Food Safety After 65: Foods You Should Be Careful With
As we get older, eating well becomes increasingly important. A nutritious diet can support strength, energy, and overall well-being—but choosing healthy foods is only part of the equation.
Reading time: 10 minutes | Category: Health & Longevity
As we get older, eating well becomes increasingly important. A nutritious diet can support strength, energy, and overall well-being—but choosing healthy foods is only part of the equation.
How food is prepared, handled, stored, and served matters too.
Adults 65 and older have a greater risk of becoming seriously ill from foodborne infections. The CDC notes that older adults are more likely to develop severe illness from certain foodborne germs, including Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, and E. coli. Nearly half of adults 65 and older with laboratory-confirmed infections from these four pathogens are hospitalized.
That doesn't mean you need to stop eating the foods you enjoy.
It means that a few simple changes in how you select and prepare food can help reduce unnecessary risk.
Here are some of the foods and food-preparation habits worth paying particular attention to after 65.
Why Food Safety Becomes More Important With Age
Food poisoning can affect anyone.
However, the risk of severe illness increases with age. According to the CDC, changes associated with aging can make it harder for the body to recognize and eliminate harmful germs as effectively as it once did.
That makes prevention especially important.
You don't have to become overly concerned about every meal. Instead, focus on the foods and situations that are more likely to expose you to harmful bacteria or other pathogens.
1. Be Careful With Undercooked Meat and Poultry
Raw or insufficiently cooked meat and poultry can carry harmful germs.
This includes:
Chicken
Turkey
Beef
Pork
Lamb
Veal
Ground meats
Using appearance alone isn't always enough to determine whether meat is safely cooked.
A food thermometer is a much more reliable way to check.
Recommended minimum temperatures:
Poultry: 165°F
Whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal: 145°F, followed by a 3-minute rest
Ground meats: 160°F
This is particularly important with ground meat because bacteria on the surface can become distributed throughout the meat during grinding.
2. Reheat Deli Meats and Hot Dogs
Deli meats, cold cuts, hot dogs, and certain sausages can present an additional food-safety concern for older adults.
Rather than eating these foods straight from the refrigerator, the CDC recommends heating deli meats, cold cuts, hot dogs, and fermented or dry sausages to 165°F or until steaming hot.
This may be an especially important consideration if you frequently eat sandwiches or use deli meats as a convenient source of protein.
3. Think Twice About Raw Eggs
Runny eggs may be part of your favorite breakfast, but raw or undercooked eggs can carry harmful bacteria.
Foods that may contain uncooked or insufficiently cooked eggs include:
Some homemade dressings
Caesar-style dressings
Raw cookie dough
Eggnog
Certain desserts
For everyday cooking, a safer approach is to cook eggs until both the whites and yolks are firm.
Egg dishes containing meat or poultry should reach 165°F, while egg dishes without meat or poultry should reach 160°F.
If a recipe calls for eggs that won't be cooked thoroughly, pasteurized eggs can be a safer alternative.
4. Raw Seafood Isn't Risk-Free
Sushi, sashimi, ceviche, raw oysters, and other uncooked seafood dishes have become popular, but raw seafood carries a greater foodborne illness risk than properly cooked seafood.
The CDC recommends cooking fish to 145°F, or until the flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork. Shellfish should also be thoroughly cooked.
That doesn't mean seafood needs to disappear from your diet.
Quite the opposite.
Fish can be an excellent part of a healthy diet.
The important distinction is between eating seafood and eating seafood raw or undercooked.
5. Be Cautious With Refrigerated Smoked Seafood
Some refrigerated smoked seafood products may also carry a higher risk.
Examples include products labeled:
Lox
Nova-style
Kippered
Smoked
Jerky
The CDC considers refrigerated smoked seafood a riskier choice unless it is included in a cooked dish. Safer alternatives include smoked fish in shelf-stable, sealed packaging or smoked fish that is thoroughly cooked as part of another dish.
6. Choose Pasteurized Milk and Dairy Products
One simple food-safety habit is to choose pasteurized milk and dairy products.
Raw milk has not undergone the pasteurization process designed to eliminate harmful germs.
The same consideration applies to dairy products made from unpasteurized milk.
When purchasing milk, cheese, or other dairy products, check the label to determine whether the product was made with pasteurized milk.
7. Pay Attention to the Type of Cheese You Buy
Cheese can be nutritious, convenient, and enjoyable—but some varieties deserve extra attention.
Certain soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk may carry greater food-safety risks.
Fresh soft cheeses, including some varieties of queso fresco and similar products, also deserve particular care.
For a safer choice, look for cheeses made with pasteurized milk.
Examples of commonly available pasteurized cheeses include:
Cheddar
Parmesan
Swiss
Gruyère
Emmental
Cottage cheese
Cream cheese
String cheese
Feta
Mozzarella
If you're unsure, check the product label.
For deli-sliced cheese, heating it to 165°F or until steaming hot provides an additional safety measure.
8. Wash Produce Before Eating It
Fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet.
But produce can become contaminated with harmful germs before it reaches your kitchen.
Wash fruits and vegetables—including leafy greens—before eating them.
The CDC also considers raw or undercooked sprouts a riskier choice. Cooking sprouts is a safer alternative.
Washing produce doesn't mean soaking it indefinitely.
The important habit is simply to wash fresh produce thoroughly before eating or preparing it.
9. Be Careful With Cut Melon
Melons can seem like an unlikely food-safety concern.
But once fruit is cut, bacteria can potentially move from the outside surface into the edible portion.
The CDC recommends refrigerating cut melon and avoiding melon that has remained at room temperature for more than two hours.
If the temperature is above 90°F, such as inside a hot car or at an outdoor gathering, that window drops to one hour.
Freshly cut melon or refrigerated cut melon kept for seven days or less is considered a safer choice.
10. Be Careful With Premade Deli Salads
Prepared salads can be convenient, particularly when you're trying to avoid cooking.
However, commercially prepared deli salads can be a higher-risk choice for older adults.
Examples include:
Potato salad
Coleslaw
Tuna salad
Chicken salad
Egg salad
The CDC identifies homemade versions of these salads as safer alternatives.
Preparing them yourself allows you to control how ingredients are handled, refrigerated, and served.
11. Choose Pasteurized Juice
If you enjoy fruit juice or cider, check the label.
Pasteurized juice and cider are safer choices than unpasteurized products.
If you have unpasteurized juice or cider and choose to consume it, the CDC notes that bringing it to a rolling boil for at least one minute can reduce the risk from harmful germs.
12. Don't Eat Raw Dough Just Because It's "Only a Little"
Raw cookie dough and cake batter may seem harmless, particularly when you're tasting something you're preparing.
But raw dough can contain more than one potential source of harmful germs.
The problem can come from both:
Uncooked flour
Raw eggs
The safer approach is to eat dough or batter that has been properly cooked.
If you specifically want an edible raw dough product, look for products labeled as safe to eat raw or made with heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs.
A Simple Rule: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill
Choosing safer foods is only part of food safety.
The CDC recommends four basic practices:
Clean: Wash your hands and keep food-preparation surfaces clean.
Separate: Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs away from foods that are ready to eat.
Cook: Use appropriate cooking temperatures and a food thermometer when necessary.
Chill: Refrigerate food promptly and keep perishable foods at safe temperatures.
These four habits can become part of your normal kitchen routine.
What About Eating Out?
Food safety doesn't stop when you leave your kitchen.
When eating at restaurants or cafés, pay attention to basic food-safety practices.
For example:
Choose thoroughly cooked meat and seafood.
Avoid raw or undercooked eggs if you're unsure how they're prepared.
Be cautious with raw seafood.
Eat foods while they're appropriately hot or cold.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly once you're home.
You don't need to become afraid of restaurants.
Just make food safety part of your decision-making.
Healthy Eating and Food Safety Should Go Together
As we get older, nutrition becomes increasingly important.
You may want to eat more:
Vegetables
Fruits
Fish
Eggs
Lean proteins
Whole grains
Dairy products
Those can all be part of a nutritious diet.
But choosing nutritious foods doesn't eliminate the need for safe preparation.
A healthy meal that isn't handled properly can still cause foodborne illness.
The goal is to combine good nutrition with good food-safety habits.
A Quick Food-Safety Checklist for Adults 65+
Before eating or serving food, ask:
Is it properly cooked?
Was it made with pasteurized dairy or juice when appropriate?
Was fresh produce washed?
Has refrigerated food been kept cold?
Have raw and ready-to-eat foods been kept separate?
Am I choosing a safer alternative when the riskier option isn't necessary?
These questions take only a few seconds but can help make food safety part of your everyday routine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are adults over 65 more vulnerable to food poisoning?
Yes. Adults 65 and older have a greater risk of becoming seriously ill from foodborne infections. Age-related changes can make it harder for the body to fight certain harmful germs.
What foods should adults over 65 avoid?
There isn't necessarily a need to eliminate every potentially risky food. However, older adults should be particularly cautious with raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs; unpasteurized dairy and juice; unwashed produce; raw sprouts; and certain refrigerated ready-to-eat foods.
What temperature should chicken reach?
Chicken and other poultry should reach an internal temperature of 165°F. A food thermometer is the best way to verify the temperature.
Is pasteurized milk safer than raw milk?
Yes. Pasteurized milk and dairy products made from pasteurized milk are safer choices because pasteurization reduces harmful germs that may be present in raw milk.
Can older adults eat sushi?
Raw seafood carries a greater foodborne-illness risk than thoroughly cooked seafood. Adults 65 and older may want to choose cooked fish and shellfish instead, particularly because this age group has a higher risk of severe foodborne illness.
Final Thoughts
Eating well after 65 isn't just about counting calories, choosing enough protein, or eating more vegetables.
Food safety matters too.
As you get older, a foodborne infection that might be relatively mild for a younger person can become much more serious.
Fortunately, many of the most useful precautions are simple:
Cook meat thoroughly.
Choose pasteurized dairy and juice.
Wash fresh produce.
Be cautious with raw eggs and seafood.
Keep refrigerated foods properly chilled.
And remember the four basic principles:
Clean. Separate. Cook. Chill.
These habits don't have to make eating less enjoyable.
They can simply become another part of taking good care of yourself as you age.