Fat Tom

   This is the week's blog and the topic is about food safety. To introduce that, people should know what Fat Tom stands for. Each letter represent a different word. F:food, that means bacteria need a high protein and high carbohydrate source environment to reproduce. This environment usually means food. A: acidity, bacteria can not reproduce in a high acidic foods like lemon. The first T stands for temperature, bacteria can rapidly reproduce between 41 Fahrenheit and 135 Fahrenheit. The second T stands for Time, that means if a certain food exposes to the temperature between 41F to 135F can only stay normal for four hours. After that, the food is unsafe. The O stands for oxygen, bacteria requires oxygen to reproduce so use vacuum technique to reserve food is always a good option. The m is stand for moisture, bacteria requires moisture food to grow which means keep certain food in a dry condition is also a good way to reserve food.

   There are five major food born illness in America. First, improper holding time and temperatures. That means either the food is kept in a wrong temperature or past expiration date. Second cause is poor personal hygiene. That means the person who cooked the food is not meet the requirements of food safety. The third cause is inadequate cooking, this means during the process of cooking, the food is not reach the require temperature. That means some bacteria may still present in the food. the fourth cause is contaminated equipment. People using the same equipment to prepare the ready to eat food and raw meat will cause cross contamination. The fifth cause is food from unsafe source. All the food source supplier should pass the certain inspection and requirement to be qualified to provide food.


This is a picture of Fat Tom. It shows clearly what each words stand for.




This is a picture of my refrigerator. Some food were kept there for a long time. After researched this blog, I know the importance of keep away the food that already pass the expiration date.