Meal

  • 1 dead, 10 sick from E. coli at Missouri Thanksgiving meal

    Posted: December 14th, 2010 - 7:18am by Doug Powell

    Details are trickling out about the death of Jasper County, Missouri, resident from E. coli last week.

    The Joplin Globe reports this morning that a food or a beverage served at a Thanksgiving dinner is the apparent source of an E. coli outbreak that killed a 51-year-old Carthage woman and sickened several other people.

    Tony Moehr, director of the Jasper County Health Department, said,

    “We have two confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 in Jasper County. One of the cases resulted in a death.”

    Moehr said a third confirmed case of the bacterial infection has been reported in Dade County and involves someone who attended the Thanksgiving dinner.

    “It appears the cases are related to a family gathering for Thanksgiving on Nov. 27,” he said. “We have identified seven or eight additional illnesses related to that gathering, but we don’t have the test results back for them. These cases occurred around the same period of time but were not as severe.”

    It is believed that 11 of the 24 people who attended the event became ill.

    The department, Moehr said, did not issue a press release about the E. coli death because the incident was associated with a family gathering and did not pose a threat to the public.

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    E. coli  |  0 Comments
    Carthage, e. coli O157, Family, food safety, meal, Missouri, Thanksgiving
  • Saving time and stress with cooking co-ops, but watch the food safety

    Posted: June 23rd, 2010 - 10:50am by Doug Powell

    A cooking co-op, or dinner swap, is, according to Laurie Woolever writing in the New York Times, an agreement by two or more individuals or households to provide prepared meals for each other, according to a schedule. The goal is to reduce the time spent in the kitchen while increasing the quality and variety of the food eaten.

    Once a week, you cook a dish (chicken enchiladas, for instance), making enough to provide at least one serving for each adult member of the co-op. …

    After setting aside a pan of enchiladas for your household, you divide and package the rest, usually in reusable containers, and label them with reheating or assembly instructions. Members then gather and swap dishes, each walking away with a variety of meals for the coming week’s dinners and, often, leftovers for extra meals and lunches.

    There are several issues, like co-op members consistently making crappy meals, and the food safety -- who knows what goes on in those other kitchens. But food is about sharing and celebrating, so I’m all for it, just don’t make people barf.

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    co-op, food co-op, food safety, meal, share