飯菜加熱如何避免食物中毒

　　Reheating a takeaway (or if you’reAmerican, take-out) may seem like a good idea at the end of a hardday – butmany of us have learnt that there can be aheavy price to pay. Around onemillion people in theUK suffer food poisoning each year, and it’softenbecause we have failed to take a few simplesteps.

　　辛苦一天下來(lái), 加熱外賣(mài)食物可能看起來(lái)是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的主意– 但我們?cè)S多人了解, 這可能要付出沉重的代價(jià). 每年英國(guó)約有一百萬(wàn)人食物中毒, 常常是因?yàn)槲覀儧](méi)能采取幾個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的步驟.

　　Michael Mosley of the TV programme Trust MeI’m a Doctor uses a thermal camera to analysewhether reheatedtakeaway food is safe or not.

　　電視節(jié)目“相信我, 我是醫(yī)生”中的莫斯利用熱像儀分析加熱的外賣(mài)食品是否安全.

　　As Mosley explains, the trick is to heatthe food until it is 82C (176F) throughout to be sure thatyou can kill anyharmful bacteria.

　　正如莫斯利解釋的那樣, 訣竅就是把食物加熱到82攝氏度(176華氏), 熱透為止, 以確保能將有害細(xì)菌盡數(shù)殺滅.

　　That’s easier said thandone: while the outside may seem to be steaming, the inside could haveremainedcooler –hosting a pocket of living bacteria. It’s for thisreason that it’s important tostir the dish so that all the food is heated evenly.

　　這說(shuō)起來(lái)容易做起來(lái)難: 雖然外表看著似乎在冒熱氣, 但里面可能仍然是涼的– 寄宿著一團(tuán)活菌. 因?yàn)檫@個(gè)原因, 所以攪拌菜肴讓食物各部分得到均勻加熱很重要.

　　Even after having followed these steps, youshouldn’t reheat a meal more than once. Each timeit cools down, you offer moreopportunities for the harmful bacteria to multiply, making itharder to killthem all off the next time you stick them in the oven or microwave.

　　即使遵循了這些步驟, 也不應(yīng)當(dāng)多次加熱飯菜. 每次飯菜涼了, 就為有害細(xì)菌的繁殖提供了更多機(jī)會(huì), 下一次把它們放進(jìn)烤箱或微波爐里時(shí)便更難以殺光細(xì)菌.

　　This is particularly true for oneparticular takeaway favourite – rice – which can host spores of anasty bugcalled Bacillus cereus. When left in food, the bacteria produces toxins thattriggerdiarrhoea and vomiting. Unfortunately, these toxins are “heat stable”meaningthat even if youheat the rice to the point of killing all the bacteria, thetoxins will survive –and you’ll soonnotice the effects of ingesting those poisons.

　　對(duì)特別受人喜愛(ài)的外賣(mài)食品米飯來(lái)說(shuō)尤其如此, 米飯中可寄生蠟樣芽孢桿菌的孢子. 這種細(xì)菌殘留在食物中時(shí),可產(chǎn)生毒素,引起腹瀉和嘔吐. 不幸的是, 這些毒素“耐熱”, 意味著即使把米飯加熱到殺光細(xì)菌的溫度, 毒素也依然存活– 不久, 吃下這些毒素的后果就會(huì)顯現(xiàn).

　　If you do want to save your leftovers, youshould cool the rice quickly – before the bacteria canstart churning out thosetoxins – and refrigerate within an hour of cooking. Otherwise you reallyare“playing Russian roulette with your guts”, says Mosley.

　　如果你想保留剩飯, 就應(yīng)當(dāng)迅速冷卻米飯– 在細(xì)菌開(kāi)始產(chǎn)生那些毒素前 – 并在烹飪后一小時(shí)內(nèi)冷藏. 否則你真是在“用內(nèi)臟玩俄羅斯輪盤(pán)賭”, 莫斯利說(shuō).