HOLIDAY FOOD SAFETY AND POISON PREVENTION ADVISORY
ISSUED BY GIANT FOOD AND REGIONAL POISON CENTERS

Landover, MD (December 15, 2004) The National Capital Poison Center, the Maryland Poison Center, and Giant Food LLC, have issued a holiday food safety and poison prevention advisory as planning for holiday parties begins. Illnesses related to food borne bacteria have been described as the second-leading cause of sickness in the U.S. behind the common cold. Handling foods safely during the holiday rush is the key to enjoying a tasty and healthy holiday. Unintentional poisonings from non-food substances occur at holiday time also. Last year, the National Capital Poison Center and Maryland Poison Center, handled more than 8000 combined calls during the mid November to New Years holiday period.

 
Food Safety Tips

"Consumers need this information," said Odonna Mathews, Giant's Vice President of Consumer Affairs. "In a nationally representative survey, conducted by the Partnership for Food Safety Education, more than one in three consumers do not discard perishables left out more than two hours, and less than half use a thermometer for checking the internal temperature of meat and poultry when it is cooking."

"Consumers need to remember the 4 simple steps to food safety... Clean, Chill, Separate and Cook so that the foods served at holiday events are safe and wholesome," emphasized Ms. Mathews.

Clean: In the holiday rush, don't bypass hand washing and washing counter tops before preparing food. Always use clean utensils for preparation and serving.

Chill: Store food at proper temperatures. Perishable food, including party platters, meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products, eggs and cooked vegetables cannot be left out above refrigeration temperatures (40 degrees F). Bacteria grow quickly between 40 and 140 degrees F. Don’t store these foods in the garage or on the porch which may not be cold enough. "If the party lasts more than a couple of hours, remove foods from the table and put out fresh foods within two hours. Refrigerate leftovers promptly," added Ms. Mathews.

Separate: Cross-contamination occurs when foods that are eaten raw, such as salads, fruits and vegetables or when cooked foods, become contaminated with bacteria from raw meat, poultry, seafood or their juices. Wash hands, cutting boards, utensils and dishes with hot soapy water if they have been in contact with raw meat, poultry or seafood. "Remember don't mix fresh foods with foods that have been on the buffet table. Keep them separate," said Ms. Mathews.

Cook: "Using a thermometer is the best way to cook and reheat foods safely and to not over or undercook them. A quick response thermometer is the most versatile tool for checking foods in the oven, the microwave or on top of the stove," Ms. Mathews noted.

 
Holiday Poison Prevention Tips

Rose Ann Soloway, RN, Clinical Toxicologist at the Capital Poison Center, notes that young children put everything in their mouths, and there’s a lot to reach for during family gatherings and holiday parties. "You don’t want children to wake up in the morning to find leftovers and drinks from the night before. Spoiled food and alcohol poisoning can be dangerous for a young child. Other holiday items, such as poisonous berries, and lamp oil that looks like soda, can also pose health threats to children," said Ms. Soloway.

Ms. Soloway continued, "If you suspect a poisoning of any kind, call your poison center right away at 1-800-222-1222. This number is portable and will connect you with the local poison center, no matter where you travel in the United States. In the Washington, DC Metro area, you will reach the National Capital Poison Center. Elsewhere in Maryland, you will reach the Maryland Poison Center. Both poison centers are staffed with experienced, certified health care providers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays."

Ms. Soloway offers the following tips to prevent holiday poisonings in children:

• Lock up medicines and household products out of children’s sight and reach. This is especially important when families visit as older adults may forget how fast and curious children can be.
  • Many adult medicines can poison children who swallow only one or two pills.
  • Lamp oil is deceiving to young children. It looks like a beverage but can easily get into the lungs and cause pneumonia if children try to swallow it.
  • Button batteries are attractive to children and easy to swallow. They are found in toys, games, cameras, watches, and hearing aids. If swallowed, they can get lodged in the esophagus (tube leading from the mouth to the stomach), and this is a medical emergency. Store batteries as safely as you do medicines and household products.
• Use child-resistant packaging. Close the caps tightly after use.
• Clean up food, alcoholic beverages, and ashtrays right after a party, so that children won’t sample them in the morning.
• Appoint one person to monitor each child during a gathering.
• Decorate with non-poisonous plants or place possibly poisonous plants well out of children’s reach. Common poisonous berries include holly and Jerusalem cherry.

In addition, Ms. Soloway recommends taking certain steps to protect family and friends from carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas released by anything which burns fuel including cars, furnaces, water heaters, stoves and ovens, fireplaces, and space heaters.

• Have appliances, chimneys and flues inspected by a professional.
• Install carbon monoxide alarms, especially outside of sleeping areas.

Ms. Soloway recommends posting the poison center phone number (1-800-222-1222) near every phone and to call the poison center right away in the event of a possible poisoning to get expert advice. " Most of the time poisonings can be treated at home. Don’t guess; call for expert help right away. Even if you just have a question about a poison, call the experts at your poison center," noted Ms. Soloway.

 
Check these web sites for more information:
National Capital Poison Center – www.poison.org
Maryland Poison Center – www.umaryland.edu/poisonprevention
Giant Food LLC – www.giantfood.com

 
About Giant Food LLC
Giant Food LLC, headquartered in Landover, MD, operates 201 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, and employs more than 25,000 associates. Giant stores in New Jersey and Delaware operate under the Super G name. Included within the 201 stores are 172 full-service pharmacies.
 
Each year, Giant contributes more than $6 million in cash, goods and services to support charitable and community organizations in the markets it serves. Giant’s commitment to education, for example, is demonstrated through its annual sponsorship of the popular high school television quiz program It’s Academic as well as the A+ BonusBucks Program, which has awarded nearly $11.4 million to area schools since 2000. Giant’s commitment to the local community is further enhanced through its support of area food banks. The company annually collects over a quarter of a million dollars in funds and tons of non-perishable products, which are donated to food banks to help feed the hungry in local communities.
 
Giant is a member of the Ahold USA group, owned by Ahold of the Netherlands. Ahold USA currently operates six prominent supermarket companies along the eastern seaboard including The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, headquartered in Boston, MA; Giant Food LLC, based in Landover, MD; Giant Food Stores LLC, based in Carlisle, PA; Tops Markets LLC, with headquarters in Buffalo, NY; BI-LO LLC, headquartered in Mauldin, SC and Bruno’s Supermarkets, Inc., with headquarters in Birmingham, AL. Jointly they operate over 1,300 supermarkets. Ahold (NYSE: AHO) is a leading food provider in the United States and elsewhere in the world with 2003 consolidated net sales of approximately USD 50 billion.

 
About the National Capital Poison Center
The National Capital Poison Center, serves the 4 million residents of the Washington, DC metropolitan area. A staff of board-certified medical toxicologists, a board-certified clinical toxicologist, and nurses and pharmacists nationally certified in poison information answer about 50,000 calls per year. Since it opened nearly 25 years ago, The National Capital Poison Center has provided emergency services, poison prevention information and education, and training for health care professionals throughout its service area. In addition, National Capital Poison Center staff provide national leadership in research and poison prevention education.
 
The National Capital Poison Center is certified as a regional poison center by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Rose Ann G. Soloway, RN, MSEd, DABAT is Clinical Toxicologist at the National Capital Poison Center. In addition, she is the current chair of the Poison Prevention Week Council.

 
About the Maryland Poison Center
The Maryland Poison Center has been a service program of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy since 1972. The service has grown and changed quite a bit over the years. During the first year, the Maryland Poison Center received 5,600 calls. In 2003, the center took over 61,000 calls. Despite the increase in call volume, the commitment to providing the best quality poison triage, treatment, education and prevention services has never changed. The number to call is 1-800-222-1222.
 
The Maryland Poison Center is certified by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) as a regional poison center providing poisoning triage, treatment, education, and prevention services to all Marylanders. This service is staffed by pharmacists and nurses, who have specialized clinical toxicology training, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. All of our specialists have been certified by the AAPCC as Specialists in Poison Information. On average, each specialist has over ten years of experience managing poisoning and overdose cases. The center has the best qualified, best trained staff available to best meet the needs of the state.
 
In addition to the knowledge, skill, and experience of the Poison Specialists, the Director of the program is board certified in Clinical Toxicology and the medical director is boarded in Emergency Medicine as well as in Medical Toxicology. And, to make sure the center has all the bases covered, it has additional specialized consultants available as well.