Game

  • Four sickened by E. coli after eating meat from Zillman Meat Market in Wisconsin

    Posted: December 23rd, 2010 - 4:34pm by Doug Powell

    The Wausau Daily Herald reports that four people have become ill, including one person who was hospitalized, from E. coli after eating meat processed at Zillman Meat Market in Wausau, Wisconsin.

    The Marathon County Health Department says that ready-to-eat, custom smoked meat products made from wild game processed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 13 are the only products being investigated.

    Ruth Klee Marx, an epidemiologist with the health department said the market will complete a “thorough cleaning” of their facility “in the next several days.”

    Pat Zillman, owner of the market, said he and his staff are fully cooperating with the health department and provided any information requested by health department officials.

    No ready-to-eat products are being sold but fresh meat is still available for sale.

    In a worrying poo-pooh of bacterial cross-contamination, Zillman said, “There is always an inherent risk of bacterial contaminations when you purchase fresh meat. That’s why people need to cook it properly.”

    Officials recommend using a food thermometer to ensure temperatures reach 155 degrees, particularly for ground fresh meat.

    That would be 160F for ground beef, 165F for chicken.

    The health department is advising people to not eat smoked, ready-to-eat meat products purchased from Zillman. Hunters who brought their own meat to Zillman’s to be processed into smoked, ready-to-eat also should not eat the products.

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    E. coli  |  1 Comment
    Cross-contamination, food safety, Game, Meat, processed, Wausau, Wisconsin, Zillman
  • Canada's public health silliness

    Posted: March 9th, 2009 - 9:33pm by Doug Powell

    Dr. David Butler-Jones (right, exactly as shown), the chief public health thingy for Canada who hasn’t been heard from since his embarrassing statements about how listeria in deli meats that killed 20 Canadians last fall was due to poor handwashing , has apparently spent the past 7 months devising a game for school kids.

    Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, today launched an educational program designed to help students learn about food borne illnesses, how they’re caused and how to prevent the risk of infection.

    It’s foodborne, not food borne. Butler-Jones insists repeatedly the bulk of foodborne illness happens at home, and says the game is innovative but provides no assessment by the targert audience.

    “Creating healthy habits and practicing safe food handling starts at an early age. These students are learning an important lesson about the causes of food contamination and how to protect themselves and their families against infectious disease. This initiative shows how collaboration between the federal and provincial governments, health experts and educators can lead to the creation of innovative public health tools and resources that contribute to better health for Canadians and for our communities.”

    This initiative shows nothing except how tax dollars can be wasted.

    Oh, and Health Canada came out today with so-called fact sheets on how to safely handle fresh produce, and emphasize repeatedly that “fresh fruits and vegetables do not naturally contain microorganisms … that can make you sick.”

    No idea where that statement came from. Other than pressure from the fresh fruit and vegetable growers in Canada. That’s how government and public pronouncements roll north of the 49th parallel.
     

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    Food Safety Policy  |  1 Comment
    Butler-jones, Food Safety Education, Game, Kids, Phac, Public Health Agency Canada