Wash for at least 20 seconds.) Also wash cutting boards, dishes, and utensils. Thorough washing helps eliminate any bacteria that might get on your hands or other surfaces from food before it is reheated.
• Don't eat soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined or Mexican-style cheese. You can eat hard cheeses, processed cheeses, cream cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt.
• Do not drink raw, unpasteurized milk or eat foods made from it, such as unpasteurized cheese.
• Observe all expiration dates for perishable items that are precooked or ready-to-eat.
  

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