Want to avoid foodborne illness? Get hypnotized

The buzz created around microbial food safety leads to multiple hucksters trying to get in on the action. While we’ve covered new (and not really effective) ideas like home Salmonella testing kits, produce and consumer produce washes, this one is unique: Prevent Foodborne Infection With Seattle Hypnosis.

From the blog:

You can prevent foodborne infections with self-hypnosis that is is taught at the Seattle hypnosis offices of Roger Moore’s Counseling & Hypnotherapy LLC. Learn how to hypnotize yourself and change your eating habits…


Most cases of gastroenteritis caused by a common bacteria occur because people consume or prepare meat from infected chickens or cattle….

With self-hypnosis you really can end your desires for fats like beef and chicken and no longer expose yourself to the risks of the foodborne infection.

The Seattle-base hypnotists miss the mark (but full marks for trying) — avoiding meat is not the answer. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a significant, if not the most significant, source of foodborne illness today in North America. The very characteristic that affords dietary benefit — fresh — also creates microbiological risk: Because they are not cooked, anything that comes into contact with fresh fruits and vegetables is a possible source of contamination.

Is the water used for irrigation or rinsing clean or is it loaded with pathogens? Do the workers who collect the produce follow strict hygienic practices such as thorough handwashing? Are the vehicles used to transport fresh produce also used to transport live animals that could be sources of microbial contamination?

Herbivores, omnivores, carnivores and locavores are all at risk for foodborne illness.

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About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.