Food Safety During Cancer Treatment

Cancer and its treatment can weaken your body’s immune system by affecting the blood cells that protect us against disease and germs. As a result, your body can’t fight infection and disease as well as a healthy person’s body can.

During your treatment for cancer, there will be times when your body won’t be able to defend itself very well. This is because you might not have enough infection-fighting white blood cells for a while. You may be told to try to avoid exposure to possible infection-causing germs. It's important to know that you can't raise your white blood cell counts by avoiding or eating certain kinds of foods. But here are some tips for handling, planning, and preparing food when your immune system is recovering:

Food-handling tips

• Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds before and after preparing food and before eating.
• Refrigerate foods at or below 40° F.
• Keep hot foods hot (warmer than 140° F) and cold foods cold (cooler than 40° F).
• Thaw meat, fish, or poultry in the microwave or refrigerator in a dish to catch drips. Do not thaw at room temperature.
• Use defrosted foods right away, and do not refreeze them.
• Put perishable foods in the refrigerator within 2 hours of buying or preparing them. Egg dishes and cream- and mayonnaise-based foods should not be left unrefrigerated for more than an hour.
• Wash fruits and vegetables well under running water before peeling or cutting. Do not use soaps, detergents, chlorine bleach solutions, or commercial produce rinses. Using a clean vegetable scrubber, scrub produce that has a thick, rough skin or rind (melons, potatoes, bananas, etc.) or any produce that has dirt on it.
• Rinse leaves of leafy vegetables one at a time under running water.
• Rinse packaged salads, slaw mixes, and other prepared produce again under running water, even when marked pre-washed. Using a colander can make this easier.
• Do not eat raw vegetable sprouts.
• Throw away slimy or moldy fruits and vegetables.
• Do not buy produce that already has been cut at the grocery store (like melon or cabbage).
• Wash tops of canned foods with soap and water before opening.
• Use different utensils for stirring foods and tasting them while cooking. Do not taste the food (or allow others to taste it) with any utensil that will be put back into the food.
• Throw away eggs with cracked shells.
• Throw out foods that look or smell strange. Never taste them!

Do not cross-contaminate

• Use a clean knife to cut different foods.
• In the refrigerator, store raw meat sealed and away from ready-to-eat food.
• Keep foods separated on the countertops. Use a different cutting board for raw meats.
• Clean counters and cutting boards with hot, soapy water, or you can use a fresh solution made of 1 part bleach and 10 parts water. Moist disinfecting wipes may be used if they’re made for use around food.
• When grilling, always use a clean plate for the cooked meat.

Cook foods well

• Put a meat thermometer into the middle of the thickest part of the food to test for doneness. Test a thermometer’s accuracy by putting it into boiling water. It should read 212° F.
• Cook meat until it’s no longer pink and the juices run clear. The only way to know for sure that meat has been cooked to the right temperature is to use a food thermometer. Meats should be cooked to 160° F and poultry to 180° F.

Microwave cooking

• Rotate the dish a quarter turn once or twice during cooking if there’s no turntable in the microwave oven. This helps prevent cold spots in food where bacteria can survive.
• Use a lid or vented plastic wrap to thoroughly heat leftovers. Stir often during reheating.

Grocery shopping

• Check “sell-by” and “use-by” dates. Do not buy products ( including meats, poultry, or seafoods) that are out of date. Pick only the freshest products.
• Do not use damaged, swollen, rusted, or deeply dented cans. Be sure that packaged and boxed foods are properly sealed.
• Choose unblemished fruits and vegetables.
• Do not eat deli foods. In the bakery, avoid unrefrigerated cream- and custard-containing desserts and pastries.
• Do not eat foods that are bought from self-serve or bulk containers.
• Do not eat yogurt and ice cream products from soft-serve machines.
• Do not eat free food samples.
• Do not use cracked or unrefrigerated eggs.
• Get your frozen and refrigerated foods just before you check out at the grocery store, especially during the summer months.
• Refrigerate groceries right away. Never leave food in a hot car.

Dining out

• Eat early to avoid crowds.
• Ask that food be prepared fresh in fast-food restaurants.
• Ask for single-serving condiment packages, and avoid self-serve bulk condiment containers.
• Do not eat from high-risk food sources, including salad bars, delicatessens, buffets and smorgasbords, potlucks, and sidewalk vendors.
• Do not eat raw fruits and vegetables .
• Ask for pasteurized fruit juices. Avoid “fresh-squeezed” juices in restaurants.
• Be sure that utensils are set on a napkin or clean tablecloth or placemat, rather than right on the table.
• If you want to keep your leftovers, ask for a container, and put the food in it yourself rather than having the server take your food to the kitchen to do this.

Tips when your white blood cell count is low⁺