Neurotic is defined as, abnormally sensitive, obsessive, or tense and anxious.
This morning’s Globe and Mail, out of Toronto, had a piece which said,
Today’s food-safety connoisseurs do not count calories, but the number of days leftovers have been in the fridge, the temperature of a steak’s core, and the number of hands they imagine may have handled a piece of fruit en route to their dinner plate.
And they are aided by a range of new gadgets that allow them to treat their kitchens like culinary laboratories under bacteria lockdowns.
… Brenda Watson, executive director of the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education, said she believes a degree of neurosis is necessary to prevent foodborne illness.
I disagree.
Douglas Powell, the Canadian-born scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University, said many people confuse the issues of food safety and food freshness.
“There are lots of things that are yucky but that won’t kill you,” he said. “And there are lots of things that will kill you and you can’t tell.”
In an effort to protect themselves, Dr. Powell said, some people make choices that have little to with preventing illness – such as buying organic produce – while neglecting behaviours that can truly protect them, such as the use of food thermometers and the proper storage of food.
“It’s not simple, otherwise 11 to 13 million Canadians wouldn’t be getting sick every year, which they are right now,” he said of food safety. “But the biggest risk is not eating anything. You can’t be neurotic about it.”
Cautious, careful, choosey — sure.
Neurotic? Not so sure.