Traceability was a popular topic when I started working for Doug last summer, with the Salmonella-linked-to-tomatoes-or-was-it-peppers outbreak. The current peanut butter-linked outbreak follows the same trends as the list of recalled products is on the rise. As a consumer, I wonder: do producers know their suppliers and where their food is coming from?

The FDA warned consumers to postpone consumption of anything containing peanut butter or peanut butter paste. This is where labeling becomes important. Not only should consumers read labels, they also need some assurance that labels are accurate.

A woman suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating a parfait in a Canadian Starbucks last week. She purchased the parfait after an employee assured the dessert was nut-free. The ingredients list also failed to mention nuts. I am pretty sure this woman will have a hard time trusting labels after this.

I was diagnosed with celiac disease a few weeks ago and I know how this feels. I have to avoid products containing gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and triticale.

Gluten can also be found as a food additive in the form of flavoring, or as stabilizing or thickening agent. In such cases, producers are not required to include the protein on the label because it is classified as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) by the FDA. There is also no official definition as to what constitutes a gluten-free product, so celiacs like me are recommended to buy products from trusted sources.

That Canadian Starbucks is not a trusted source.

Whether it’s because of food allergies, intolerance to gluten, or salmonella, food processors need to be aware of where their products come from and what they contain.

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My month-long break in Paraguay is coming to an end. It has been a hectic month – packed with family visits, celebrations, and of course, lots of [un-safe] food.

With concepts like “cross contamination”,  “meat temperature”, and “hand washing” floating around my head I’ve been able to look at things differently.  I concluded that we are decades behind the U.S. in terms of food safety. 

While Americans worry much about food safety, Paraguayans are more occupied with food security. Access to food is more important than stopping to think whether it’s safe or not. I even have a hard time explaining what food safety is. I am not surprised; I had no idea when I started working for Doug. Food safety topics are not in the news much and I have not heard people discussing about it.

To find out more, I’ve sat around the kitchen a lot. I tried a few times to explain to the cook why she should wash her hands every time she touches raw meat and goes on to something else. All I got back were looks of ‘you are just crazy’. Her food is still delicious.

I asked her how often her kids have diarrhea. She said, not often, maybe once or twice a month. I asked her if she’s worried about it, she answered she’s not, it’s a normal part of being a kid. 

Or maybe our stomachs are used to handling salmonella and E. coli better than others. It’s hard to know. When I moved to Kansas two years ago I survived on rice and toast for a week because I couldn’t stop barfing.

But sitting back and recalling some of my experiences on this side of the world, I am surprised I have not yet barfed once (not counting the New Years party, when I had too much champagne).

A couple of weeks ago I went to eat one of my favorite meals - steak sandwich – better known as lomito. The best place I know is just a few blocks away - a humble-looking lomito stand. I took a bite out of my lomito and realized the meat was still pink on the inside. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the mayonnaise tub by the grill.

I wondered how long the mayo (probably home-made, with raw egg) had been sitting out in the heat. I wondered where he kept the raw meat or how he knew if it was done or not. Should I ask? I resolved that some things are better left unknown. I finished munching and handed him the money. He grabbed the bills with bare hands, put them in a box, and continued flipping steaks. (Note: the pic to the right is actually another lomito I ate during a short visit to Brazil, but that's pretty much how it looked like)

We do have nice restaurants where things like these don’t happen or at least we don’t see them happening. But in a broader picture, citizens and leaders of the country have plenty to figure out before they can tackle food safety concerns.

In the meantime, I will keep savoring the lomitos, chipa guazu, sopa paraguaya, asados, and such. For me, it is still awesome [un-safe] food.

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A woman smuggled a sedated monkey under her blouse in a flight from Thailand to Los Angeles, pretending to be pregnant.

Gypsy Lawson, 29, passed through U.S. customs with her mother and the monkey on Nov. 28, 2007.

Lawson was arrested after boasting to a clothing store salesperson about her accomplishments. Both women were charged guilty of conspiracy and smuggling goods into the United States.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulates the import of animals on a federal level, although there are also state restrictions. The import of animals is highly regulated to prevent diseases and the introduction of an invasive species, or to protect endangered or threatened species.

The rhesus macaque is not an endangered species, but it can transmit diseases.

“The callousness and intent these people showed in carrying out their plan was egregious and placed at risk not only wildlife but potentially the health of other passengers on the plane and in their community,” said Paul Chang, special agent in charge of law enforcement for the Pacific Region of the FWS. “These animals are known carriers of viruses and parasites that can be transmitted to humans, although this particular animal tested negative.”

All wildlife, including rhesus macaques, must be declared to CBP at the port of first arrival in the United States. When importing any wildlife, importers or their agents must file a completed Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish and Wildlife.

The smuggling conviction carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years and a $250,000 fine.

Despite fines that smugglers face, there are millions of animals smuggled across the border illegally, according to Buzzle.com. The $10 billion-a-year black market for non-native animals is second only to illegal drugs.

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Amy brought up the question of how to handle barfing in class, when one of her students vomited during an exam. She said the student cleaned most of it, but she participated in the cleaning too.

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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I have been working for Doug for almost 4 months now. I am happy to say that I have learned a lot.

One of these things is proper hand-washing. So every time I go to a public restroom I keep my eyes open and watch every detail.

I often notice when someone skips the hand-washing step or someone who doesn’t dry up afterwards.

Just the other day I went during my lunch break to Burger King to grab a double cheeseburger. I went to the restroom first, and when I was in one of the stalls, a woman came in with her kid, telling him to scrub his hands. I heard water running. Then they just left - but I didn’t hear any paper tearing.

Well, there wasn’t any. No, BK didn’t just run out of paper. They didn’t have a paper towel dispenser at all. Only a drier. And a very lousy one. The evidence:

BK employees should not only wash their hands, but dry them as well.

Frustrated I left, and hesitated: Can I still eat my burger, knowing that employees (or at least the women) don’t dry their hands properly in that establishment?

No more BK cheeseburgers for me. Doug wrote in a letter:

Blow dryers should not be used because they accumulate microorganisms from toilet aerosols, and can cause contamination of hands as they are dried by the drier (Knights, et al., 1993; Redway,et al., 1994).

Every bathroom should have running water, soap and paper towel.

Check out this other BK incidence: Restaurant sinks are not bathtubs

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I was camping out at Yellowstone last weekend, trying hard to synchronize my food safety concerns and the limited resources of a campsite.

We arrived early morning, started setting up the tent and unloading the truck when I popped open a bag of mini rice cakes. The three boys I was camping with (shown at the left) quickly joined to share the treat.

I starred wide-eyed when I saw their dirty hands digging into the food. No offense to the guys but, I knew there wasn’t soap in the bathroom of the campsite, which doesn’t really matter, because they probably went in the woods anyways. In conclusion, there was most likely no hand washing before digging in.

I didn’t want to be a food safety geek, and I wasn’t going to start acting like all of their moms, so I sucked it up, looked the other way, and kept eating.

Luckily we all survived the trip safely.

Today a news story was published about 20 people getting sick at a wedding reception in Minnesota after eating from a bowl of chips. The chips were contaminated with norovirus, possibly spread through poop.

Ok next time, I promised myself, I will be that geeky mom and order everyone around to wash their hands before sticking them into that bowl of chips.

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I am planning on going to Yellowstone Park next weekend. I read this story and got a little worried.

About 30 people came down with symptoms consistent with the norovirus infection at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and High Sierra camps in the area, said Shane Sims, a specialist in the safety office at Yosemite National Park…

The hiker camps are particularly vulnerable to the spread of norovirus illness, because people enjoying the outdoors aren't always careful about hygiene, Sims said.

So I decided to put together a few tips on how to keep your hygienic standards from home in the wild - especially if you have children or grandparents around.

1 - Pack one of those hand sanitizer bottles and use it as often as you can – before and after handling food, after bathroom breaks – you know it, whenever you would normally wash your hands with soap.

2 – While you’re at it, take a pack of wipes or moist towels (can probably be found at the baby section) and use it to clean your body (focus on face, underarms, groin, buttocks, and feet). You will not only kill bacteria that could make you sick, you will smell good and feel much better too.

3 – Take a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol and some cotton balls. Soak a cotton ball in alcohol and use it to rub your feet. This eliminates dangerous bacteria that could be forming around blisters or wounds. Change to clean socks.

4 – Quick bathroom tips: when going number one go directly into running water if possible or far away from the camp if not. When going number two go far away from the camp, and bury your poop like cats do. (Remember to use your hand sanitizer afterwards)

5 – Do not handle food if you have open sores on your hands, if you have diarrhea, or if you’re feeling sick in general. This will prevent a spread of infection.

6 – If you want to be sure about the water you’re drinking, carry with you a water filter or purification tablets like Iodine. Regular unscented liquid chlorine bleach also works. Follow the instructions on the label.  Most water sources are contaminated in North America and may contain guardia or cryptosporidium therefore are not safe to drink.

7 – Drink lots of fluids, rest plenty, and keep warm.

Follow these tips and reduce your chances of getting norovirus like the hikers above, or any other sickness that could ruin a fun trip. Enjoy the wild!

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