Ed note: This web site http://www.agingkingcounty.org/advisory-council is well worth subscribing to for all kinds of health and safety tips. Below is just a taste of one of their articles on food safety for your edification and to whet your appetite.
Food safety is important for everyone, but especially older adults. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that as we grow older, our bodies may hold on to food longer, our internal organs don’t rid our bodies of toxins as easily as they once did, our sense of taste and/or smell may have changed, and we may have chronic conditions that weaken our immune system. So it’s good to take special care with foods at home and to know more about the health department’s restaurant ratings when we go out.
For more information about the new rating system, visit www.kingcounty.gov/foodsafetyrating. If you have a smart phone, you can also text the words “king food” to 468311 to receive information about the rating system. Information is available in eight languages.
If you have comments about the rating system, Public Health—Seattle & King County can be reached by e-mail at public.health@kingcounty.gov.
Contributor David Baker is chair of the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging & Disability Services, which publishes AgeWise King County. He is mayor of the City of Kenmore and vice-chair of the King County Board of Health. Mayor Baker welcomes input from readers via e-mail (advisorychair@agewisekingcounty.org) as well as applicants for open positions on the council. For more information, visit www.agingkingcounty.org/advisory-council.