by Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

NNSL (Apr 22/98) - Sunbathers are beginning to slap on their lotion. Homeowners are grooming yards, neglected for months under a frosty blanket. And gourmets are hauling out the barbecue for deck parties.

But wait.

Food-borne bacterial diseases are increasing along with a possible co-variable: the size of cattle feed lots. This means it is more important than ever to thoroughly cook that burger.

Eleven Aurora College pre-employment cooking students recently learned the importance of battling the bacteria by cooking burgers so there is no pink inside.

They have now graduated from the food safety unit and will soon be looking for jobs.

"Hand washing is one of the major methods of preventing food illnesses," said senior environmental health officer Brad Colpitts.

"It sounds basic but it's important to wash frequently with a good soap, lather and rinse."

Bacteria can spread to hands after smoking or going to the washroom.

Three essential tips the students learned were to keep refrigerated food at four degrees or less, simmer pre-heated food at 60 degrees or more and don't use the same plate for raw meat before the barbecue and for cooked meat afterwards.

Each year about 1,500 Canadians are poisoned by E. coli bacteria 0157:H7, a strain of deadly bacteria found in cattle intestines. The condition can be fatal in babies, the elderly and others with weakened immune systems.

Better known as hamburger disease, the bacteria is sometimes found in the pink part of hamburger meat.

"When you cook a steak, you sear both sides to make sure everything has been killed," said Doug Carr, who taught the pre-employment cooking course's food safety unit.

"With hamburgers, the bacteria gets inside because the meat is ground up. So you have to cook them through."

Carr said the bacteria could cause a severe kidney condition -- haemolytic uremic syndrome.

Infection with the listeria bacterium, for example, can cause miscarriage. Campylobacterosis can result in Guillian-Barre syndrome, which attacks the muscles and can lead to paralysis.

But the most common result for careless Yellowknifers who fire up springtime barbecues without watching safety is diarrhea or stomach cramps.

Carr teaches the students to wipe the counters often with a bleach/water mixture.

"The quantity of bleach is so minimal, it works out to about two tablespoons per gallon."

Senior instructor Colleen Proctor has had three calls during the past week from employers who want to hire students. Two were from tourism camps and one was a mining camp.

"It looks like everyone should have a job when they are finished or shortly after they are finished," she said.

"And that's pretty much par for the course. There's lots of jobs for cooks."