Ways Home Care Can Help Your Loved One Avoid Foodborne Illnesses

If your elderly loved one is still living in his own home, as a caregiver, you strive to find ways to make sure they are safe at home and have the adequate support they need to continue to live in their own home. One area that needs consideration is food safety. Making sure what your loved one consumes is safe for them to eat is important for them to continue to live independently. Having home care services can assist in food safety for your loved one.

What Risks Do the Elderly Face with Food Safety?

While everyone has to stay vigilant to ensure the food they eat is still safe for consumption, an elderly person may have a few more obstacles than someone younger. As a person ages, some of the senses dull, such as sight and smell. Both of these play a key part in making sure food isn’t spoiled. If your elderly dad is recently a widow who never prepared his meals, he may have spent a lifetime oblivious to certain safety steps that are needed to unthaw and prepare raw chicken. Finally, if memory loss or cognitive processing is an issue with your loved one, he might need help with keeping his food fresh and tossing it when it isn’t.

A Home Care Provider Can Help Keep Your Loved One’s Food Safe

Having someone who can help prep, store, and then dispose of your loved one’s food is a great way to ensure that what is in his refrigerator and his cupboards are fit for him to eat.

Here are six ways a home care provider can assist your loved one.

Food Purchasing. Fresh food starts at the grocery store. Your loved one may need help shopping to ensure that the food he purchases to bring home is safe for him to consume. While all stores regularly review their fresh produce and meat to make sure it’s good quality and not past the expiration date, they still sometimes miss items, leaving them out for an unsuspecting person to purchase. A home care provider can help your loved one check those labels and products to make sure they’re good to bring home.

Food Storage. Once the food has been purchased, it’s important to store it properly as soon as possible. Meat should not be left on the counter and forgotten, and frozen foods shouldn’t be left to melt and thaw out if they’re not going to be prepared right away. A home care provider can also help your loved one label his purchases so he will know in the future when he bought it.

Food Prep. From cleaning to chopping to cooking, a home care provider can make sure your loved one’s meals are not only delicious but safe to eat.

Food Evaluation. All good food can go bad. Even if was fresh when purchased, properly stored, and then properly prepped and cooked, it can and will go bad eventually. Having a home care provider routinely check the cupboards and fridge for expired food will help your loved one toss what might not be safe to eat.

You want your loved one to eat well and enjoy the benefits of fresh fruit, vegetables, and proteins. Having a home care provider assist in these areas can keep them safe while they enjoy food that healthfully fuels their body.

If you or an aging loved one is considering Home Services in Alpharetta GA please get in touch with the caring staff at CaraVita Home Care today. (770) 643-1712