Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness Information and Research : International Food Safety Network : BarfBlog

Ian Fortey reports for the Asylum blog on the 5 edible things borne from crap you’d never eat. The edited list is below.

• Tilapia
Tilapia are little fish found pretty much all over the world at this point in farms and in freshwater, swimming about innocent as you please and occasionally winding up on the menu at Red Lobster. In countries like Vietnam, tilapia is a great crop for fish farmers as it is what is known as a "value added" crop, meaning not only can the fish be raised and sold for food, they also eat poo.
Like your strange cousin whom you were never allowed to be alone with, tilapia will put anything in their mouths. People exploit that by using tilapia for sewage treatments, where they clean up crap as they grow before getting sold to some lucky diner to eat with a side of mashed potatoes and a biscuit.
Research has shown that fish raised on poop will have significantly higher levels of fecal choliform bacteria in their tissue than fish raised in treated water, but the bacteria doesn't seem to affect the muscle tissue, meaning the fish is more or less safe for you to eat. And, if it was raised in your neck of the woods, or at least where your toilet drains, it may even taste familiar.

• Citric Acid
If you've ever licked the walls under a sink in a condemned building, you have issues. But it's also likely you've been horribly exposed to Aspergillus niger, one of the most common molds known to man, strains of which supply the bulk of our citric acid supplies.

• Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is a pretty necessary ingredient of any Oktoberfest celebration. It's fermented cabbage and it belongs on sausage, because if you're sucking back beer you can't taste it anyway. And in some cases that's likely a good thing as some sauerkraut has an unwholesomely close relationship with human urine.
Apparently in blind taste tests, seven in 20 people prefer the taste of sauerkraut that has been made from urine-fertilized cabbage. Which is to say someone peed on the cabbage and then later you ate it, and 35 percent of people think it tastes better than stuff no one peed on.

• Lutefisk
A Norwegian dish made from whitefish and lye, Lutefisk is one of the few foods you can eat that is made from an ingredient that can melt you. If you remember that scene in "Fight Club" when Brad Pitt kisses Ed Norton's hand and pours powder on it to give him a chemical burn, you have a bit of an idea of what lye in action looks like.
Apparently some industrious Norseman at some point in time ventured to soak fish in water for six days, then soak it in lye to the point where it turns to jelly and would melt your insides out if you ate it, then soak it in water again to decrease some of that horrifying meltiness, and voila. Edible! Seems like such an easy recipe it's a wonder it's not served all over the world.

• Pruno
You can't really expect a prison to offer up the finest in wines, but even by prison standards pruno is kind of disgusting and, according to Wikipedia, is occasionally described as tasting like a "vomit-flavored wine cooler."
Because pruno is made in facilities where alcohol is not allowed and none of the tools to produce it are afforded to anyone, its production is a little more slapdash than your average bottle of Thunderbird. Basically, pruno is made from the remnants of whatever biomatter a felon can get his hands on -- fruit salad, oranges, bread or anything that has the ability to ferment.
Once everything is smashed into a bag together, it needs to be kept warm for a few days, and then sugar has to be added. This can be real sugar, ketchup, honey, whatever is handy again, because this recipe is going to be disgusting no matter what. A few more days of being kept warm and voila, you have fermentation. Filter out the chunks of pulp and mold (because there will be mold), perhaps through an old sock, and there you have it, your own glass of awful, awful pruno. Enjoy as you try not to go blind.

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Poland’s soccer team may suck, but the co-host of the 2012 UEFA Euro championships wants to make sure the toilets sparkle.

Arkadiusz Choczaj, leader of the so-called "Clean Patrol" campaign, told reporters in Warsaw,

"Our toilets are better prepared for these championships than our football players.”

"Clean Patrols", made up of volunteer inspectors dressed in white overalls, recently sniffed around 200 public toilets in six Polish cities slated as Euro 2012 venues or back-ups. The "Clean Patrol" project was co-sponsored by CWS-boco, a sanitary products supplier.

Public potties were rated on accessibility, hygiene, smell and whether toilet paper, soap and hand towels were available.

Just one toilet scored a perfect 100 points, while a three-quarters majority rated 65 points, the basic acceptable standard.

Loos in airports, hotels, restaurants and cafes were rated the highest by both the patrols and tourists surveyed by the independent TNS OBOP pollsters. Poland's tourist-magnet southern city of Krakow received the highest ratings.

At the bottom of the rankings were a quarter of public restrooms -- in train and bus stations, on trains and in camp grounds -- rated as danger zones by the patrols and foreign tourists alike.

Jan Orgelbrand, head of Poland's Chief Sanitary Inspectorate said,

"Regardless of the Euro finals, we have to improve standards because, let's face it, we want to live in a country that doesn't stink.”

"Not every football fan or tourist will get to the stadium, but all will visit our public lavatories and their standard speaks about Poland as a nation."
 

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The Jim and Pam wedding episode of The Office began last night with either a homage to the campfire story barf scene in Stand By Me, or Ben’s last car trip to Canada.

Either way, quite funny, and certainly worthy of something called, barfblog.com.
 

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Chicago cab drivers are demanding that riders who throw up in their cabs get slapped with a $50 fee.

The cabbies said Thursday they want to the city impose the penalty because of the work -- and hours lost -- that comes with cleaning a passenger's vomit.

Mayor Richard Daley said his administration will listen to the drivers' request and review their recommendations.

 

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When was the last time you opened your fridge and saw this- the mold monster?  Hopefully never, but if you have, you’ve probably experienced some sort of sickness related to eating the food from the fridge.  Mold grows from decomposing organic material, and in addition to a foul order and slime, mold is a great indicator of food going bad.  But food can be decidedly “bad” before the mold fully appears.

Unfortunately the busy life of student has led me to find the mold monster lurking in my fridge on more than one occasion.  CNNHealth gives some great advice to college students this week: “Don’t eat mold.”  Not only is it unappetizing, but molds can cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems as well as produce mycotoxins, poisonous substances that can make you sick.

I’ve definitely never gone as far to intentionally consume mold.  I believe in labeling my leftovers with the date and smelling foods before eating them.  It’s not a foolproof way to avoid food-borne illness from moldy foods, but it’s better than eating leftovers blindly.

CNNHealth goes on to offer additional tips to enjoy a meal from the fridge: The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends discarding moldy bread and baked goods, because of their porous texture.
Creamy dairy products like yogurt can easily spread mold and should be discarded. Soft cheeses with high moisture content -- including those that are shredded, sliced, or crumbled -- can be contaminated with both mold and bacteria. So throw those away, experts advise.
Hard cheeses can be saved, as long as the mold is cut 1 inch around the spot. Because of the cheese's hardness, the mold generally cannot penetrate deep into the product.

Mom taught me well, to throw away any bread with the slightest bit of mold, and to keep moldy hard cheese but to cut away the mold. (Within reason of course, I’m talking about cutting off a dime-sized piece of mold, not eating a furry piece of cheese.)  I also try to disinfect my fridge at least every six months.

What if the fridge doesn’t belong to you?  Office or community fridges can be hot spots for spoiled food and moldy surfaces.  The Pittsburg Post-Gazette cites a survey by the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods which “found that 44 percent of office refrigerators are cleaned once a month and 22 percent are cleaned only once or twice a year.”

Clean out your fridge at home with a household kitchen cleaner – preferably something with bleach.  Institute a bi-weekly cleanup day for the office fridge.  These are two terrific ways to lower your risk of contracting a food-borne illness from fridge food.  You can also reference the USDA’s guide on moldy food when deciding what to trash or save.

Also, don’t forget to wash your hands after touching all that mold.

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Amy, Sorenne and I are hanging out in Venice, Florida, and I do most of the cooking. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies from the neighborly Publix supermarket, and I even bought a digital, tip-sensitive meat thermometer from Target because I just feel naked cooking without one.

Others aren’t so fortunate, I guess.

A group called HolidayTravelWatch, somewhere in the European Union, has just published its top-20 appalling holiday complaints and problems. Included in this year’s list:

1. Family holiday to Egypt where a child was struck down by severe food poisoning, hospitalization and subsequent scalding in the hotel restaurant.

2. Family holiday to Turkey found that most of their group were ill, they were diagnosed as suffering with Salmonella and Cryptosporidium.

12. One family reported that they had returned from Turkey and their daughter had been diagnosed with Salmonella - they report that many people were ill at the hotel.

15. Holidaymakers to one hotel in Egypt reported sewage smells on the complex, gardens irrigated by stagnant water, food lukewarm, drinks served through a hatch and not via sealed bottles - they suffered severe gastric illness which still continues.

17. One family to Egypt suffered with food undercooked, poor chef hygiene practices (one chef was seen to handle bloody meat then touch other food), flies on the food in the pool bar, sewage smells in bathroom, cracks on the balcony and they are suspected as suffering with Cryptosporidium.

20, One couple’s trip to Egypt was marred by building work, diarrhoea on the public toilet walls, diarrhoea in the restaurant. They both suffered severe illness and weight loss - they are still ill.

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When it gets hot in Kansas, we go to Florida.

We're leaving in a week, with a little work along the way before we settle into our rental on sexy Venice Beach, Florida. It’s the antithesis of places like South Beach, Miami, where celebrities flock and appearances rule. Venice – founded as a retirement community by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in the 1920s – is about as quiet as it gets.

With good beaches.

This year we’ll have 7-month-old Sorenne, and she’s starting to crawl (see below). If she can do this on hardwood, sand will be a breeze.

So we have to aware of sand in the mouth.

Besides the yuck factor, researchers at the University of North Carolina have found that digging in sand on beaches near water with high levels of fecal bacteria could be a risk factor for developing the drips.

For the study, reported in The American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers got contact information for more than 25,000 people visiting seven beaches within seven miles of sewage treatment plants.

About 10 days later, the researchers called and asked how they had spent their day at the beach and whether they had experienced problems like vomiting or diarrhea since then.

Those who dug in the sand, the study found, were significantly more likely to report having been sick — with those who had allowed themselves to be buried in the sand most affected. Children seemed to be at extra risk.

The best advice: wash your damn hands, especially before eating.

This isn’t the first time sand has been implicated in human illness.

In May, 2008, children's playgrounds on Sydney's northern beaches were closed after a rare form of salmonella normally linked to tropical fish made dozens of toddlers seriously ill.
 

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I’m a self-proclaimed germ-a-phobe not from a previous experience with foodborne illness, but more from reading and writing for Barfblog.  Also, Microbiology lab in undergrad taught me that germs are everywhere.  It’s enough to make someone like me crazy! I’ve become excessively paranoid about how I prepare my own food at home, and how others prepare food for me.

Last weekend I went with a group of friends to see the new Transformers movie. First thing I did once I got my ticket was check out the concessions. I decided I wasn’t interested in popcorn at the time, but then I saw something that caught my eye. There was a quick flash and a squeak as a mouse scurried from one small hole to another within the baseboards of the concession stand. Then I REALLY didn’t want popcorn.

The sad part was, I had visited the same theater two weekends before to see Angels and Demons. While chatting in the lobby after the movie, my friends and I had seen a small mouse scurry across the floor between the two holes in the base of the concession stand. I considered reporting it to the management, but we had seen a 10pm showing, so the lobby was nearly deserted afterwards, with no management in sight. I brushed it off, but the second time I saw the mouse during my Transformers visit, that was the last straw for me. I reported the mouse to a senior manager, who didn’t seem too concerned, but assured me that he would look into the problem.

I guess all I can do is report the problem, but I can’t help but feel like the staff was already aware of the mouse problem and just chose not to worry about it. Surely one of the concession workers had found some mouse droppings somewhere. Two mouse sightings within two visits to the theatre seem a bit extreme. Yet most of the ratings I found for the facility didn’t voice any complaints about cleanliness of the concessions. The only red flags were that the bathrooms were dirty, but fortunately I didn’t visit the bathrooms there.

If the staff has begun steps to rid the building of mice, I wonder how long it will take. If they haven’t done anything yet, I wonder how long it will be before someone finds mouse droppings in their popcorn.

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Evan Mitchell, another ex-pat Canadian living in Manhattan (Kansas) writes that last night, he and the wife had a biological urge …  for something cold (Kansas is humid in the summer).

Our house is within walking distance of Arby’s, and with their current “happier-hour” promotion (50% off all drinks), we couldn’t resist. After receiving our shakes, we needed straws which where located by the condiment stand. It was at this time that we almost barfed and our perceived hour of happiness was no longer happy.

Arby’s has a killer condiment stand. For no extra cost, one could triple pickle their roast beef melt; a true American deal that doesn’t exist in Canada. Although I’m a fan of sharing such luxuries with others, part of the ‘go green’ and don’t waste philosophy, I limit that selection to members of the human race; that means no bugs. The containers of pickles, peppers, onions, lettuce, olives, etc., were all occupied by little feasting winged insects. Although eating from a dish that has been uncovered and exposed to however many other bodily fluids (and stuff) in a day is gross, I was still disgusted and a little mortified by the sight.

Arby’s, that was gross.
 

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Amoung my favourite foods are the Indian dishes aloo-gobi and channa. I can’t say I’ve ever successfully cooked these dishes, but they are a personal take-out favourite. In most grocery stores the less-talented chef can purchase pre-made Indian sauces to try and re-create their favourite dish.

According to the UK Daily Mail online, Cate Barret purchased Extra Special brand Tikka Masala sauce at a local grocery store, hoping to create a delicious dinner.  Instead, she found a dead mouse (pictured right, from the source).

Barret explained her finding, saying,

“I stirred the sauce around and thought it looked a little bit more lumpy than usual and wondered if we had too many vegetables in the pan. Then as the sauce spread out, I saw whiskers, legs, and a tail. I shouted out to Nigel [her boyfriend] to come to see if it was what I thought it was. Then I fished it out.”

The couple took the dead animal and the jar of Asda Extra Special sauce back to the shop where a manager apologized and said it would be sent for examination. Barrett said the seal of the jar was firmly in place as the button on the top of the lid was not popped out, which would indicate it had already been opened.

She continued,

“It was a really big shock to see it plop out of the jar. It's going to be a while until I get another one of those tikka masala sauces.”

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North Antrim Magistrates Court heard how a man purchased a Hyndman's malt loaf from a supermarket in the Ballymoney area before Christmas 2007.

When he unwrapped the loaf he discovered the small lifeless mammal embedded in the base of the bread (right, photo from BBC).

The judge fined the company, D Hyndman and Son Ltd, Maghera, £1,000 plus costs for placing unsafe food on the market. …

The defence lawyer said an "onerous inspection" is held at the bakery every six weeks and that two field biologists attend each year. There are 131 bait stations in the premises at present, he said.
 

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One of Amy’s graduate students sent me the following picture this morning.

‘Nuff said.

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a list of Food Action Defect Levels in the Code of Federal Regulations "to establish maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods for human use that present no health hazard."

A local news station in Michigan got hold of this list and started asking people on the street how they felt about the number of bug parts allowed in their coffee and the amount of rodent "excreta" tolerated in their chocolate.

My local news station in Wichita, Kansas, broadcast their story Tuesday while I shook my head and chuckled. There were a lot of interesting faces as people looked from their cup to the list and back again.

In the end, I got the impression that the public is okay with a few bug parts (and laugh about getting the extra protein), but won't stand for the poop.

We here at barfblog.com continually advocate keeping as much poop out of food as possible, and proudly wear our t-shirts that declare, "don't eat poop" with a message about handwashing on the back.

But I'm not crazy. I realize, like the FDA (not the USDA, as asserted in the story, which primarily regulates only meat and poultry products), that it's virtually impossible to keep the entire (non-meat and -poultry) food supply 100% poop-free. Therefore, I'm glad there are regulations in place to reduce the microbial risks associated with that poop. (The poop that got into the peanuts at the Peanut Corp. of America plant violated those regs.)

I'm just saying... some poop happens. Risks that cannot be eliminated can, and should, be controlled. Responsible, informed producers and consumers do this every day with tools like the FDA Defect Action Level Handbook and tip-sensitive digital meat thermometers.

Do your part: wash your hands and stick it in.

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I have not seen the 1995 Kevin Smith movie Mallrats, though my cultural education has exposed me to Clerks and Monty Python. Perhaps Mallrats is next. 

Canadian mallrats dining at a Winnipeg Sizzling Wok restaurant were disgusted to find a baby rodent in their stir-fry, reports CTV Winnipeg.

The mall, [St. Vital Centre], says it contacted the Health Department, and adds the restaurant will not re-open until it is cleared by health inspectors.

Mike LeBlanc, manager of Public Health Inspection Programs, said of the incident,

"I'm shocked and dismayed. This obviously is a very disturbing finding. It does not at all meet the threshold of what we even consider acceptable food practices."

The couple that found the rodent chose not to discuss the experience with media. It has been undetermined whether the rodent (pictured right, next to the Canadian dollar, aka, Loonie) is a mouse or a rat, or whether it originated within the restaurant or from a food supplier.

The CTV news source is filled with consumer comments about the restaurant, with one comment mentioning previous rodent sightings in the mall food court. Should’ve had a camera-phone.

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A few years ago I experienced the Exciting and Educational Adventure that is the Elmvale Jungle Zoo in Ontario. It was a blast. The zoo has any animal you can think of: lions, tigers and, not bears, but giraffes, monkeys, lemurs and more. My favourite part was the goat pen where visitors get a hands-on chance to pet and feed goats.

Soon after I started working with the barfblog crew, Ben, appalled that I loved petting zoos, explained to me the many opportunities for disease transmission in these zoos. Sadly, the goat pen was exactly that. When feeding the cute goats they tend to jump up, getting poop all over the place. My hoodie was covered.

The CDC has released recommendations for petting zoo operators to reduce the risk of infection, reports the United Press International.

[R]isks can be minimized by measures such as washing hands, providing adequate soap and paper towels and providing signs reminding visitors to wash their hands upon leaving the animal contact area and guiding them on proper hand washing techniques.

Since 1996, disease outbreaks [associated with animal settings] involving hundreds of people have been reported, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Cryptosporidium and Campylobacter.

I can’t recall if there were handwashing stations throughout the zoo, but I remember the friendly parrot that said goodbye when visitors left.

Amy, please take me to the zoo. I’ll wash my hands.
 

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A father and mother in Washington state are outraged after their 5-year-old son was sent home from school, allegedly forced to carry a package of human feces along with an embarrassing note from his kindergarten teacher.

"This little turd was on the floor in my room," said the note from Susan Graham, an instructor at Apple Valley Elementary School in Yakima, Wash. (right, exactly as shown).

"I'm still kind of in shock over this, because why would somebody do this? It's disgusting!" said the boy's father, wishing to be identified only as "Jason."

The case has sparked a flood of comments on KOMO's messageboard, including:

* If the teacher still has a job after this, then we as a society get what we deserve. This sub-human does not belong in any place of employment where they have control over children.

* Kudos to this teacher. The parents are responsible for teaching their child basic hygiene and potty training not the school system. Sounds like the parents and the brat don't believe they have any responsibility or know right from wrong. Give this teacher an award for not being politically correct and teaching the parents and the brat a lesson.

* I smell a lawsuit.

 

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Unfunnyman Dane Cook and untalented Jessica Simpson have a better chance of finding future employment in pizza preparation – actually, a ridiculously certain chance -- than the two below.

Police in Conover, North Carolina say two Domino's Pizza workers and home video enthusiasts, 31-year-old Kristy Lynn Hammonds of Taylorsville and 32-year-old Michael Anthony Setzer of Conover (right, not exactly as shown) have each charged with distributing prohibited foods.

The pair (below, exactly as shown when booked) produced some employee training videos for Domino’s Pizza that are available at GoodAsYou, including one of Michael wiping his ass with a sponge and then using it to clean a pan, and another in which Kristy says, "Did you all see that? He just blew a booger on those sandwiches.”

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An Algerian-born chemist who contaminated food and wine in Gloucestershire supermarkets with his own urine and faeces has been sent to prison for nine years.

The BBC reports that Sahnoun Daifallah, 42, of Bibury Road, Gloucester, (right, sorta as shown from the BBC) was found guilty of four counts of contaminating goods at four businesses in May 2008.

The court heard shoppers and staff in both stores saw Daifallah with a black laptop computer with a vapour coming from the bag being sprayed on the shelves.

The cost of damaged products and lost business due to resulting store closures was estimated at £700,000.
 

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With the semester coming to an end and finals approaching it’s not a great time to be stuck on a toilet or in the hospital. Nearly 50 Michigan State University students are ill, 20 of which are being treated at a local hospital after becoming ill with gastrointestinal illness, reports MSU News.

The type or source of the sickness has not been determined, according to health officials, though it appears it may be foodborne. Gastrointestinal illnesses generally last a day or two, and for most people do not affect long-term health, said University Physician Beth Alexander.

The suspect dining hall where many of the ill students ate has been temporarily closed to prevent farther illnesses. Last year MSU students were spewing after an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 was linked to bagged lettuce.

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Actor John Corbett – Chris on Northern Exposure, Carrie’s boyfriend for awhile on Sex and the City, empathetic husband on The United States of Tara – needs to do a new Applebee’s advert (he’s the voice).

Shigella – it only comes from fecal material.

WSYR-TV is reporting the Onondaga County Health Department in New York state has confirmed seven cases of Shigella in people who recently ate at the Applebee’s in Camillus, and that up to 9,000 people may have been exposed to the bacteria

County Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow said Shigella is associated with consuming water or food contaminated with fecal matter.

Those who are confirmed ill ate at the restaurant on either Saturday, March 7th or Sunday, March 8th, but the overall window that the Health Department is looking at is between Sunday, March 1st and Friday, March 20th.

The health department waited until Tuesday to announce the illnesses because it had sent stool samples to the lab, and had just gotten the results back.

Health officials are now testing all employees at the restaurant, which remains open.

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An employee of a Ferndale, Washington, Dairy Queen says she “accidentally” poured Ajax into the malt dispenser, sickening two customers, according to court documents.

Detectives obtained surveillance video and saw the employee, Dale, pouring the Ajax into the malt dispenser, documents said.

Meanwhile, officials at an Arkansas hospital reported Friday that 10 children drank windshield wiper fluid after a staffer at an Arkansas day care mistakenly put the liquid in a refrigerator and served it.

A hospital toxicologist said,

"All we know was that the individual at the day care had recently shopped and had come back to the day care with a lot of different products. This product was mistakenly grabbed and thought to be Kool-Aid and put in the refrigerator."
 

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For years, stories have circulated about the outrageous demands rock stars – even Celine Dion – make for their backstage accommodations as part of concert contracts or riders.

Most famously, Van Halen included in the rider for its 1982 world tour that absolutely no brown M&Ms be found backstage (the band insists this was not rock star excess, but an easy way to check if concert promoters completely read the riders and paid attention to important things like the stage and lighting).

The satirical rockumentary  Spinal Tap contains a scene where Nigel complains about the backstage food and the little pieces of bread (below). They also insist on blue M&Ms only.

Fox News is reporting that an Atlanta woman took a bite of a blue peanut M&M and discovered what a local biologist says is a vertebra from a small mammal.

Potts is not currently pursuing a lawsuit against Mars, the global giant that owns M&Ms, but the issue kept gnawing at her, so on Tuesday she said she took the object to Professor Larry Blumer, director of environmental studies in the biology department of Morehouse College in Atlanta, for an examination.

"It's definitely bone, and it came from some type of mammal," Blumer told FOXNews.com. "This isn't [a] tail vertebra — it's something higher up, and the reason I'm certain for that is because it's hollow. The nerve cord would run through there."

On Wednesday upon learning of the incident, Mars issued a statement noting that food and product quality is of "paramount importance to Mars."
  

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An Algerian-born chemist has been found guilty in a British court of contaminating food and wine by using his own urine and feces.

The court had heard man sprayed the mixture in the Air Balloon Pub, in Birdlip, near Cheltenham on 14 May, 2008.

He then moved on to the Waterstones bookstore in Cirencester, Tesco in Quedgley and Morrisons in Abbeydale.

The court also heard shoppers and staff in both stores saw the man with a black lap top computer with a vapor coming from the bag being sprayed on the shelves. He is likely to be deported.
 

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I’m writing this while flying to Boston and baby Sorenne just let out three sneezes and a fart. Cloth diapers make wonderful spit rags, and I usually have one in my back pocket or over my shoulder. Last week I discovered another use – to control my draining eyes and nose while sitting through a meeting.

Which raises the question: is it bad manners to blow your nose at the table, even if you’re not using your napkin?

Helena Echlin of Chow magazine responds:

According to Peter Post, director of the Emily Post Institute and an allergy sufferer, you should leave the dinner table to blow your nose if possible. … Blowing your nose in public is acceptable, if not very charming. But don’t do it at the table. When you blow your nose in other situations—on the subway, for instance—people can edge away. At the table they’re stuck next to you and your germs. Though they don’t have to see your snot, they may be able to hear it when you snuffle, and that can be almost as bad. …

According to Elizabeth Bernstein, a San Francisco writer, “If a guy blew his nose in his napkin on a date, it would be pretty much a deal-breaker.”

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I don’t get the point of false fingernails. Or nose studs. Or those big hoopy earrings. They shouldn’t be allowed in food-related environments.

Number one gross thing routinely discovered in those bins of baked buns and rolls at grocery stores? False fingernails.

A 62-year-old disabled woman from Worcester, UK, said she felt sick after eating her favorite instant snack of a chicken and mushroom Pot Noodle and finding what she thought was two false nails in the product.

The company has promised to send her some vouchers as compensation, which she is yet to receive.
 

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The folks that run Canada’s largest grocery store chain – Loblaw Companies --are apparently just learning about pest control. They are also learning that consumers can take pictures with their cell phones and can actually use those phones to call local health types.

The Calgary Herald reports that public complaints prompted health inspectors to visit the Westwinds location of the Real Canadian Superstore 17 times in just over a year before it was ordered closed Tuesday after the discovery of live mice, rodent feces and gnawed packaging.

Rick Holley, a microbiology professor in the University of Manitoba's department of food science, believes shoppers have every reason to be squeamish at the thought of mice scampering over produce or gnawing on potato chip bags.

"Mice are vectors for salmonella. They carry it and shed it not unlike chicken, cattle or hogs.”

Doug Powell, an associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University, said,

"People might think, 'What's the big deal about a little mouse poop?' But it's an indicator there could be a whole lot else going on.”

The incident comes weeks after a Loblaws store in Toronto -- part of the same company as the Superstore chain -- was shut down after a "heavy infestation"of mice and rats, including droppings on sandwich counters, was found.

Company spokeswoman Inge van den Berg said the two occurrences have prompted the store to revamp its pest control procedures.

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A man in San Diego who was upset with his trial smeared human feces in his lawyer’s face, and proceeded to throw the remainder of poop at the jury, reports 10 News.

Weusi McGowan, 37, was upset because San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser refused to remove Deputy Alternate Public Defender Jeffrey Martin from the case, prosecutor Christopher Lawson said.

At the mid-morning break, McGowan produced a plastic baggie filled with fecal matter and spread it on Martin's hair and face, then flung the excrement toward the jury box, hitting the briefcase of juror No. 9 but missing the juror himself.

The prosecutor said the defendant was compliant after the outburst, and was taken into custody without further incident.

Hopefully the lawyer and juror No. 9 washed their hands, and didn’t get any poop in their mouths. Don’t eat poop.
 

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You can pee on the ice, but not in an ice machine.

Four juveniles are facing several charges after security cameras showed them urinating into a cafeteria ice machine at a Chapel Hill,North Carolina middle school.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Tuesday the boys range in age from 12 to 15, and are charged with breaking and entering, larceny and vandalism to a public building. Because they are under 16, their names are being withheld.

Police said the vandalism occurred Dec. 15 at Smith Middle School in Chapel Hill. School officials said the ice machine was used on the following three days.

But all the machine's ice and containers were removed when school officials learned of the incident.

Public health officials instructed the school staff on how to clean and disinfect the surfaces and equipment before using them again.
 

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Reindeer, like other deer, are ruminants, and like other ruminants, about 10 per cent will carry E. coli O157:H7 and relatives at any particular time.

So when a farmer, or huckster, promoting tourism at his reindeer farm says,

"About the worst that could happen is she could poop on you, but that's not really a problem because they really just poop raisins," he said. Raisins are a favorite part of the reindeer diet at the farm.

"Or she could pee on you, but I wouldn't worry, because I think I've heard something about reindeer pee, Christmas and good luck."

They aren’t poop raisins. Don’t eat poop.

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The folks at Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Ill., are making Christmas ornaments out of reindeer poop. Staffers call these things “magical reindeer gem ornaments.” They cost $5 each. …

The poop is dried, clear-coated and rolled in glitter.

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About six years ago I was flying from Toronto to Ottawa and after a particularly turbulent morning ride, I was looking a little green. Although the plane was preparing to land, the steward said, ‘you gotta go, you gotta go,’ so I experienced landing while kneeling at the airplane’s plastic throne.

No one figured I was contagious.

Not so in Los Angeles this morning.

United Airlines flight 890 arriving from Japan informed ground crews shortly before touching down at 8:30 a.m. that a 28-year-old man aboard the aircraft of more than 300 passengers was sick and might have some sort of virus.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Cecil Manresa said,

Los Angeles city paramedics and personnel from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the Boeing 747 after it landed. It took about 20 minutes to determine that the passenger was not contagious, Manresa said.

"He had some kind of stomach ailment or food poising issue, and it was not a virus [or] an infectious disease," he said.

Manresa said that city paramedics, and not the CDC, generally respond when airline passengers complain of illness. But the unidentified man must have told the airplane's crew something to make them think that his condition was more severe, he said.

All I said was, leave me alone.

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The Coogee Bay Hotel in Sydney has reportedly paid compensation of somewhere between $60,000 and $200,000 to the family served poop-laden ice cream.

An agreed statement was released which said: "The owners and management acknowledge that Steven and Jessica Whyte or any of the people dining with them on the evening had no involvement in contaminating the ice-cream.

"The hotel acknowledges that the Whyte family (right, photo from Sydney Morning Herald) did not at any stage attempt to extort money from the hotel arising from the incident. The hotel regrets the hurt and distress suffered … as a result of statements that they acted improperly."

While the clarification and settlement ends a nightmare month for the family, Mrs Whyte has expressed fears she may forever be remembered. "Everywhere I go, I'm now known as the woman who ate the poo," she said. "It happens when I'm shopping, when I'm walking down the street and when I'm on the sideline watching my son at Little Athletics on a Saturday morning. I feel obliged to speak about it when people ask because everyone in the community has been so supportive."
 

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The New South Wales Food Authority announced a few hours ago that a sample of the gelato allegedly served to a family at the Coogee Bay Hotel in Sydney, Australia, has tested positive for fecal matter.

The sample, a small residual amount of gelato and faecal matter on a tissue, was provided by Stephen and Jessica Whyte this week.

The NSW Food Authority began an investigation yesterday and carried out a brief test that confirmed the nature of the provided sample.

It will now perform a more detailed DNA-based test that will determine if the fecal matter is animal or human, and the sex of the "provider."

The results of that test will not be known for up to a week. However, because of the length of time since the incident, it was unclear whether the tests could provide a clear outcome in the murky matter.

Meanwhile, the lawyer for the Whytes, the family who say they found the brown stuf, said the DNA testing of staff was a distraction.

The hotel also released a statement late yesterday that said the three-litre container from which the scoops of gelato had come had been cleared of any contamination.
 

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Yahoo news reports that a 21-year-old South Texas women was fined $300, for smuggling chorizo from Mexico. The chorizo was hidden in diapers which appeared to be soiled.

Suspicious of the chunky diapers, inspectors with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the international bridge in Hidalgo found several links of spicy pork sausage, or chorizo, inside. The diapers had been folded to look soiled, according to a customs agency statement.

Mmm. I don't think I'd eat sausage that was wrapped in this.

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“In general, you can’t have a dead animal in a food services establishment.”

That’s the advice from Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Anthony J. Billittier IV after a dead deer was discovered being butchered in a restaurant.

The Buffalo News in New York reports the discovery was made after a tipster called the Health Department.

A health inspector was quickly sent to the restaurant, which was immediately closed. A hearing on the matter is expected to be held early next week.

Officials don’t know whether the dead deer at China King, 5999 South Park Ave., had been hunted or if it was road kill.

 

 

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So this family goes to a pub to watch some footy. Let’s call them Mr. And Mrs. Whyte, because that’s their names.

The Whytes didn’t like the service, thought the food expensive, and complained.

Never complain about restaurant food and then get more food, especially if it’s free. Didn’t anyone watch that movie, Waiting, featuring Mr. Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds?

As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Whytes and their three sons were served complimentary gelato dessert by Coogee Bay Hotel staff three weeks ago after complaining about food prices, facilities and staff attitude.

Mrs Whyte said,

"There were four scoops including vanilla, chocolate and hazelnut. At the bottom, there appeared to be chocolate. Greedily, I went for it ahead of the kids. Thank heavens I did. The stench, the taste … I spat the food into a napkin and immediately I was sick.

"There was no doubting what it was. The whole family became hysterical. My poor son screamed at one of their staff: 'You made my mum eat poo."' The family complained to Waverley police.

The story says that the family took a sample of the gelato and had it tested at the National Measurement Institute. A report from the institute found: "The sample has an offensive odour and physical properties similar to human excreta."

In a letter to the family, hotel general manager Tony Williams said,

"If the incident did happen, as claimed, then it may well have been an act of industrial sabotage — with the hotel as a victim alongside your family."

But yesterday Mr Williams said the case was now a legal issue that would be "vigorously defended".

"We are aware of the allegation and are treating it as extremely suspicious. Mr and Mrs Whyte have made a demand for up to $1 million from The Coogee Bay Hotel … We categorically stand behind the high quality of our food and the exemplary hygiene standards set in the new brassiere kitchen."
 

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Kansas State student Mayra Rivarola writes in this exclusive for barfblog that hospital rooms and doctors became scarce, when 97 students sickened with gastroenteritis crowded the emergency room in Georgetown University Hospital last week. Students who weren’t receiving medical attention began vomiting in the waiting room, according to the Georgetown Voice.

“I know that some people in the waiting room had been there for three hours. There was a boy yelling ‘help me, help me!’ but there were no doctors,” said Kathrin Verestoun, who went with her roommate to the hospital. “They ran out of rooms and set up stretchers in the hall. Some people were so dehydrated that they couldn’t find their veins for IVs. They were just bleeding. [My roommate] bled all over her stretcher.”

The Georgetown students got sick after dining at Leo O’Donovan Cafeteria, which led to a temporary closure of the dining center. They were diagnosed with norovirus and the number of sick people has since risen to more than 200.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control website states that people can become infected with norovirus by eating food or drinking liquid that is contaminated, by touching contaminated surfaces and subsequently their mouth, or through direct contact with a sick person. The virus is found in vomit or in the stool of an infected person and it is quite contagious.

In establishments where a large number of people are in close contact, like cruises, nursing homes and universities, infectious diseases are common.

At the University of Southern California, it took five days for 300 students to contract norovirus last week. Students were advised to wash their hands often and those who were feeling ill were told to avoid socializing.

Norovirus is not the only disease infecting the classrooms. In Michigan, 34 people got sick with E. coli in September, including 9 students from Michigan State University. Just a month before that, E. coli sickened at least 5 students at Guelph University, with 15 more unconfirmed cases.

Outbreaks happen. So how prepared is Kansas State University?

“I don’t know that anybody is prepared for an outbreak,” said Ron Bridges, campus sanitarian. Food service establishments on campus are inspected monthly by campus staff, and are also inspected annually by the county health department. If there are reports of students getting sick the university may take action depending on the case; officially, the university is not involved.

“Any reported incident of suspected foodborne illness of people who are not related is handled by the Department of Agriculture in the state of Kansas,” Bridges said. The Department of Agriculture then carries on with the investigations.

Bridges said he believes food safety personnel on campus are quite knowledgeable and is confident that they know what they are doing. But some things are just out of their control and outbreaks are hard to prevent.

About 15 years ago, around 80 students were sick after attending a potluck sponsored by a student organization, Bridges recalled. “If the student organization had wanted to hold the event on campus, the food would’ve had to be regulated,” he said. For this reason, K-State does not approve of any organizations serving food on campus.

How to handle vomit and stop the spread
Vomit and other body fluids are potentially contaminated and can easily spread diseases like norovirus if not properly handled. Spills should be immediately cleaned and the area within 25-foot radius properly disinfected.

At Kansas State University, students and faculty are advised to notify the custodial department immediately and to avoid coming into contact with vomit, according to John Woods, director of Facilities Services.

“Custodians are supposed to be trained to go in and handle vomit,” Woods said. “We will be limiting the number of staff authorized to handle vomit.”

Woods explained that custodians are required to wear gloves, goggles, and a mask. They are supposed to spray the area, wait a few minutes, and scoop the vomit in a plastic bag with paper towels. They turn in the plastic bag to public safety.

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Driving the long stretches of big sky country in Kansas, the mind can wander. I wonder what’s in that rental truck up there, the one I may pass in the next hour. Maybe it's a load of fresh produce in a truck that was moving chickens the week before; maybe it's a widely popular Canadian band tyring to break into the U.S. where they are unknown; maybe it's a crystal meth lab.

The Grand Rapid Press reports that during a routine traffic stop at the eastbound Int. 96 weigh station near Ionia this week, motor carrier officers discovered a large quantity of perishable food being transported in a nonrefrigerated rental truck.

Inspectors discovered a case of Biofeel, a yogurt drink included in a nationwide import alert on dairy products originating from Asia because of the melamine contamination of baby food and milk products in some Asian countries.

Inspectors seized and destroyed more than 2,000 pounds of food products, including tofu, dairy, meat, seafood and noodles. They also seized 200 pounds of beef that had not passed USDA inspection.

And since that video of the Canadian band I like is no longer available on youtube, here's a different version, circa 1999.

 

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The rats must have seen the Stephen Colbert bear-visiting-Subway bit cause they showed up for a video performance in a Toronto Chinatown restaurant last night.

A passerby originally posted a photo of the rat-in-the-restaurant to blogto.com. Video footage soon followed.

The Toronto Star reports,

Inspectors visited Happy Seven, a Chinese restaurant on Spadina Ave. known for late-night munchies, yesterday after seeing the video, but did not find any signs of vermin.

The restaurant passed an inspection on Oct. 2, and public records show it was inspected an average three times per year.

In February, someone photographed a rat in the window of the Dumpling House, about a block south of Happy Seven. The restaurant was forced to close while it disinfected the premises and called a pest control company. Between clean-up expenses and the temporary closure, the restaurant lost about $10,000, a manager said at the time. It has since re-opened.
 

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As I was beginning the listening section of an introductory French exam today, several students suddenly jumped up. Desks were screeching and I thought there must have been a cockroach or mouse in the room (both things have happened to me in the past at other universities). But no. A student in the front row was only vomiting on the floor and some of his neighbors happened to get hit. The students were all very cool and helpful – getting water and paper towels for the sick classmate. I sent the sick one home but he cleaned up most of his mess. I notified administration, sprayed the floor with some chemical spray, wiped up, and directed the students to another classroom. I went and washed my hands and facilities came within the next 15 minutes to mop the floors.

But what’s the protocol for handling other people’s puke? When I told Doug what happened he reminded me that if the student was sick with a virus like Noro, the germs could be aerosolized and make the rest of us ill. This particular student believed it was a problem with medicine, but to be safe … Washoe County Nevada Health Department suggests:

•    Staff should wear disposable gloves and aprons when cleaning up after ill guests, especially when handling vomit, diarrhea, or other bodily wastes. It is recommended that persons who clean areas substantially contaminated by feces and/or vomitus wear masks because spattering or aerosols of infectious material might result in disease transmission. Use of cleaning cloths and other items used to clean toilets should only be used for that purpose and should not be used from room to room. Do not use these items to clean other surfaces. Effective virucides should be used in bathrooms and high hand-contact areas in guest rooms such as taps, faucets, door and drawer handles, door latches, toilet or bath rails, telephones, rails on balconies, light and lamp switches, thermostats, remote controls, curtain pulls and wands, covers on guest information books, alarm clock buttons, hair dryers, irons, and pens.
•    Staff should promptly bag and clean soiled linens or dispose of them as infectious waste. Linens soiled with vomit or feces should be washed in a hot wash and dried at high temperature (drier temperature >170º F).
•    When responding to a Public Vomiting Incident (PVI), the area within at least a 25-foot radius should be cleaned and disinfected using the above procedures.
•    Staff should wash hands thoroughly using soap and water and then dry them thoroughly after completing the clean-up procedure and again after completing the disposal procedure.

A teacher named “Koko” blogged that when this happened in her classroom in China, she used dirt to cover the vomit, made sure it was dry, then swept, threw out the waste, and mopped afterwards. She made her students participate in the cleaning.

 

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TMZ reports that Dane Cook has given up his fight to live in what he believes is an apartment that has a supernatural force.

“Cook was evicted from a West Hollywood apartment last August after a jury decided the "comedian" habitually violated the rules requiring him to pick up his dog's crap.

“As reported yesterday, Cook threw a Hail Mary at the judge, arguing that hizzoner should block the eviction because the apartment building had almost paranormal qualities -- John Belushi and Steve Martin both lived there, and Cook believed if he moved out his creative juices stop flowing and a bad case of writer's block would ruin his career. Did anyone see "Employee of the Month?"

Cook has apparently abandoned the appeal.

Dog poop contains common pathogens such as tapeworms, roundworms, cryptosporidium, salmonella, E.coli, and many others.  Owners, clean up after your dogs and wash your damn hands.

It’s gotten so bad that the Israeli city of Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, has started a six-month trial program where it is matching the DNA of dog poop, either in special containers or found on the street, to a database of registered dogs and their owners.

“Owners who scoop up their dogs' droppings and place them in specially marked bins on Petah Tikva's streets will be eligible for rewards of pet food coupons and dog toys.

“But droppings found underfoot in the street and matched through the DNA database to a registered pet could earn its owner a municipal fine.”
 

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I drove a Nissan Quest for about 8 years. Put on a lot of miles driving to Florida, saw a lot of vomit with four kids.

So for 6 a.m. hockey practices – and I was often the coach so I and whatever lucky kid was on that specific team had to be there at 5:30 or something stupid – I would often microwave an egg or two, slap it between some bread and away we’d go. I even sometimes put it on the dashboard.

Apparently I wasn’t alone. A poll by insurance.co.uk of 1376 car owners found that British motorists spend more than three years of their lives behind the wheel and over a quarter eat en route every week.

The poll also (...) revealed some startling hygiene calamities some drivers have faced.

Some motorist admitted finding dead mice, dog poo, fishing maggots, a three-year-old sandwich, a joint of beef, a partner's [or] ex's knickers, a used condom, child's vomit in a door pocket, and mushrooms growing in the floor.

My van wasn’t that bad.

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The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Chief Industrial Magistrates Court fined Sushi World's Camperdown premises more than $60,000 after it heard the business was closed by the New South Wales Food Authority after an inspection in November 2006 revealed it was a "risk to public health.”

Inspectors who toured the premises found rat faeces scattered over the floor, on equipment and in food-processing areas. Two 12.5-kilogram bags of flour had been "gnawed open by rodents" and one of the creatures was seen in the food storage area, the court heard.

The NSW Chief Industrial Magistrate, George Miller, said Sushi World's failure to adhere to parts of the food standards code indicated "serious shortfalls in basic food handling", and the company's continued breaches from November 2006 to May 2007 suggested a "disturbing willingness to run a food business without regard for basic hygiene standards".

During the hearing its director, Suk Joon Song, said trade decreased by 50 per cent due to negative publicity after the charges had been made public.

Sushi World no longer operates from the Camperdown premises but has opened a factory in Meadowbank, which has been approved by the NSW Food Authority.
 

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An Ohio man is in hot water for taking a hot bath in a Burger King bathtub. The video shows a man sitting in the sink, while other employees look on laughing. At one point the employee with the camera goes to ask the manager if she wants to come watch. The manager declines, but also fails to take any action. The video was then posted on Myspace. The fast food restaurant has fired all employees involved. They added that the sink was sanitized twice and all utensils were thrown out. Health officials are working with prosecutors to see if charges will be filed. However the health department has declined to issue any fines. If bathing in a kitchen sink isn’t worth a fine, what is?

The video contains some not safe for work language.
 

 

Burger King Employee Takes Bath In Sink - Watch more free videos

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The UK Health Protection Agency has sent an advisory to health service organizations and partners, including needle exchanges, to warn of the new Clostridium contamination in batches of heroin.

In 2001, there were a total of 108 cases - 60 in Scotland, including 50 in Glasgow, 26 in England and 22 in Dublin, including 43 deaths.

Extensive microbiological investigations led to the identification of Clostridium novyi Type A from 13 cases in Scotland, two in Dublin and two in England.
C novyi is most commonly associated with infection in farm animals and human battlefield victims.

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The Seoul City Administration has announced that many of the dog meat restaurants in Seoul area were found to contain unhygenic kitchens filled with cockroaches.

From July 15 to 18, 2008 Seoul City has conducted a four-day intensive inspection on the restaurants selling dog meat.

The inspection by the city was done for the first time since 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics when most dog meat restaurants in the capital were forced to close or to move out of the city.

The spokesperson of the Seoul city, however, said that the control over the dog meat restaurant is far from approval of dog meat.

Koreans are known to enjoy dog meats particularly during the sweltering summer days. In Seoul area alone there are some 6,000 restaurants selling dog meat.

Annually 2 million dogs are butchered for the human consumption in South Korea.

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The Chicago Department of Health says that one of the oldest and most famous restaurants in the city was shut down after Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) inspectors discovered a rodent infestation and other critical violations of the city health code.

Soul Queen Restaurant, 9031 S. Stony Island, was shut down after inspectors found numerous mouse feces throughout the kitchen, dining room and storage areas.

The restaurant also was cited for storing food at unsafe temperatures, in a faulty walk-in cooler—resulting in inspectors ordering management to discard six dozen eggs and 30 lbs. of raw chicken.

Soul Queen also was cited for a leaky automatic dishwashing machine, raw sewage coming up through a floor drain near its hand washing sink, grease oozing from the grease trap under the three-compartment sink, no certified food manager on duty, an outside garbage dumpster overflowing with trash, and an outside grease box encrusted with grease.

Today’s inspection was triggered by a customer who called 311 to report seeing three live mice in the restaurant. No live mice were observed today.

Chicagoans who believe that a restaurant or any other licensed food establishment is operating in an unsafe manner are encouraged to call 311 and report it.

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Phoenix city officials have announced that all city pools will be closed after reports of 35 people who swam at Starlight Pool, including 14 from the pool staff, developing symptoms of cryptosporidium.

The city of Phoenix says that while the water at all of its pools has been tested and "has continued to meet all water quality standards," it is taking extra precautions.  To treat the pools, parks staff is super-chlorinating all of the pools to a level of 40 parts per million of chlorine and maintaining that level of chlorine for 40 hours. The Centers for Disease Control recommends 20 parts per million, but the City of Phoenix is using 40 parts per million to be safe.

Last summer Utah suffered an outbreak of cryptosporidium.  Colorado has also suffered outbreaks.  Hopefully this summer’s outbreak will be quickly contained and taken care of to avoid large numbers of sickness.

And of course, when using the bathroom at the pool, always wash your hands.

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Dane Cook recently spent time in a Beverly Hills courthouse fighting allegations that his mini-Pinscher, named Beast, poops all over his apartment complex.  The management of La Fontaine in West Hollywood took the comedian to court to have him evicted on grounds that he was not properly cleaning up after his dog.

"Neither he nor his girlfriend pick up after the dog," said a source.  "They've sent him three notices so far over the last year warning him he'll be evicted, and they have video. The neighbors all hate him."

Cook’s rep, Ina Treciokas, told the press in April: “Dane vigorously denies the allegations in the complaint and is looking forward to complete vindication through the legal proceedings.”

On Tuesday, the building manager took the stand and told the court that the actor is a serial offender, despite the signs in the gardens warning against animals pooping on the lawn.  He also said he noticed "recurring small black poop being left behind in the backyard."  The manager is alleged to have video footage of Cook's pooch committing the offense.
 
Cook faced a trial by jury and he was found guilty 11-1.  His landlord can now officially evict him.

Dog poop contains common pathogens such as tapeworms, roundworms, cryptosporidium, salmonella, e.coli, and many others.  The owners should always  and after picking up dog poop hands should always be washed.

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“Pick up your dogs’ droppings.”

I’ve seen the street signs for years, but I always thought it was the yuck factor.   As I’ve grown up and gone through high school biology, I’ve learned that it’s not just the yuck factor, it’s also the sick factor.  Dog waste on the sidewalk is a significant contributing factor to the spread many disease, bacteria and protozoa.  Some of the common pathogens are tapeworms, roundworms, cryptosporidium, salmonella, e.coli, parvovirus and many others.

One of the worst culprits is the tapeworm.  They are the single most common infection transmitted by discarded dog poop in United States.
Tapeworms are caused by the ingestion of flea larvae, but also can be caused if an owner tracks flea larvae-contaminated dog poo into the house and a pet is exposed.  In the veterinary clinic I work at during the summers, tapeworms are commonly referred to as rice worms.  They’re easily treated with flea preventative and tapeworm treatment, but even more easily prevented by properly disposing of animal poop.

Doggie doo is also an environmental pollutant.  If the waste is not picked up it will run into the sewers with the rain.  This leads to contaminated streams and seawater.

According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Americans owned 68 million dogs in 2000, and 40% of these dogs were large dogs over 40 pounds.  This adds up to a large mess if owners don’t clean up after their pets.

Pet poop is a problem, but what’s the solution?  Many cities have laws concerning scooping poo.  Most states will issue a ticket ranging from $25 to $200 for leaving a dog’s business on the sidewalk.  Australia has even gone so far as to have their own plain clothes poop police approaching irresponsible owners to change their behavior.

How do we take care of it?  Common recommendations are to carry a “doggie doo-doo” sack along when taking a pet out for a walk.  Using flea preventative will help prevent a pet from developing tapeworms from ingesting any flea larvae on their own skin, but they are still susceptible to flea larvae in the environment.  Annual distemper/parovirus vaccinations from a licensed veterinarian will help protect dogs from parvovirus, which is spread through fecal material.

Most importantly, wash your hands after picking up animal waste.  Otherwise get ready for those tapeworms.

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Australia’s Courier Mail reports that children as old as five are being sent to school in nappies because their parents cannot be bothered toilet-training them.

The problem has become so widespread that Education Queensland is drawing up a toilet-training fact sheet amid calls from teachers' groups that nappy-wearing children be banned from attending school. …

State School Principals Association president Norm Hart has written to Education Queensland, citing concerns that the problem could result in litigation - with teachers possibly accused of molestation.

"Toilet training is a parental responsibility and not something that should be taught at school.”

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Bill Marler's going to London, and if he gets to Wales, beware the Cardiff takeaway.

The South Wales Echo reports that cockroaches, dirt, poor personal hygiene and congealed fat are just some of the shocking  details uncovered in health inspector reports on kebab shops and chippies in Caroline Street.

Hundreds of hungry revellers regularly use the street, widely known as Chip Alley (below), after nights out on the town.

But the most recent kitchen hygiene inspection reports, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show the street’s takeaways broke food safety regulations more than 70 times.

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A Dunedin, New Zealand, City Council Environmental Health Inspector was called to a Union Street Flat recently after several complaints of a dismembered pigs body having been disposed and left on the street and a property.

Health Inspector Judy Austin attended the scene with two Campus Watch officers and a security guard to find blood, skin and the remains of entrail on the street, and the head and trotters of the pig inside the property boundary but close to the public footpath.

Austin said wild pigs can carry diseases such as E-coli, Trichinosis and Brucellosis, so the risk of having an outbreak of disease was possible.

Campus watch issued the tenants with a $100 fine under the Litter Act.

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Police and hospital officials said 54 people were sickened at a Kumamoto Red Cross Hospital in Kumamoto, Japan, after inhaling toxic gas from the vomit of a 34-year-old farmer who had apparently swallowed an agricultural chemical to kill himself.

He vomited while undergoing treatment, generating toxic chlorine gas.

A total of 54 people near him, including doctors and patients, fell ill. Of them, 10 were admitted to hospitals including the Red Cross Hospital, while the 44 others who were not in serious condition are steadily recovering.

If you're going to off yourself, try not to involve involve others.

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Two women were hospitalised after a New Zealand cafe mistakenly served dishwashing liquid as mulled wine.

The Southland Times newspaper reported that Chico's Restaurant Ltd in the mountain resort of Queenstown on South Island pleaded guilty to a charge of selling food containing extraneous matter -- the chemical sodium hydroxide -- that caused injury.

An investigation showed the two liquids had been mixed up after 20 litres of dishwashing liquid was delivered in a container formerly used to hold Mountain Thunder mulled wine.

Under New Zealand's no-fault accident law, victims do not sue for damages. Instead, treatment costs and income loss are met by the nation's Accident Compensation scheme.

The company will be sentenced next month and faces a possible fine.

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Eyewitness News in Sanford, Florida discovered a popular fast food restaurant, Checker's. that's accused of storing food on the floor inside the men's restroom. The food that was left on the floor in the restroom was just one of several critical violations health inspectors found at a Checkers location in Sanford.

Employees at the Checkers store on South French Avenue at West 15th Street apparently decided it was okay to store buns for their hamburgers inside a not-so-clean men's room.

Tuesday, it appeared they had changed the policy, but not before racking up a dozen health code violations.

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Scientists in the UK are seeking 150 women to eat chocolate every day for a year in the cause of medical research.

The trial, at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, eastern England, will test whether a natural compound found in cocoa, the main ingredient of chocolate, could cut the risk of heart disease among women with diabetes.

A Belgian confectionist has created the special chocolate bar containing high levels of flavonoids -- a plant compound that has been shown to reduce heart risk factors -- to be used in the experiment. Soy, another natural source of flavonoids, has also been added to the bar.

Participants, who must be postmenopausal women under the age of 70, will have their risk of heart disease tested on five occasions during the year to see whether change occurs.

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Swanky Auckland restaurant Euro served up a recipe for Metro Food Critic Testicles in an advertisement that finished -- "balls to them" -- before inviting people to try the place for themselves.

The Nourish Group, which owns Auckland restaurants Euro and the Jervois Steak House and Saloon, and Pravda in Wellington, took out a full page ad in the Herald on Sunday banning what it claimed were "out of step" Metro reviewers from its premises after the restaurants were left out of a top 50 list of New Zealand eateries.

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Three high school students who thought they were being funny by sticking a bag of poop in a Sandy, Utah 7-Eleven microwave and cooking it for 10 minutes have been arrested.

Earlier this week, police released surveillance video of three teens who walked into the convenience store near 2200 East and 9400 South, took out a one-gallon plastic bag with human feces inside and put it into the microwave while the clerk wasn't looking.

The boys left the store, and the clerk figured out what had happened when a foul stench filled the building. The store had to be closed temporarily because of the odor.

Sandy police Sgt. Victor Quezada said the surveillance video was broadcast by local news stations, investigators received numerous tips from callers, and that on Wednesday morning, five high school students were greeted by police as they arrived for school in the morning. Two of the boys eventually were released, while the other three, two aged 16 and a 17-year-old, were arrested for investigation of third-degree felony criminal mischief.

The 7-Eleven figured out the video surveillance thing, but USDA says it's too complicated for slaughterhouses.

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Passengers who throw up in the back of a cab could get charged more than double – as well as face a hike in taxi fares.

The so-called soiling fee will be increased from £40 to £100 in South Ribble if the council gives the go-ahead.

Cabbies in the South Ribble Council area have asked the authority to consider putting up the fares for the first time since September 2006.

Drivers say that the rising cost of fuel and insurance premiums – as well as an increase in the number of inebriated passengers – means it is costing more to stay on the road.

Now anyone who forces a taxi off the road by soiling it through their drunkenness could be hit with the £100 charge.

Vomiting customers are currently charged £30.

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I grew up in a deer hunting family, and although my own deer hunting career started and ended when I was 13, I was so used to eating venison that beef tasted weird. I still remember one deer my family butchered at home, and my brother chased me around the house with an eyeball. We packaged and marked the cuts, but they stayed in our family freezer. Perhaps we had some guests over for dinner or gave some to a friend at church, but if anyone got sick, it was us.

In Omaha, apparently, things are run differently. Deer processor and poacher extraordinaire Jack McClanahan was finally put out of the summer sausage business.

According to the Omaha World-Herald McClanahan processed and sold tons of tainted summer sausage, much of it from poached deer. McClanahan told federal undercover agents that he sometimes shot deer at night with a rifle from the bathroom window of his home in Omaha's Ponca Hills and then would retrieve the carcasses in the morning. He baited the deer with corn, used a spotlight to blind them, and then shot.

McClanahan is a retired butcher who sold summer sausage in 5-pound casings at $3.50 a pound. He also made salami, jerky and snack sticks, and authorities estimated annual production at about 10,000 pounds.

Mark Webb, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent, said mouse droppings, maggots, deer carcasses, dried blood, deer hair and other contaminants littered the commercial-grade meat processing equipment that filled McClanahan's three-car garage. There was no running water for cleaning. When wildlife agents seized the equipment and cleaned it with hot water and soap at a carwash, they discovered two lead bullets the size of a man's thumb lodged in the grinder. The blade had been shaving lead into the meat.

The butcher-poacher was fined $10,000 and sentenced to three years of probation Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

My family and most deer hunters I have known have a strong conservationist ethic. I was raised to respect wildlife and have a deep appreciation for nature. McClanahan, and other poachers, are appalling, but making humans sick and putting their lives at risk with filthy processing conditions is even more disgusting.


Continue Reading...

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The Chicago Department of Public Health closed the Quiznos sandwich shop at 1809 N. Harlem, after inspectors found sewage backing up from two drains in the food preparation area.

CDPH was alerted to the situation by a motorist who called 311 last night to allege that Quiznos’ staff was disposing of the sewage by shoveling it out their back door and into an alley. No evidence of that activity was found by CDPH inspectors today.

Quiznos will remain closed until its management has corrected the violation and passed re-inspection.

Representatives of the Quiznos franchise will have to explain themselves at an administrative hearing on April 17 and pay a fine expected to total $750.

Chicagoans who believe that a sandwich shop or other food establishment is operating in an unsafe manner are encouraged to dial 311 and report it.

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University of Nevada, Reno officials have placed Alpha Tau Omega fraternity on a two-year suspension for hazing pledges by branding their buttocks with dry ice and making them eat raw poultry.

Sally Morgan, UNR director of student conduct, said Thursday,

"Their local alumni board owns the house and will be making provisions to close the house and determine how it will be used in the next two years," adding the hazing came to light in December after as many as 11 pledges became ill after eating uncooked chicken or turkey and sought treatment at the Student Health Center,

The center director determined they had campylobacter, a foodborne illness, required to be reported to the county health department.

Any pledge who wants to recount their story on barfblog, I'll send you a don't eat poop shirt. That's solid advice.

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I spend several hours each day editing news, writing, tapping away at the computer. I do most of this on my living room couch, usually with some sort of TV on in the background. Earlier today, there was a semi-decent movie on, which then went straight into 1985's Commando, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. I glanced up now and then, just cause it was so terrible.

Today, Commando, now California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, said in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer,

"We urge swift investigation and action so that the public confidence in our food supply is not lost and a message is sent that mistreatment of animals will not be tolerated by anyone. … (The case) represents one of the worst violations of food safety laws in the country and one of the most egregious cases of animal cruelty I've ever seen. Because the State of California has no jurisdiction in this matter, my administration stands ready to assist the U.S. Department of Agriculture in this investigation in any way possible. … If these allegations are proven to be true and an isolated case, we expect full criminal prosecution. If this is a willful and broad-based corporate practice, we urge you to shut the plant down and pursue full prosecution of those involved."

Animal welfare shouldn't be a downer.

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The National Post reported Friday that Toronto public health authorities shut down one of Chinatown’s most prominent restaurants after a passerby took a photo of rats on a countertop.

Passerby Vivian Hui said rats were visible through a window of the Dumpling House Restaurant yesterday afternoon, adding,

"I noticed what I thought was a cat on the counter inside Dumpling House but it turned out to be four or five rats piled on top of each other eating from a bowl of flour or something."

She e-mailed her boyfriend, Matt Alexander, who alerted health authorities. He also sent the photo to blogto.com, a popular Toronto city blog.

Toronto Public Health said inspectors went to the restaurant immediately, saw evidence of an infestation, and shut the restaurant down.

A manager who answered the phone at the restaurant said they agreed with health inspectors that the restaurant needed to be shut down, adding,

"I fully agree. If there’s a problem, some indication, we have to take it seriously. We have pest control guys working on the case right now. … ‘We have a very good reputation.  That’s why we are taking this very seriously. I think [this shutdown] may affect business for a very short time, but not very much because our cleaning conditions are good."

The manager said he had never seen rats himself in the restaurant, and said any rat problem is not confined to Dumpling House. He said downtown has a rat problem generally, and the city needs to do something about it. Same as New York.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has shut down a meat processing company after concluding workers committed egregious acts of animal cruelty.

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports that the move came nearly a week after the Humane Society of the United States released video showing employees of the Westland Meat Co. tormenting cows that were too injured or weak to stand.

The original video is available at https://community.hsus.org/campaign/CA_2008_investigation?qp_source=gaba89.

A related news video is below.

When the video was released last week, the USDA suspended business with the company, sent a team of investigators to the Chino plant and ordered schools across the country to stop serving beef from the company to children.

An employee of the Humane Society of the United States worked undercover inside the company for about six weeks in the fall, secretly recording what went on.

His video shows what appear to be crippled cows dragged with forklifts, sprayed in the face with a high-pressure water hose and poked in the eye with a stick.

The images sparked concern not only from animal-welfare advocates, but from food-safety experts, who feared the company might have used the tactic to prod sick animals to slaughter in violation of state and federal regulations.

So-called "downer" cows, or those that are not able to get up, are more likely to produce beef contaminated with foodborne illnesses such as mad cow disease, E. coli and salmonella.

Dr. Richard Raymond, USDA's Under Secretary for Food Safety, said last night,

"We maintain an inspection system that safeguards the safety and wholesomeness of our food supply. USDA will take appropriate action based on the findings of the investigation."

Maybe, but USDA may need to adopt some new inspection and investigative techniques if the HSUS can so easily document such grotesquely poor treatment of animals.

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WAFB 9News is reporting that a five-year-old boy had to be hospitalized after playing with one of the throws his mom says he caught at the notoriously risqué Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade this weekend.

Mom Tracy Bamburg told  9NEWS that among all the beads, cups, and doubloons was a real chicken foot, which also happened to be raw.

"We were all touching it, squeezing it, and playing with it." Then, the next morning, reality hit. "My stomach was hurting very, very, very, very bad," the little boy says. "He woke up with 103 fever and vomiting," his mother says.

Spanish Town parade organizer Bruce Childers said throwing raw chicken parts from the floats in this parade is not acceptable and that if the crew members who did this are caught, they will be banned indefinitely from riding in the parade.

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At least 20 bald eagles reportedly died in Kodiak, Alaska, after becoming mired in a truckload of fish guts.

The Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Saturday that about 50 eagles descended on the uncovered truck Friday when it left a garage at the Ocean Beauty Seafoods plant.

Federal wildlife officials said that while gorging themselves, the birds pushed each other into the heavy, thick, goo and were drowned, buried and crushed.

The incident took only minutes and factory officials moved the truck back inside once they saw what was happening, the Daily News reported.

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"Warning: Idiot holding dog."

And it gets better. Mentalfloss reports on what it calls a rather aggressive warning sign for dog walkers in Sarasota and the potential risks of crapping on this particular lawn.

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Propellor.com has posted what it deems to be the Top 10 Poop Movie Scenes.

Below is the list of movies. You can visit propellor.com for pics and descriptions.

And I've seen all the movies except the last one, Friday.

It's hard to argue with the classic simplicity of Caddyshack -- a Baby Ruth chocolate bar in the swimming pool -- but I'll go with Harold and Kumar.

Don't eat poop.


1. Dumb & Dumber
2. Along Came Polly
3. American Pie
4. Van Wilder
5. Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery
6. Caddyshack
7. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
8. Not Another Teen Movie
9. KingPin
10. Friday

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Fifty-six-year-old Shelton Stewart, a former New York doorman who slipped on a pile of pigeon droppings on a subway station's stairs in 1998, has been awarded $6 million in compensation.

The New York Post reports that the trial took three weeks, but the jury took less than a day to award Stewart $7.67 million in damages. He'll get only 80 percent of that, or $6.13 million, because he was found 20 percent liable for failing to avoid the poop pile the second time around.






New York City Transit has indicated that it planned to appeal.

Stewart was planning to use his windfall to buy a house and take his two daughters and grandchild to Disney World in Florida.

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Researchers say kissing may be safer than shaking hands.

Sally Bloomfield of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and chairwoman of the International Scientific Forum for Home Hygiene, said that a recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control said to avoid catching flu, stomach aches, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, salmonella or C. difficile, people should pay greater attention to good hand hygiene.

Good hygiene at home can mean fewer infections spread among family members and fewer patients demanding antibiotics. But good hygiene is more than just washing hands -- surfaces that spread germs via hands such as door handles, tap handles, toilet seats and cleaning cloths also need regular hygienic cleaning.

Clothing and linens, baths, basin and toilet surfaces can also play a part in spreading germs between family members in the home, the report said.

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That from the landlord of a Palmerston North, New Zealand flat, who apparently let her tenants shower with water from a heater containing a dead rat.

The Manawatu Standard reports that the two flatmates are nervously awaiting the results of blood tests after they learnt the "smelly water" they had been drinking and showering in came from a tank housing a badly decomposed rat.

Having suffered bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting before becoming aware of the corpse, they still have to shower at their parents' homes and clean cooking utensils on the front lawn.

The saga began in early November when a 19-year-old resident noticed the water was "smelly" and she began feeling ill.

Her mother, worried sewerage had seeped into the water pipes, contacted the council, which in turn flushed the home's pipes.

Several weeks later the shower blocked up, which eventually led to a plumber finding what was left of the large rat.

Rather than remove it, he gave instructions not to use any water until someone else did the dirty work.

The landlord said, "I can't believe they didn't ring me to say it was still there. I thought it was gone. Oh, I just feel ill. I have barely slept thinking about rats in tanks. It's just a dreadful situation, but I thought the plumber or sanitisers had dealt with it."

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I had to relinquish a decent bottle of Scotch going through airport security a few months ago. I forgot it was in my carry-on instead of my suitcase and, no liquids through security, so that was that.

A 64-year-old traveling through the Nuremberg airport decided on another option, downing a litre of vodka rather than hand it over to airport authorities.

Police said a doctor was called as the man was quickly unable to stand or otherwise function.

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The Australians are really getting into restaurant inspection disclosure -- via the name and shame route.

Sydneysiders are now saying school canteens should be held to the same standards.

Australia.com reports that,

Gastro outbreaks, cockroaches in sandwiches and mice droppings in pie ovens are among a number of complaints that have seen 38 Sydney schools targeted by the food safety authority since 2004.

Shadow Education Minister Andrew Stoner said,

“We don’t allow other businesses – takeaways and restaurants – to get away with this. We can’t allow school canteens to do it. … name and shame the schools where canteens are not up to scratch.”

Go for it.

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In Nebraska schools, the answer is no.  Favourite snack of Napoleon Dynamite, tater tots, have been pulled from lunchlines throughout the state.  According to the Lincoln Journal Star 25,000 pounds of the tasty treats distributed to 345 schools were removed from lunch service on Thursday after reports that children who had eaten them became ill. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the potatoes reportedly had an odd taste and odor.  In Nebraska, three schools reported sick students.

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Reuters is reporting that Godiva Chocolatier is recalling Christmas chocolates in Asia and Europe after two pieces of metal fragments were discovered last month in two boxes of the chocolate made in France and sold in Japan

Godiva Chocolatier is a unit of Campbell Soup Co.

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"I just ate poached salmon cooked underneath the catalytic converter of a 2006 Toyota Tacoma.

And, yeah, I went back for seconds."

So says a columnist for California's Contra Costa Times, who says, call it Car-B-Que, Engine Eats, Manifold Meals: people have been using their cars as mobile kitchens for years.

Chef Mike Rockey was quoted as saying,

"You can heat something up in virtually any place inside the engine compartment. You just have to wrap it in foil, wedge it in there and stay away from moving parts, especially the fan. You don't want to put anything near the fan."

The story says that engine cooking became popular in the 1940s and '50s when engines ran hotter and engine compartments had more wasted space to hold foil-covered potatoes, hot dogs and other road food.

And in a nice food safety shout-out, Rockey said,

"You have to take food safety into account. The internal temperature has to be over 140 degrees, otherwise you leave yourself open to bacterial growth."

A quick search revealed a 1998 book, Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine!

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ESPN reports that The International Tennis Federation is investigating allegations that 13th ranked, US Open quarter finalist Tommy Haas was poisoned before Germany's Davis Cup match against Russia.

The report says that Haas was forced out of a match with what appeared to be a stomach virus (sounds like noro?) on September 23.  Germany's opponent Russia went on to win the semifinal series and reach the Davis Cup final.

German teammate Alexander Waske said he was told by a Russian who manages numerous athletes that it was poisoning, not a virus.

Haas was quoted as saying "I was the only one ever to order dessert or a Latte macchiato after dinner. If all this is true, since no one else got sick, that must have been when it happened."

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Healthinspections.com is reporting that a Dairy Queen in Daytona Beach was  fined $900 for repeated problems such as untrained employees handling food and foods held at dangerous temperatures.

Based on a review of thousands of health inspections in 12 cities, Dairy Queen has one of the worst records in the fast food industry, often with critical violations that have not been corrected since the last inspection.  The chain has one of the worst records in fast food for repeating the same health code violation time and again.

Employee hygiene is the number one problem at DQ – accounting for 22% of the chain's violations. Hygiene includes everything from workers not washing their hands to employees found eating and drinking in the kitchen.
Near Denver, for example, an inspector watched an employee "wipe nose, take money," and continue to prepare food without washing.

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The Associated Press is reporting that George Washington University students who get drunk and barf on the university's shuttle bus could be charged hundreds of dollars to clean up the bus, plus the cost of cab vouchers for other students trying to get home.

The policy will be enforced by "mystery riders," who could be on board at any time.

The Vern Express runs round the clock between the university's Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses.

University officials say when someone gets sick, the driver has to stop the bus, unload the passengers and arrange rides home.

The policy follows an increase in the number of incidents and complaints from students about delays. School officials say it applies only to students who are drunk -- not those who are actually sick.

The were several of those in Manhattan last night, as a late game meant the "official" tailgating started at 3 pm, and didn't wrap up until 12:30 a.m., with a 47-20 Kansas State victory over Colorado, and allowing K-State to sneak back into the college football rankings at #25 in the AP poll (shout-out to my Canadian Food Inspection Agency fans).

One of our golf friends tried the norovirus excuse on the first fairway after a night of excess several years ago in Newport News, Virginia.

It didn't work.

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Millions of bogong moths have been blown off-course during there yearly migration and ended up in Sydney and Canberra, Australia.  Reuters reports that years ago, Aborigines took advantage of the abundant source of fat and protein, and Australian restaurants have decided to do the same today.

"They are lovely," French-born chef Jean-Paul Bruneteauhe (pictured at right) told the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this week. "They have a nutty, crisp, popcorn flavour, like buttered hazelnut." Mr. Bruneteau recommended pulling off the furry wings then roasting the bodies for three minutes in a dash of canola oil.

Australian Museum naturalist Martyn Robinson supports their consumption as well, but warns against the possibility of pesticide residue. "I'd probably recommend only 10 a day," said Mr. Robinson, "But 10 is plenty."

Plenty, indeed.

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As Kansas State (24) prepares to host University of Kansas Saturday morning in college football action, here's hoping the locals are better hosts than the women at KU's Pi Beta Phi sorority.

Apparently, the fathers of the gals will soon be receiving “I survived Pi Phi Dad’s Day 2007” T-shirts.

The Lawrence Journal-World  reports that some of the dads and many of the women of Pi Beta Phi came down with an unknown illness during the Sept, 22 event at KU.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is investigating and, as yet, hasn’t found a source of the illness. The probe has included Vermont Street Barbecue, Abe & Jake’s Landing and the sorority’s kitchen, but it could expand further.

KDHE spokesman Joe Blubaugh said the number of people who were potentially exposed — up to 240 — complicates the investigation.

Meg Stewart, Pi Beta Phi president, said the sorority was grateful the illness wasn’t worse. She said a few members were sent to a hospital.

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The Northwest Herald in Illinois notes that indoor playgrounds are not regulated or inspected by the county or state health departments.

Debra Quackenbush, McHenry County Department of Health spokeswoman, was cited as saying that the department did not regulate indoor playgrounds.

State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, was cited as saying the lack of regulations for play equipment could explain why his sons contracted pink eye several times after visiting indoor playgrounds when they were younger, and that self-regulation for restaurant operators, without the threat of punishment, did not work.

Franks was further cited as saying that the county health department should be responsible for making sure that indoor playgrounds were sanitary, adding, "The health department inspects the cleanliness of the restaurant. How much harder would it be to also make sure that the play area is clean?"

Managers of local Burger King and McDonald’s restaurants were cited as telling the Northwest Herald that an outside company cleaned the inside of their play tubes once a month, adding that employees sanitized the play area throughout the day and cleaned it at the end of the workday.

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The Melbourne Magistrates Court was told that barmaid Emily Craig, 22,  served a drunk customer a shot of Pine-o-Cleen as a joke at a Melbourne nightclub causing him to become violently ill.

The story says that the customer vomited in the street outside the Evolution nightclub in inner city Prahran before an ambulance was called.

Ms Craig's defence counsel George Balot was cited as telling Magistrate Bill O'Day that the incident happened at 6.15am, on March 4, adding, "I will be putting to you this was a misguided joke at an ungodly hour. It is not a malicious act."

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All over the airwaves today was a bizarre story of rabies risk.  Bats have, according to the New York Times, taken over a dorm at Texas Southern University and in true college student fashion, authorities were alerted indirectly, via the internet.

Students posted the below video on YouTube and word of the infestation made it to the health department.  Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for the city of Houston's health department was quoted as saying ''When we saw the video, we knew we had a problem." Yeah, no doubt.  YouTube is changing the way we communicate and manage risks, posting something like this probably elicits a pretty quick response.

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The Associated Press is reporting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has fined a man $800 for flying dead snakes and birds inside his luggage from South Korea to Atlanta.

Last month, security officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport found 30 snakes, a dead bird and pieces of several other birds in his luggage.

Darwin Huggins, Fish and Wildlife agent in charge of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, said,


"They're typically used in traditional Chinese or Asian medicine,'' said. ''Some of the snakes had scorpions in their mouths. And they were preserved in wine. It's a medicinal type wine that certain cultures drink."

Where's Samuel L. Jackson when you need him.

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I really can't come up with a better title.

Boring, Oregon's cousin town of Boreing, Ky. is known for its goat poop bingo.

The story says that guessing where Buckwheat the Goat will leave his droppings in order to win prizes (including a $50 gift certificate from Bi-Mart) is a popular pastime at the daylong event, but there’s more to this celebration than just animal dung.

“This is a family event showcasing our community,” said Deby Olson, another organizer, who says in its third year, the celebration will be “bigger and better than ever.”

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McDonald's staffer Kendra Bull was charged with a reckless conduct, a misdemeanor, for her role in food preparation after dousing police officer Wendell Adams burger with salt,

The burger made Adams so ill after a couple of bites that he vomited.

Officer George Louth, spokesman for the department said investigators don't know if Bull was targeting the officer with the Big N'Tasty blue-light special, only that she admitted putting the salt on the burger, but that the cash register, er, registered a discounted meal.

"In the middle of the night the only people they discount for are their employees or a member of the Police Department," Louth said.

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Colorado is the latest U.S. Midwest state to track an increase in cryptosporidium infections. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said earlier this week about 50 cases were reported in August, more than four times the usual number.

Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that cases of confirmed cryptosporidiosis increased from 3,505 for 2003 to 3,911 for 2004 and to 8,269 for 2005, a 111.4 per cent increase. The report makes excellent reading and contains solid advice.

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