Don't go to work if you are ill. 

It's easy to say, but hard to do.  Especially if you are a food handler supporting a family, and you don't get paid for sick days.  Or if you are a line cook and your boss tells you that she really needs you to show up because someone is already sick.

Indiana, like other juresdictions around North America has a law that says if a food handler has one of a handful of illnesses that can be passed to the public through food, they need to stay home. Indiana's list includes: Salmonella, shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Shigella, hepatitis A and norovirus.

According to the Star Press, the Delaware County (IN) Health Department is starting to crack down on food establishments that lack a policy of excluding employees from work if they have one of the five illnesses: "A recent informal survey revealed operators typically could not name any of the five reportable illnesses, or name the reportable symptoms," the Indiana State Department of Health reports in its Winter 2008 newsletter Food Bytes. "Only a few could name any symptoms and perhaps name one reportable illness.

Why hasn't the law been enforced before now?

"It was sort of like, not a hidden rule, but not a very well understood rule," said Terry Troxell, food division supervisor at the county health department. "No one knew its importance. Now, after we've become standardized by the state, it's one of the things being picked up on during inspections."

This week's Food Safety Infosheet is all about why it is important to stay home if you are ill, and stay away from food handling until you stop shedding the pathogen in your poop and puke.

Click here to download the Food Safety Infosheet

Jessica Simpson can now find out the results of the latest inspection should she go dining in Nova Scotia – but only via the Internet (and not in the window like these pics of L.A.).

A database of food establishment inspection reports was launched Oct. 28, by Agriculture Minster Brooke Taylor.

Reports will be posted within two or three days of inspections. They will show deficiencies, the action taken, warnings issued and closure notices for facilities.

Luc Erjavec of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association welcomed the new online system as something that will benefit restaurateurs and their customers.

"It’s a system that’s going to be open and transparent. With all that’s been going on in the world with food safety, I think the public is sensitive to food safety issues and this is one more thing that could help ease any concerns."

Costa Elles, president of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, said restaurateurs have nothing to fear and the system will probably improve food safety.

"It sets a standard and I think we should be accountable for what we do and that’s just giving us some accountability.”

The inspection reports are available on the Department of Agriculture's website at www.gov.ns.ca/agri/foodsafety/reports/.
 

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.
 

Amy and I went to Versailles last summer while touring around France, and I’ve seen that Marie Antoinette movie so I consider myself well-versed in the French aristocracy of the late 18th century.

Toronto Globe and Mail columnist John Doyle explored the same themes this morning in a review of a documentary about Ontario raw milk crusader Michael Schmidt which is being broadcast tonight on Wallyworld – sorry, Newsworld, Canada’s cable news program.

It's a fascinating documentary with many passionate declarations on whether farmers should be allowed to sell raw milk and the public should be allowed to consume it. It's rich in irony.

It's also an enraging program, largely because the real issue is the existence of the urban bourgeoisie's delusion of invincibility, ignorance about science and tendency to posture in order to justify selfishness.

Schmidt himself is a fascinating character, self-mythologizing relentlessly and shrewdly. He's always in a hat or cap and presents himself as an artist. No doubt his little farm is clean and well-run, but when Schmidt and his cabal of celebrity-chef supporters appear together and prattle on about taste and claim to be against "big business," they're just nitwits. …

The vulnerability of children is a key issue. Sure, adults are entitled to choice - but allowed the choice of giving unpasteurized milk to children, who have no choice? Call me peculiar, but the safety of children has nothing to do with the "nanny state" interfering in some alleged gourmand's taste for dangerous foods. One reason the nanny state exists is to protect the young, the elderly and the vulnerable. …

Watching Schmidt and his supporters, I was reminded of the one of the phenomena of the Romantic period in Europe - all those pastoral elegies of the 1700s, in which the poet idealizes rustic life, especially the shepherd, for the enjoyment of aristocrats.

That phenomenon peaked, I suppose, in France, in the late 18th century, when it was a fad at the French court to play at being part of the pastoral world. Marie Antoinette liked nothing better than to pretend she was a shepherdess (that's her Versailles farmhouse, right and below). It was an indulgent fantasy, very far removed from the reality of rustic life. Then came the Revolution. And little wonder. The raw-milk issue is about today's Marie Antoinettes.
 

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.

I hear stories about what happens in kitchens. We even started a blog on it, Kitchen Confessional, but it was difficult to sustain and it got merged with barfblog.

Matthew Evans has heard a lot of stories. Evans, who was the chief restaurant reviewer for the Herald for five years and whose autobiography, Never Order Chicken On A Monday, includes a sometimes-frightening look inside restaurant kitchens, writes in the Sydney Morning Herald that with poop allegedly being served in ice cream at the Coogee Bay Hotel, everyone in Australia is talking.

Evans says most Sydney food is great, cooked well and served with care. But a tiny minority of restaurants are incredibly dangerous.

“Some of the milder things that go on in NSW restaurants include chefs visiting the dunnies in their aprons. Or dipping odiferous chicken breasts in a mild bleach solution to whiten them and eliminate the smell. But when I went on Sydney radio to talk about these kinds of things last year, the comments turned even the hairs on my neck.

"Seeing the chef sitting on the toilet as they peeled prawns, perhaps? The slightly dodgy drip tray from the pub being used in the beer batter? The chef wiping the steak inside their Y-fronts or running it around the rim of the toilet because the customer had complained that their medium-cooked steak was still pink? It has happened.

"As an apprentice I've been asked to take leathery-skinned pre-opened oysters, too old and whiffy to offer as natural, and top them with mornay sauce and sell them. I've been witness to steaks stamped on with heavy boots and retrieved from the bins, and met people who've dipped food in the toilet before serving it, but I've never seen someone pick their nose and put it in food.

"Of course I've seen chefs over-season food because it was off, using it in curries and the like," says one Sydney chef I spoke to who did not want to be named.

"But the worst thing I've ever seen with my own eyes was in England. This guy always came in late. He'd order sea bass every night right on last orders at 11.30pm and then send it back and ask for it to be recooked.

"One day [the chef] did a huge hock and put a great big greenie under it. The customer reckoned it was the best sea bass ever."
 

“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.

A 23-year-old graduate student died after participating in a steamed bun eating competition at Dayeh University in Changhua.

The Taipei Times reports the student could not stop vomiting and fell unconscious after he began to feel uncomfortable during the school’s eating competition on Wednesday to determine who could finish two steamed buns stuffed with egg and cheese in the fastest time.

School medical personnel immediately performed CPR on the student and an ambulance was called which rushed him to a nearby hospital, but the student was pronounced dead. The cause of death remains unclear, but doctors said that the student may have choked to death
 

USA Today yesterday reported that the underground restaurant scene is growing. Jenn Garbee, who has just written Secret Suppers: Rogue Chefs & Underground Restaurants in Warehouses, Townhouses, Open Fields & Everywhere in Between (Sasquatch Books,$18.95) estimates there are at least 100 such places nationwide, with new ones opening all the time.

Q: In a nutshell, what are underground restaurants? Are they essentially dinner parties that strangers pay to attend?

A: They're something in between a dinner party and a supper club (in which members share the cost of dinners at rotating houses). The difference is the members aren't the same every time. There's a donation, but sometimes that doesn't cover anything but expenses. So it's sort of a paid dinner party — or like going to a restaurant where you don't know who's sitting next to you.

Q: Since they're generally skirting tax and licensing regulations, most operate under the radar. How did you find them?

A: Most are Internet-driven, so I just Googled "underground restaurants"and "secret supper clubs." You can ask chefs, food folks or at farmers markets, and check out food blogs. I wanted to include different types in the book in terms of size and location and the reason the chef is doing it.

Like National Hockey League legendary goaltender Glenn Hall, I used to puke before hockey games when I was a kid. Seriously, that’s how serious hockey was when I was 11-years-old in Brantford, Ontario.

A few years later I decided to abandon my destiny as a NHL goaltender and started playing high school football. I played linebacker because after all those years of being shot at with pucks, it felt good to be hitting someone else.

One of the other schools in town had this tank of a fullback – this was old school, when teams had halfbacks and fullbacks. He ran over me so hard once I didn’t move for about a minute. And then I barfed on the field.

The Washington Post has decided to follow up on the hit heard round the Internet – the one where the kid was hit so hard in a college football game that he vomited – and has asked the Washington Redskins their best vomit stories.

This is no Jamie Fox on Any Given Sunday; this is the read deal.

Player Casey Rabach says,

"Oh yeah, I've thrown up on the field. That happens a lot, yeah. Guys puke all the time. It's funny when the guy across from you starts puking, that's the best part. Oh my God, so funny. You've never seen a player who puked on the field? It's pretty funny. The guy's sitting there puking in front of you, and you KNOW you're just gonna kill him the next play. It's awesome. Jansen, you ever puked on the field," he called out to Jon Jansen, one locker over.

"Yeah," said Jansen, who was in the middle of interviews at the time.

At least 15 children have been hospitalized and nearly 30 children and adults as part of a Salmonella outbreak at several preschools in the San Fernando Valley and East Los Angeles.

The outbreak was traced to a North Hollywood kitchen that supplies food to the 29 preschools operated by the Volunteers of America of Greater Los Angeles, a faith-based nonprofit organization, said David Dassey of the L.A. Co. Public Health Department.

County public health officials inspected the kitchen, which voluntarily closed at the end of last week and reopened Tuesday. Letters were sent home to parents informing them of the situation and urging frequent hand-washing and other healthy practices.

All 29 facilities report at least one person coming down with salmonella-type symptoms, including fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
 

The E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to a North Bay, Ontario, Harvey’s burger joint, is going from bad to worse.

The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit said today there are now a total of 207 cases, of which 39 are lab confirmed for E. coli O157:H7.

“Although we can reveal few details to avoid identifying anyone, there is one child who is very ill and in hospital,” said Dr. Catherine Whiting, Medical Officer of Health. “This person meets the criteria for complications from an E. coli infection, specifically Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome or HUS.”

The restaurant has been closed since Oct. 12. That’s more than enough time for DNA fingerprinting and to see if there are any matches with rather numerous E. coli outbreaks going on throughout North America. The CBC reports food samples have tested negative for the E. coli strain, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's investigation has turned to testing food handlers. After only 11 days? Wow.  If this was an animal disease, CFIA would be all over it. But, it’s just people.
 

Toronto Public Health has identified a case of Hepatitis A in a food handler at Sushi Haru located at 635 College Street at Grace Street in Toronto. Anyone who consumed food from this restaurant on the following dates may have been exposed to the Hepatitis A virus: September 30; October 1 to 3; or October 6 to 10. …

If you ate at Sushi Haru on October 9, you may still benefit from receiving a vaccination to prevent Hepatitis A infection. The vaccine is effective for up to 14 days after coming into contact with the virus. Today is the last day that the vaccine would be effective. Call your doctor to get the vaccine, or go to a walk-in clinic.

A Fact Sheet on Hepatitis A is available at www.toronto.ca/health.
 

Baseball is incredibly boring. Anytime someone gases on about the mathematics and how literal it all is, I’m reminded of the time Homer Simpson was sober for a month and agreed that watching baseball was the most boring thing ever. At a hockey game in Sweden last night the crowd littered the ice with dildos. Hockey’s a great game.

But I’m forced to write about baseball because the World-Series bound Tampa Bay Rays did something somewhat astute: as reported in the New York Times, “The Rays are here (in the World Series) because of the outstanding good karma of allowing fans to bring their own food into the dome.

“In the vast majority of sports arenas and stadiums in this great land of freedom and opportunity, anybody caught transporting edible contraband through the turnstiles is immediately taken under the stands and beaten with rubber hoses.”

Tell me about it.

A pregnant Amy and I went to a Kansas State football game a few weeks ago. The dude doing the bag check found a wrapped energy bar and confiscated the offending carbs. I said, ‘She’s pregnant, she needs food.”

He grunted, which was as persuasive as K-State’s terrible football defense.

And unlike airport security, where an empty water bottle will be allowed through, K-State only allows full bottles of water. No one would ever fill a water bottle with vodka.

Back in Tampa, the Times reports that,

“Under this sane policy, fans can actually bring carrots and apples and cereal to the ball park and not have them wrestled away by gristly guards. I know what you are thinking: “There’s no healthy eating in baseball,” what with the mandatory calories and salt and sugar laced into the junk food sold in the corridors of American arenas.”
 

 Amy’s getting to the final stages of pregnancy. Our house on the hill isn’t quite so attractive. All of her teaching is in the afternoon, so lunch-time TV usually includes Days of Our Lives. Sure it’s a stupid soap opera, but if hockey great and hometown pal Wayne Gretzky can appear on The Young and the Restless with a bad mullet, Amy can tune out to an hour of Days of Our Lives.

Loving husband that I am, I flipped the TV to NBC about 10 minutes before the soap was due to start. What I saw was horrifying.

Kathie Lee Gifford has apparently attempted to resurrect her career by doing some NBC Today Show extension. And they did a piece with some woman from Good Housekeeping on how do you know if it’s done. These people perpetuated every food safety myth and probably made some folks ill. The only way to tell if it’s done is to use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. Color is a lousy indicator.

Stick it in.

The Owen Sound Sun Times has had enough of raw milk evangelist Michael Schmidt.

The Ontario paper  correctly observes that the Ontario government does not have the capacity to ensure that unpasteurized milk is safe to distribute and Michael Schmidt does not have the right to pick and choose which laws he wishes to obey.

Schmidt's raw-milk operation may be the most sparkling-clean in all of Ontario. His methods of storage and transport may be beyond reproach. His milk cows may be grass-fed, free-range, pest-free and of above average intelligence. For all we know they may produce wonderful abstract-expressionist paintings in their off hours.

That does not change the fact that drinking raw milk brings with it a heightened risk of salmonella, E. coli and Listeriosis. Nor does it change the fact that pasteurization saves lives.

Anyone who doesn't believe this should ask someone old enough to remember the days before pasteurization was introduced.

If selling raw milk were legal, it would in short order become a big business. The Ontario government, knowing the statistical risks of raw-milk distribution, would be legally and morally responsible for ensuring that no one got sick as a result.

That is a chance no responsible, reasonable government can or will take.

Therefore, Schmidt's crusade will fail. It should fail.

One man, however impassioned, cannot set health policy for all Ontarians, in the face of medical evidence that doing so would put people at risk.
 

Clean it up.  That's the easy answer.

Exactly how is another question.  After Amy's story of one of her students yacking in class, we started tossing around that question and using norovirus outbreaks at Georgetown and USC as hooks. Mayra and I decided to build a food safety infosheet around it.  After reviewing available guidelines from regulators and peer-reviewed research publications, we came up with some steps for cleaning up vomit. 

We based our recommedations on a norovirus-induced vomit (because aerosolized spread of virus particles is likely). 

If you are looking for a cool paper on vomit, check out: Evidence for airborne transmission of Norwalk-like virus (NLV) in a hotel restaurant (Epidemiology and Infection, 2000. 124:481-487), which discusses the spread of post-vomit norovirus (abstract is here).

A pdf of the vomit cleanup food safety infosheet can be found here.

I cringe every time I’m called an expert.

I know a little bit about how to coach girl’s hockey, I know how to make graduate students cry, I know a few other things involving chocolate. I’m amazed at what I don’t know about food and food safety.

But we’re all experts cause we all eat.

The Boston Globe asked some alleged experts about their food concerns.

Dr. Anita Barry of Hingham, director of the infectious disease bureau for the Boston Public Health Commission, says she focuses on washing all produce and she only uses plastic-made cutting boards because wooden ones can have germ-trapped cracks.

Washing produce removes little in the way of pathogens – has to be minimized on the farm – and wooden cutting boards are fine.

Zach Conrad of Brighton, a former co-odinator at the nonprofit Center for Food Safety in Washington, D.C., believes that today's organic farmers take greater care around sanitation and safety issues.

Sorry Zach, absolutely no evidence for that.

Lilian Schaer has a unique theory on why there is an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with a Harvey’s restaurant in North Bay, Ontario.

“At Harvey’s, frozen beef patties are grilled once you place your order - and there is plenty of room for error in that process, especially if the restaurant is busy, there isn’t enough staff, or staff aren’t trained or supervised properly.”

So why aren’t there other outbreaks at Harvey’s across Canada? Lilian also says farmers are great and bad handling is where things go wrong. Today she called E. coli O157:H7 a virus. Lilian is a communications specialist, apparently trained at Guelph.

Gina Mallet reacted to the Michael Schmidt raw milk conviction today by saying

“Michael Schmidt's raw milk has never been found to have listeria or e coli, none of his customers have turned up in intensive care.  People who buy raw milk know there's an outside risk of a pathogen in unpasteurized milk.

"But no one who ate the listeria laced deli meat and now, the  e-coli burgers from a North Bay Wendy's knew they were dicing with death when they ate processed and fast food. … Fact is, and the government knows it, that the dirty human hand is a greater danger to our food than not pasteurizing milk.”

It’s a Harvey’s in North Bay. And Gina, you don’t know if Schmidt’s milk has made someone sick or not. It’s OK to say, I don’t know. The dirty hand? Sure, but I follow the poop, some of which is on the hand, some elsewhere.
 

An organic farmer accused of ignoring a court order to stop selling unpasteurized milk was found guilty of contempt of court Monday morning in Newmarket, Ont.

Michael Schmidt has run a co-operative organic dairy farm near Owen Sound, Ont., for more than 20 years.

Contempt charges were sought by York Region officials, who fear there are health risks for people consuming the raw milk, including the risk of spreading salmonella, E. coli and listeria.

Schmidt also still faces 20 charges laid by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Grey-Bruce Health Unit. That trial is expected to begin in early 2009.

A table of raw dairy outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/articles/384/RawMilkOutbreakTable.pdf
 

and an updated one here.

A Harvey’s restaurant in North Bay, Ontario, Canada,  remains closed as the number of confirmed and suspected sick with E. coli O157:H7 climbed to 159 today.

The public health folks in North Bay must be going nuts, but they, along with the operators of Harvey’s, have put public health first and closed the restaurant until more is known.

Locust Grove, Oklahoma, was also hammered by an E. coli outbreak, E. coli O111, linked to dining at the Country Cottage restaurant in August.. One person died, 72 were hospitalized and 241 others got sick before the outbreak was contained.

Today it was revealed that State Health Department officials allowed the Country Cottage to stay open temporarily — even after confirming six of eight initial food poisoning victims had eaten its food, internal documents show. That decision may have resulted in additional people getting sick.

Health Department officials admitted last week there is no set threshold in such cases for closing a restaurant suspected of being the source of an outbreak.

There are no guidelines. Epidemiological investigations are full of uncertainty. So is most of what is known about foodborne illness. But after the Salmonella-in-tomatoes-jalapenos outbreak this summer, public health officials are seemingly reluctant to go public. Industry has attempted to take matters into their own hands – which they should have been doing anyway – and is increasingly challenging public health investigations with its own test results, and unfortunately overstating the value of their own tests.

Listeria in Maple Leaf deli meats, Salmonella in produce, E. coli in Ontario and Oklahoma. There are no guidelines on when to go public. Federal agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency must come clean with the public and industry and articulate the basis for public notification, or even restaurant closures, during outbreaks of foodborne illness. Until then local health units are left cleaning up the mess.
 

The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit is now reporting a total of 146 cases of which 24 are lab confirmed for E. coli O157:H7, linked to dining at a Harvey’s Restaurant on Algonquin Avenue in North Bay, Ontario.

Included are cases being investigated by 6 other health units in Ontario, and the people who are ill range from 1 to 90 years old. Some are in hospital receiving treatment, while most are recovering at home. 

“The Health Unit is screening staff at the restaurant located in North Bay.  This includes collecting samples and conducting interviews,” reports Dr. Catherine Whiting, Medical Officer of Health for the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit.  Health Unit staff continue to collect information and analyze data to ensure that all possible sources of E. coli O157:H7 are being investigated.  City of North Bay emergency crews also conducted extra testing on the municipal water last weekend.  Lab test results confirm that drinking water is not the source.
 

The North Bay Parry Sound District health unit reports there are now a total of 131 cases of which 22 are lab confirmed for E coli O157:H7, and 22 people are still under investigation.

The investigation is localized to Harvey’s Restaurant on Algonquin Avenue in North Bay. Included are cases being investigated by 4 other health units.

The people who are ill range from 1 to 84 years old. Symptoms of illness from E. coli O157:H7 include diarrhea which may be bloody, stomach cramps, and/or vomiting and possibly a fever. Anyone suffering with these symptoms is advised to seek medical attention.

Dr. Catherine Whiting, Medical Officer of Health, stresses “that people who are ill with E. coli must take precautions to prevent the spread of the bacteria to other people. Thorough hand washing, using soap and hot running water, particularly after toileting, before any food contact, or changing diapers is a must.”

As I told the Toronto Globe and Mail, the source could have been contaminated meat coupled with a failure in cooking, fresh produce such as lettuce used in burgers and salads, or an employee.

“Just because it's a Harvey's, you can't assume it's the hamburger,” said Doug Powell, associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University. “It could be a fresh product, something that's not cooked and it could be distributed to other places.”

It's important for health officials to figure out the source of the problem quickly so they can reduce the risk to others if necessary, he said.

However, for 131 to be sick from a restaurant that company president Rick McNabb said serves at least 300 meals daily suggests a fairly massive level of contamination.

There’s a lot of E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks right now. I’m sure public health types are looking for DNA fingerprint matches and will publicize results as soon as they are available.
 

Aisha P. Salazar, a graduate student at Kansas State University, writes:

I love traveling and eating just about anything in sight. My only rule is that food can’t be too spicy. That’s why ‘Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern’ is one of my favorite shows. I recently found an old episode where he was visiting Ecuador, my parent’s native country. I have been to Ecuador several times since birth, but I got to thinking Zimmern must either have an incredibly tolerant stomach and intestines, or he must spend a lot of time on the toilet and it’s never captured on camera. I say this because he eats the oddest foods all over the world, even at local stands along the road, with apparently no gastrointestinal effect.

The last time I visited Ecuador was about two years ago. I went to different towns and ate all the street food in sight—beef, pork, mote, rice, plantains. I actually drew the line at the cuy because they didn’t look fully cooked and were in the least sanitary locations of all the food, though I have eaten it in the past and it’s really good. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten everything because of the variable sanitation standards, but I ate…and I got sick. I got the worst case of food poisoning I had ever experienced (I’m talking both ends, doubled over in severe pain for two days, unable to stomach anything for an additional two or more days).

It seemed that Zimmern takes precautionary measures by not eating from local stands at all times, but even when I eat at friend’s houses or restaurants I can come up with a bad case of the runs. It made me wonder what he does to prepare himself to prevent a run-in with a toilet and what he would do if he were to get sick. I don’t see any of the cooks using thermometers and he often eats raw foods. So how does he do it and what is his perception of risk? I decided to e-mail him and ask. Hopefully he, or someone working with him, will get back to me. The show’s website states they will be devoting an hour long Halloween Special to the topic of culture and food. He’ll also have an online Q&A session on October 21st.

I often don’t heed the advice of my own field, eating everything from sushi to unpasteurized cheese to alfalfa sprouts. In fact, right before one spring break in college my professor had talked to us about the risk of eating raw oysters and acquiring food poisoning from Vibrio cholera. I, of course, went to New Orleans and ate raw oysters the moment I arrived. I survived unscathed yet, even after several incidents of food poisoning, I still take the risk.

But where does my own perception of risk associated with foods come from? How is it different from the next person’s? Is one influenced by old wise tales, cultural norms, or scientific facts, or even blessed with good genes? Or is it a matter of adjusting one’s intestines to certain pathogens? How tolerant is a native person to certain foods compared to a foreigner? Or does your vulnerability to foodborne illness relate to your perception of risk? (For vulnerabilities, see ‘Who is at risk?’  and ‘Food safety in pregnancy is not simple’ ). Doug Powell often talks about creating a culture of safe food; reducing the risk begins with changing behaviors and spreading knowledge. I recommend Zimmern include a warning statement in his shows, informing the public of dangers that can result from eating certain foods. It would benefit travelers and spread the culture of safe food.

This topic has been on my mind for a couple of years, and pretty much anytime I travel, yet I haven’t bothered researching it. Instead, I go on blindly eating the foods I love and hope I don’t die from them. This doesn’t mean I’m not careful when I or anybody in my family cooks, but I’ve noticed my own risks seem to be greater when I’m eating outside my own home. My friends can tell you how ironic it is that I’m studying food safety yet I always get food poisoning. I found it ironic that Zimmern is the international spokesman for Pepto-Bismol. If only Pepto and Mylanta knew how much I relied on them. Then again, I’m not sure I’d like to be the face of Mylanta. I’m probably better off changing my own food rules and reducing my chances of getting sick.

We all pick our own poisons.

A friend sent along this year-old video of “Huntress” Heidi Wilson, a redneck Rachel Ray with a heavy dose of Martha Stewart-inspired soft lens on the camera.

The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife describes squirrel as "good table fare," offering recipes for squirrel chowder, stew and barbecue.

In Aug., 1997, Joseph Berger, Erick Weisman and Beverly Weisman of the University of Kentucky reported in The Lancet, they may have found a link between the consumption of squirrel brains, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

The scientists reported on five patients, aged between 56 and 78, who had been diagnosed as having Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. All of them reported that they had eaten squirrel brains.

Weisman told the N.Y. Times  squirrels were a popular food in rural Kentucky, where people eat either the meat or the brains but generally not both.

Families tend to prefer one or the other depending on tradition. Those who eat only squirrel meat chop up the carcass and prepare it with vegetables in a stew called burgoo. Squirrels recently killed on the road are often thrown into the pot.

Families that eat brains follow only certain rituals.

"Someone comes by the house with just the head of a squirrel," said Weisman "and gives it to the matriarch of the family. She shaves the fur off the top of the head and fries the head whole. The skull is cracked open at the dinner table and the brains are sucked out."  It is a gift-giving ritual.

The second most popular way to prepare squirrel brains is to scramble them in white gravy, he said, or to scramble them with eggs. In each case, the walnut-sized skull is cracked open and the brains are scooped out for cooking.

These practices are not related to poverty, Berger was cited as saying. People of all income levels eat squirrel brains in rural Kentucky and in other parts of the South.

Amy says squirrel tastes like chicken -- if you add ketchup.
 

KITV in Honolulu, HI reports that PETA has asked Shane Victorino, the Philadelphia Phillies star Center Fielder, to stop eating Spam. According to the PETA Files blog, Fox announcer Joe Buck, revealed that Victorino's favourite food is a popular Hawaiian dish, Spam musubi, during a recent telecast. Ever-trusty Wikipedia says that a Spam musubi is composed of a block of salted rice with a slice of Spam (cooked or uncooked) on top, and typically nori (dried seaweed) surrounding it to keep it in shape. Mmmm. I've never had Spam, but meat from a can doesn't really appeal to me.

KITV.com reports:

After finding out Victorino's favorite food is SPAM musubi, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' Assistant Director Dan Shannon sent him a letter, calling for him to give up SPAM because its maker Hormel is under an animal cruelty investigation.

PETA released video to news organizations from one of its investigator that went undercover at the pig farms. The video showed workers beating the animals.

The PETA representatives said they realize SPAM is popular in Hawaii and that he probably did not realize the conditions the pigs faced.

According to PETA, Investigators documented that workers at the Hormel supplier kicked and injured pigs, beat pigs with metal rods, and shocked pigs with electric prods--sometimes in the face. Workers reportedly killed piglets by slamming their heads against the floor.

The PETA Files also says that:

Phillies' Citizens Bank Ballpark has been ranked the "Most Vegetarian Friendly Ballpark" two years in a row for its impressive vegetarian offerings, such as Philly faux-steak sandwiches, "crab-free crab cakes," mock-chicken sandwiches, and veggie dogs.

I've never been to Citizens Bank Ballpark, but I did have an awesome cheesesteak at a Phillies game at the Vet a few years ago.

Maybe this video clip is a bit predictable.... oh well.

That’s what a frustrated Kirk Smith, head of the foodborne disease unit of the Minnesota Department of Health, suggested to USA Today today as he described how people are still getting sick with Salmonella by microwaving raw, frozen, breaded chicken, despite the lack of microwave instructions.

"We wish the labels would be even more emphatic. … Maybe if on the front of the package there were 3-inch letters — RAW — who knows?"

Minnesota health officials met with producers of chicken products and were told that precooking wasn't an option because it has an effect on the texture and appearance of the chicken.

A table of the relevant outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/article-details.php?a=3&c=32&sc=419&id=1245

and below.

Smith was also lead author on a paper describing previous outbreaks in the October issue of the Journal of Food Protection. It’s below.

Outbreaks of Salmonellosis in Minnesota (1998 through 2006) associated with frozen, microwaveable, breaded, stuffed chicken products
01.oct.08
Journal of Food Protection, Vol 71, No 10, pp. 2153-2160(8)
Smith, Kirk E.; Medus, Carlota; Meyer, Stephanie D.; Boxrud, David J.; Leano, Fe; Hedberg, Craig W.; Elfering, Kevin; Braymen, C

From 1998 through 2006, four outbreaks of salmonellosis associated with raw, frozen, microwaveable, breaded, prebrowned, stuffed chicken products were identified in Minnesota. In 1998, 33 Salmonella Typhimurium cases were associated with a single brand of Chicken Kiev. In 2005, four Salmonella Heidelberg cases were associated with a different brand and variety (Chicken Broccoli and Cheese). From 2005 to 2006, 27 Salmonella Enteritidis cases were associated with multiple varieties of product, predominately of the same brand involved in the 1998 outbreak. In 2006, three Salmonella Typhimurium cases were associated with the same brand of product involved in the 2005 Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak. The outbreak serotype and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis subtype of Salmonella were isolated from product in each outbreak. In these outbreaks, most individuals affected thought that the product was precooked due to its breaded and prebrowned nature, most used a microwave oven, most did not follow package cooking instructions, and none took the internal temperature of the cooked product. Similar to previous salmonellosis outbreaks associated with raw, breaded chicken nuggets or strips in Canada and Australia, inadequate labeling, consumer responses to labeling, and microwave cooking were the key factors in the occurrence of these outbreaks. Modification of labels, verification of cooking instructions by the manufacturer, and notifications to alert the public that these products contain raw poultry, implemented because of the first two outbreaks, did not prevent the other outbreaks. Microwave cooking is not recommended as a preparation method for these types of products, unless they are precooked or irradiated prior to sale.

Chicago repeat restaurant inspection violator, Bar Louie at 741 W. Randolph, was shut down Thursday and remains closed today after Chicago Department of Public Health inspectors discovered over 1,000 rat feces in a basement storage area.

Additionally, the restaurant was cited for front and rear doors with gaps that allow access to rodents and insects, fruit flies in the kitchen, a poorly maintained outside garbage area (with trash overflowing onto the ground), no sanitizing solution in the automatic dishwashing machine, and no hot water at sinks through the establishment.

CDPH Commissioner Terry Mason, M.D., said,

“We take food safety seriously, and these are the types of unacceptable violations that leave the door wide open for food borne illness. Bar Louie will not be allowed to re-open until it has taken corrective action and passed re-inspection.”

The enforcement action was the 203rd time in 2008 that Health Department inspectors have shut a food establishment for violations of the Chicago Health Code.

Representatives of Bar Louie will have to explain themselves at an administrative hearing on November 6 and pay a fine expected to total $2,000.

Bar Louie has 11 locations in the Chicago area, six in the city itself. Three of the city locations have been shut down this year for health violations. The Hyde Park location was shut down on October 1 by the Mayor’s Dumpster Task Force, and the Taylor Street location was shut down by CDPH on August 28.

A Chase County boy is one of two young Kansas children who died within the past several days from E. coli infection, although the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the deaths are unrelated and were caused by different E. coli serotypes.

Funeral arrangements were being made today for Brant Burton, 4, who died Sunday in Wesley Regional Medical Center in Wichita.

An 18-month-old from Liberal, Tanner Strickland, reportedly died Wednesday in Wesley. Tanner’s brother remains in Wesley in stable condition with the same illness.

Fifty-two cases of E-coli were reported to KDHE in 2007; 33 were caused by E-coli O157:H7. Kansas' three-year median for 2004-2006 was 48 cases. The highest rate of disease (8.8 per 100,000) was reported among children aged less than five years.
 

Spirits were high Saturday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs opened their at-home hockey season night to the rhythms of the Smashing Pumpkins.

Fresh off an unexpected victory against defending Stanley Cup champs, the Detroit Red Wings, on Thursday, and with a bad Def Leopard live performance following the game, things were looking up for the Leafs.

The Leafs lost horribly to Montreal on Saturday night and reality set in.

Companies, like hockey teams, can also show flashes of brilliance, only to revert to old ways.

Michael McCain, president and CEO of Toronto-based Maple Leaf Foods, was widely praised for his compassionate and heartfelt response to the deaths of now 20 people from Maple Leaf cold-cuts.

But now Mr. McCain has taken to lecturing Canadians on the realities – or at least Mr. McCain’s realities – of the inevitability of listeria in everything, reminding me of the Tragically Hip song that goes, “I thought you beat the death of inevitability to death just a little bit. …

“We don’t’ go to hell, the memories of us do.”

McCain is using the increased media spotlight not to call for increased warnings to vulnerable populations, like the 20 who died, and pregnant woman (because, after all, listeria is everywhere) but to say how unfair it is that McCain’s Maple Leaf Foods has to compete with small plants.

"Right now, we have two-tier system. It is clear to me and, I think, most scientists would agree with this, that the provincial standards are not at the same level as the federal standards. … Right now, saying it's acceptable for Canadian consumers to have one standard that applies to companies like Maple Leaf and another standard that is significantly below that for many, many others who are provincially inspected is not right for consumers. …

"That's actually the travesty. If they were aware and they made a conscious choice that's acceptable to them, everybody is free to make a good choice. But I think the travesty here is they're probably not even aware of different standards out there."

OK, Mr. McCain, give consumers the choice and, as Carl says, stop whining. Market food safety. Advertize your allegedly superior food safety protocols. Put it on the label. And warn those populations who are particularly vulnerable – and missing from your latest missives.

Below is a video clip from the Canadian band and hockey fanatics, The Tragically Hip, with some apt lyrics:

Oh, and the joke making the rounds in Canada?

“Q & A's from Health Canada

“ Q: The Stanley Cup was recently on tour in my town, and I kissed it. Do I have to worry about being infected by listeria?

“A: You are safe.  The Stanley Cup has not been in contact with any Maple Leaf in over 40 years.”

Michéle Samarya-Timm, of the Franklin Township Health Department in New Jersey writes:

Take a moment to look down at your hands. Are they clean? How about the hands of the person sitting next to you? Or the hands of the person shaking your hand, fixing your sandwich, caring for your child?

Increasing the practice of handwashing with soap is the international goal of the World Health Organization with the first-ever Global Handwashing Day, scheduled for Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

Handwashing with soap is an exceptionally efficacious and cost-effective health intervention, but one that is often considered trivial in our busy, hectic lives. Repeated observational studies show that many people don’t wash their hands as often or as thoroughly as they should. If conscientious handwashing can prevent you (and your loved ones!) from experiencing the inconvenience of vomiting and diarrhea, or reduce your risk for skin infections, eye infections, intestinal worms, and other communicable diseases, isn’t it worth it?

The challenge of Global Handwashing Day is to transform handwashing with soap from an abstract good idea into an automatic behavior performed in homes, schools, workplaces and communities. Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into an ingrained habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter. In short, handwashing with soap could save 1 million lives per year.

Today and everyday you can make a difference. Speak up if a restroom is not adequately supplied with running water, soap and hand dryers/paper towels. Ask that foodhandler to wash his/her hands before making your sandwich. Most importantly, wash your hands after using the toilet and before you eat. And teach your kids to do the same.

Handwashing with soap is a cornerstone of public health across the globe and here at home. Handwashing with soap reduces disease. It’s cheap. It’s easy. It works to keep you healthy.

On this Global Handwashing Day, help ensure no hand is left behind.
 

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.

Sarah Palin, look at what is going on in your own backyard while you’re getting people all excited with your Katie Couric interviews.

New molecular laboratory findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide a firm link between an outbreak of Campylobacter diarrhea that occurred in Southcentral Alaska this summer and eating uncooked peas grown in Alaska.

"Molecular studies demonstrated that there was a match between Campylobacter bacteria obtained from sick people and those obtained from pea and Sandhill Crane samples taken from the farm in Palmer," said Dr. Tracie Gardner, an epidemiologist with the Alaska Division of Public Health.

To date, the investigation has identified 99 people sickened by the bacteria who reported eating raw peas within 10 days of illness onset. Fifty-four had laboratory confirmation of illness. Five were hospitalized. None have died.

Investigation revealed a lack of chlorine in the water used to wash the peas at the farm. State officials are working with the farm to implement future control measures.

Yes, chlorinated water could be part of the economic bailout to boost health-care reform. Over to you, Sarah.
 

The microwaving raw frozen breaded chicken thingies turned out to be a huge media story. An outbreak picked up by the Minnesota State Department of Health turned into 32 people sick with the same Salmonella in 12 states, and led to numerous calls for people to be careful with this kind of meal solution, especially when using microwaves.

I did an interview with radio station in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, about microwave cooking the other day, and the host was starting to get frustrated. It went something like this:

“Maybe I should just eat local, fresh food and wash it well and I’ll be safe.”

“No. Local can be safe, but consumers have to ask about microbiological stuff – what do the growers do to keep the dangerous bugs off fresh produce.”

“Oh, well maybe I’ll just be a vegetarian to be safe.”

“No, fresh fruits and vegetables are the biggest source of foodborne illness in North America today.”

“Oh.”

“Look, I’m not trying to be Dougie Downer at the dinner table, I’m just …”

Hysterical laughter at the other end. She called me Dougie Downer for the rest of the interview, and couldn’t stop laughing.

Saturday Night Live on Thursday also covered the issue last night. The clip is available here.

WCTC reports that Patricia Gibson says she bought a package of meat from an IGA food store in Quincy, Florida, on Wednesday, and on Saturday afternoon when she opened the package, she found a condom embedded in her container of packed pigs feet.

After family members agreed, Gibson called the manager of IGA, and told him what she'd found.

She says the manager asked her "what he was supposed to do about it?"

Angry, Gibson called the Havana Police Department.

"This, that's a serious health issue. I mean, what if people are buying other packages of meat, and something like that's ground up in it? That's not right. That's disgusting."

The manager of IGA says pigs feet are packaged in house, but he says there's no way a condom could be in his meat, saying he is certain his employees are not engaging in any sexual activity in the meat department.

Havana police secured the evidence at Gibson's home in Havana, and told her to contact the Health Department so the state may do a thorough investigation of IGA's food preparation.
 

That’s what dietician and TV personality Leslie Beck asked yesterday in the Toronto Globe and Mail as she posed a pre-Canadian-Thanksgiving food safety quiz.

Leslie (right) didn’t do so good -- and she’s the alleged teacher with the answer book.

That’s because she went to the Coles Notes version -- the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education – for her answers instead of doing some digging.

“While food processing has been blamed for many of these (foodborne) outbreaks, the fact remains that the majority of food-safety problems occur at home. It is estimated that Canada has as many as 13 million cases of food poisoning every year, most of which could be prevented by safer handling of food at home.”

With at least 20 people dead from listeria in cold cuts in Canada, such a statement is not only factually inaccurate, it is condescendingly harsh.

“Fresh produce must always be washed - true or false?
Answer: True
Fresh fruit and vegetables should never be consumed without being washed under clean, running water - even prebagged, prewashed produce.”

Chirstine Bruhn, UC Davis, do you have something to add on this? Last I saw, scientists were saying don’t rewash the pre-washed greens for fear of contaminating clean product. Food safety is not simple and there are lots of disagreements – which is why these laundry lists of do’s and don’t’s, are fairly useless. People are interested in this stuff, give them some data, some information, some context, not just questionable marching orders.

“What temperature does your stuffed Thanksgiving turkey need to reach before it is safe to eat?
Answer: d) 82 C (180 F)
Use a digital meat thermometer and cook your turkey until the temperature at the thickest part of the breast or thigh is at least 82 C (180 F)."

No idea where this comes from, because Health Canada won’t let mere mortals peek at the wizard behind the green curtain who makes such pronouncements (watch the video below for how Health Canada derives at consumer recommendations for things like cooking temperatures). The recommended internal temperature in the U.S. is 165F. You can read how that number was determined at http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2007/10/articles/food-safety-communication/thawing-and-cooking-turkey/.

Both are better than the U.K.’s, “piping hot.”

“What is the safest way to thaw your Thanksgiving turkey?
Answer: d) In the fridge
 Never defrost a turkey at room temperature.”

Yes you can, and I will be this weekend. Check out Pete Snyder’s comments and our own work in this area.

We’ll be videotaping the turkey preparation for our annual Canadian-expat-in-Manhattan (Kansas) Thanksgiving feast on Monday.
 

Where does foodborne illness happen?

Usually people notice it sitting or kneeling at the toilet.

But for 10 years, various groups had made claims that most foodborne illness happens in the home. It’s the consumer’s fault.

It happened again today.

In an otherwise innocuous press release stressing the importance of handwashing and the creation of a group in Canada featuring “leading experts in the fields of microbiology, virology, paediatrics, infectious disease, public health and education,” the leading experts rhetorically asked, did you know,

“The vast majority of food-borne (sic) illnesses occur because food was not handled or cooked properly and 80% of the cases happen in the home?”

There is no basis to this statement. After years of irritation, we’re finally getting the paper together to review the available data.

But until that’s available, this is what I wrote 10 years ago:

"Research shows that improper food handling in the home causes a major proportion of foodborne illnesses."

That line has been repeated so many times, even moreso since the launch of the FightBac food safety consumer education program last Nov., that I had to know: what was the research.

My associate Sarah Grant first e-mailed the Canadian Food Inspection Agency via their web site, because the federal agriculture Minister had used the line a few weeks ago. No luck there. We were referred to Health Canada.

After a few messages, a couple of tables with an explanatory note arrived. At last, the data.

Except it showed that known cases happen pretty much everywhere except the home.

A bit overstated. But still, the data sucked.

First, was a table representing known foodborne illnesses in Canada from 1990 to 1993. In March 1999, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control published active foodborne surveillance data from the end of 1998. Weekly updates are on their web site. The best we can do in Canada is 1993, and I have to buy the publication. Health Canada says they have plans to publish their data on the web ... soon.

Of the 23,322 known cases of foodborne illness in Canada between 1990 and 1993, 18,450 or 79 per cent were of unknown origin. Of the cases of known microbiological origin, 70 per cent were traced to food service; 11 per cent were traced to the home; 4 per cent were retail in origin.

The second table contained data on foodborne illness cases due to mishandling. Of the cases of known microbiological origin, 61 per cent were due to mishandling at the food service level; 11 per cent in the home; 6 per at retail and 6 per cent on farms or dairies.

I remain unconvinced.

Our surveillance capabilities are weak; certainly they are not strong enough to support statements such as, "research shows that improper food handling in the home causes a major proportion of foodborne illnesses." We simply do not know. Money was allocated to bolster Health Canada’s surveillance capacity in the last federal budget so maybe we will see improvements ... soon.

More to come ...
 

Reporter Julie Schmit says in today’s USA Today that 20-month-old Braylee Beaver, was one of 314 people sickened in August by E. coli O111 in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. A 26-year-old died in the outbreak.

Braylee’s father, Jake Beaver, said after her 12-day hospital stay (family hoto from USA Today, right),

"I didn't know E. coli could do this. I just thought people got a little sick."

Dana and Rick Boner of Monroe, Iowa, also thought their daughter, Kayla, had a regular bug last year when she fell ill on her 14th birthday. Kayla died 11 days later because of an E. coli O111 infection — the cause of which was never determined — her mother says.

"I didn't even know there were any other strains but O157. … I want people to know there are other strains. How could my child be the only person who got this?"

From 1990 to 2007, O111 was linked to 10 reported illness outbreaks in the U.S., the CDC says. Four of the 10 were linked to food. Before the Oklahoma outbreak, in which one person died, the biggest O111 outbreak happened in New York in 2004. Unpasteurized apple cider was blamed for 212 illnesses.

E. coli O111 is a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC. It is one of a handful of non-O157 STECs that have caused 22 reported illness outbreaks in the U.S. from 1990 to 2007, the CDC says. Food caused 10 of the outbreaks. …

The CDC estimates that more than 25,000 non-O157 STEC infections occur each year in the U.S. — about a third the number of O157:H7 infections.

In 1995, E. coli O111 sickened 173 people and killed a four-year-old girl in Australia, after eating contaminated mettwurst, an uncooked, semi-dry fermented sausage.
 

About 90 children at Stevensville Elementary School in Montana have started a series of six shots of anti-rabies vaccine after a local schoolmom gave show-and-tell-and-touch presentations in five classrooms involving a dead bat.

The bat was subsequently confirmed to be diseased.

School officials say they will use liability insurance to pay up to $70,000 for the exposed children to be vaccinated. The overall cost could surpass $150,000.

The school has since set a policy requiring that anyone visiting the school obtain a visitor pass.

"Refusing to make listeria test results public, and saying Maple Leaf is doing what CFIA expects of the company, leaves Canadians blindly trusting the two groups under whose watch 20 people died. It's not particularly reassuring.”

That’s what I said in the Toronto Star this morning in response to Robert Cribb’s story yesterday that four months before the Maple Leaf outbreak started claiming lives, Canada's food safety agency quietly dropped its rule requiring meat-processing companies to alert the agency about listeria-tainted meat.

Neither Maple Leaf nor the safety agency will release to the public the specifics of the listeria outbreak at the plant, so it is not possible to determine how the reporting rule would have affected the case.

One Toronto inspector said there had been a "trend" in positive listeria tests leading up to the outbreak that was never reported by the plant to federal inspectors. The inspector, and three others across the country, spoke on condition of anonymity because they fear disciplinary action if they spoke publicly. "There's something wrong, that an inspector isn't aware of a trend in their own plant," the inspector said.

That does not mean more inspectors. As Karen Selick, a lawyer in Belleville, Ont., wrote in the National Post yesterday, the recent listeriosis outbreak has produced a predictable chorus of accusations from big-government fans attempting to pin the blame on the alleged deregulation of Canada’s food safety system

There was a full-time government inspector on site in every Maple Leaf  plant, but the listeriosis outbreak happened anyhow. Would additional government inspectors have prevented the problem?  Probably not. 

Back to the Toronto Star, where Maple Leaf spokesperson Linda Smith said her company makes all of its paperwork and testing available to inspectors but doesn't alert them to positive test results.

"As per the regulations, there is no requirement to inform the CFIA about any listeria test result," she said. "The protocol Maple Leaf had in place was if they found a positive, they would sanitize the area and then you'd need to find three negatives in a row to leave that area alone. In (the Maple Leaf plant from which the outbreak was traced), there were occasional positives. ... They would sanitize and test three subsequent times and in all of those cases, they did not find another positive in that area."

During the outbreak, Maple Leaf president Michael McCain said the company tests the Toronto plant's surfaces 3,000 times a year.

"Positive results for listeria inside a food plant are common," he told reporters at the time, adding that "there was nothing out of the norm" leading up to the outbreak.

Asked for the listeria test results leading up to the outbreak, Smith said last week the company would not release them publicly.

A television show recently showed parents how to make chicken strips for their children in a short amount of time. The recipe was simple enough: strips of chicken were rolled in crumbs and placed in the oven for 10 minutes. The host of the show went on to explain, as the strips came out of the oven, simply squeeze the strips to determine the doneness of the product.

I was awestruck as the host revealed to observers watching nationwide her absurd method for determining whether the chicken strips had reached a safe endpoint temperature. The only reliable way to check the doneness of the chicken product would have been to use a food thermometer. Not color. Not the squeeze method. Just temperature.

Over the last ten years, there have been several foodborne outbreaks associated with frozen, uncooked, pre-browned chicken entrees. Lee Weiss of Milaca, Minnesota fell ill after consuming a chicken cordon bleu dinner. His wife apparently cooked the product according to the directions printed on the package; however, she did not check the internal temperature of the product with a thermometer. After eating the product, Weiss described a sensation of something “swimming in his stomach.” He had been violated by a foodborne pathogen. The infection left him with extreme weight loss, a large hospital bill, and difficulty eating specific foods in the future. This is just one illustration of an individual who has suffered from salmonellosis after eating an undercooked stuffed, pre-browned chicken entrée.

Many individuals underestimate the importance of using a food thermometer, especially with small meat products. Most individuals associate using a food thermometer with larger meats, such as turkeys or roasts. The processors of raw, frozen breaded chicken entrees put the statement—Uncooked: for food safety, cook to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F measured by a meat thermometer—on their product’s packaging for a reason. What many don’t realize about breaded chicken products is that the breading alters the consistency of the product which could cause uneven cooking. And uneven cooking can lead to foodborne illness.

Recent consumer studies have revealed a variety of excuses why people do not use a food thermometer. Some place blame on their role models; Martha Stewart didn’t, so they don’t. Some have more knowledge about how to use a palm pilot than how to operate a food thermometer. For some, it’s inconvenient, others are lazy. Many think it’s unnecessary to stick a metal temperature reading probe into their chicken cordon bleu.

There are reasons why individuals should use a food thermometer. You are helping to keep your children healthy. Children under the age of ten are in the high risk group for getting a foodborne illness. By using a food thermometer you are ensuring the food product has reached an internal temperature high enough to destroy foodborne pathogens, thus reducing your chances of acquiring a foodborne illness. The overall quality of the product can be enhanced. By using a food thermometer foods will not be overcooked and will taste better.

Next time you are preparing a small meat product, such as a frozen chicken entrée, make sure to use a food thermometer, so you won’t end up like Lee Weiss—with something swimming in your stomach.

Sarah DeDonder is a PhD student at Kansas State University.

An outbreak of salmonella in raw, frozen, breaded stuffed chicken has sickened 32 people in 12 states. As the number of frozen, meal solutions increase – chicken kiev, cordon blue, strips, nuggets and others – a Kansas State professor is warning consumers to be careful with that entrée.

“Some of these frozen meals are fully cooked and just need to be reheated, and some are raw,” says Dr. Doug Powell, associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University. “It doesn’t seem fair, but consumers really have to read the labels. Raw product should always be cooked in an oven, not a microwave, and needs to be checked with a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer to make sure the food has reached a safe temperature of 165F.”

Investigators from the Minnesota Department of Health notes that this is the sixth outbreak of salmonellosis in Minnesota linked to these types of products since 1998. The findings prompted the officials to urge consumers to make sure that all raw poultry products are handled carefully and cooked thoroughly, and to avoid cooking raw chicken products in the microwave because of the risk of undercooking.

A table of the relevant outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/article-details.php?a=3&c=32&sc=419&id=1245

and below.