Dietary Hygiene
Dietary Hygiene
As the saying goes: "Diseases enter through the mouth," emphasizing the importance of dietary hygiene. Yet some people remain indifferent, repeating phrases like "dirty but safe"—a dangerous mindset, especially in remote rural areas where this issue demands serious attention.
Chinese people have long valued dietary hygiene. Great educator Confucius early proposed food taboos: "Do not eat if food is stale, fish is rotten, or meat is spoiled; do not eat if appearance is unpleasant, odor is bad, preparation is improper, or cutting is uneven..." The most critical rule is avoiding spoiled or rotten food. "Stale food" means food left too long and becoming foul-smelling; "rotten fish" means fish decayed; "spoiled meat" means meat gone bad—none of these should be eaten. How to judge food spoilage? Confucius advised observing color and smell. "Unpleasant color" means unattractive appearance; "bad odor" means foul smell. Any such food should be avoided, as consumption may cause food poisoning. Especially foods high in moisture—like fish, meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables—can quickly become smelly, fermented, or moldy in hot weather. Many prevention methods exist, including low-temperature freezing, which inhibits microbial growth, reduces enzyme activity, and slows chemical reactions. However, freezing does not kill microbes or destroy enzymes, so storage time must be limited. Nowadays, many people stockpile large amounts of food in refrigerators during Spring Festival, but even frozen food can still spoil over time.
Dining utensils often carry bacteria, viruses, and parasite eggs. Utensils must be regularly disinfected. Before disinfection, clean them thoroughly with hot water or detergent to remove grease, improving disinfection effectiveness. Common methods include boiling, steaming, and bleaching powder disinfection.
Fats and oily foods—such as pastries, cookies, ham, and sausages—may develop a rancid smell ("hala") during storage due to sunlight, metal containers, or microbial action. This is chemically known as lipid oxidation. Rancid fats not only alter taste and reduce nutritional value but also harm the body, irritating the digestive tract lining and causing nausea and vomiting.
Some people like wrapping food in newspapers, but ink on newspapers, magazines, and books contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)—highly toxic substances. Moreover, old paper carries pathogens, insect eggs, and viruses, contaminating food and endangering health.
Generally, potatoes should not be eaten after sprouting because they contain solanine, a harmful alkaloid. Normally, solanine levels are very low, but when potatoes sprout, especially in sprouted eyes, green parts, or rotting areas, solanine levels rise sharply. Consuming such potatoes may cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and in severe cases, breathing difficulties and coma. If sprouting is mild, remove sprouts and cut away green parts, soak in cold water for an hour to dissolve solanine, then add vinegar and cook thoroughly to eliminate toxins.