Safe Food Handling with a Weakened Immune System
Cancer and cancer treatments can weaken your immune system making it harder to fight infections. With a weakened immune system you are more likely to get sick or get food poisoning, therefore it is important to take special care in handling and preparing foods.
Tips for Safe Food Handling At Home
- Wash your hands before and after handling food. Wash hands with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds.
- Keep raw meats and seafood separate from uncooked food items like produce. Use a separate cutting board to prepare.
- Use a thermometer to ensure that meats have reached the recommended safe internal cooking temperatures. Use the chart below for reference.
Safe Minimal Internal Temperatures (Temperatures Taken Using a Meat Thermometer) |
|
Beef, pork, veal, & lamb |
63°C / 145°F within a 3 minute “rest-time” after being removed from heat |
Ground meats |
70°C / 160°F |
Poultry (whole poultry, pieces, or ground) |
74°C / 165°F |
Eggs and eggs dishes |
70°C / 160°F, firm white and yolk |
Leftovers, casseroles, & hotdogs |
74°C / 165°F |
Fish |
63°C / 145°F |
Shrimp, lobster, & crab |
Flesh pearly & opaque |
Clams, oysters, & muscles |
Shells open during cooking |
Scallops |
Milk white, opaque and firm |
- Avoid raw or undercooked fish, seafood, meat and eggs including sushi, oysters, cookie dough, or steak tartare.
- Hot dogs, deli meats and luncheon meats should be heated to steaming hot.
- Wash fruits and vegetables under cold running water even those with skins and rinds that are not eaten and pre-packaged items labeled “pre-washed”. Use a vegetable scrub brush as needed for hard produce.
- Avoid raw milk and cheese and consume only pasteurized dairy products.
- Refrigerate leftovers as soon as possible and eat within 72 hours. Heat leftovers to the proper internal temperature.
- Throw out any packaged or fresh foods that have passed their expiration date.
Making Safe Food Choices When Eating Out
- Order foods freshly made to order.
- Avoid self-service dining areas such as salad bars and buffets, where more hands have touched the foods.
- Ask for eggs, meat, poultry and fish to be cooked to safe minimum internal temperature or order well-done.
- Avoid shared open containers like dressing and condiments.
Know more about the subject
Cancer Survivorship: Stages, Statistics, And Care
Is it Possible to Have a Vegetarian Diet During Cancer Treatment?
It’s best if patients do not make any dietary changes before talking to their doctor or nutritionist
Eating well after cancer: your diet after chemotherapy
A healthy diet after chemotherapy can help you regain your strength and promote good health.
Navigating Nutrition: Colon Cancer Diet Advice
Eating well and following a balanced, nutritious diet is one of the best ways you can prepare for colon cancer treatment 1. But what is a healthy ‘colon cancer diet’?
How Should I Change My Diet After Being Diagnosed?
Crucial Points in the Doctor-Cancer Patient Relationship
One of the principles of the doctor-patient relationship is the patient’s right to know and decide on everything that involves their health.