Heat, problems with food storage

Translated by Jennifer Di Giacomo

Lately, there have been many cases of people being poisoned by spoiled, poorly stored food that was completely unfit for consumption, and unfortunately, there have also been fatalities.

Perhaps the environments in which the food was stored were unsuitable, but the intense heat, those long days when the summer sun brought temperatures up to 40 degrees, certainly did not help.

In fact, high temperatures are absolutely unsuitable for the proper storage of food. Exposing food to heat is the best way to contaminate it with insects, viruses, or very dangerous bacteria that can cause very serious illnesses.

It can be said that climate change is the real culprit behind poor food preservation. If we think about it, every summer we feel that it is hotter than the previous one, and higher temperatures are responsible for poor food preservation. We have heard older people say that once, even in the middle of summer, you could go shopping in the afternoon and everything would remain fresh and healthy as if it had just been bought, but this is no longer the case.

The warmer climate makes it very difficult to store food properly, exposing it to premature deterioration and the risk of harmful bacteria, which can cause serious illnesses and even lead to the loss of all or part of its nutrients. Extreme heat and food do not mix well. Viruses and bacteria develop on food exposed to excessive temperatures, transforming ingredients that previously seemed good and healthy into deadly enemies.

So, to the question, “Does climate damage food?”, we can confidently answer yes, and it is experts who warn us against the proliferation of harmful bacteria in perishable foods, which is accelerated by heat. “Heat is the enemy of preservation because it promotes microbial growth in foods that are left out of the refrigerator or exposed to inappropriate temperatures. In summer, the cold chain must be kept constant: any interruption exposes milk, cold cuts, and cheese to the risk of bacterial growth,” explain the researchers.

Climate change, with increasingly intense heat waves and increasingly extreme storms, is the real cause of poor food preservation, and the unfortunate thing is that we are solely responsible for this, due to our pollution and all the damage we have inflicted on nature and the environment over the years. We are finally realizing that this damage to the environment comes at a high price. We are seeing with our own eyes that a one-degree increase in temperature means a lot; it means staying healthy or not.

Milk and cheese are the most exposed and delicate foods, so they must be handled with care and never left at too high temperatures. These foods can have various benefits for our health, but if they are left in the sun for even a short time during a hot day, they are also the most at risk of developing harmful bacteria and viruses.

Meat and fish, as well as fruit and vegetables, are two other types of food that should never be exposed to intense heat as they can cause serious infections.

A simple sandwich or an appetizing sauce can hide serious risks to our health, as we saw this summer. Therefore, we must begin to think that the fight against climate change can also be fought through our food choices and our ability to manage food well by protecting it from extreme temperatures.

Storing food properly is a fight against climate change. This means keeping our food healthy even during extreme heat waves. It is necessary to adapt to the changing climate, but we really need to change this situation before it is too late, even avoiding being unable to store food.

For now, we can take the utmost care of food by checking that it is stored properly, especially when we eat at the restaurant. However, we should think every day about taking concrete action to protect the environment, because only in this way can we truly save our planet from the effects of climate change.

In conclusion, we can say that climate change does affect food storage, but if we want to, we can react and leave a better world for future generations.

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