Real Housewives

  • This Housewife is banned from my kitchen; washing chicken is a cross-contamination risk

    Posted: November 6th, 2011 - 8:02pm by Doug Powell

    I don’t watch any of the Real Housewives of Whereverland, but Amy does.

    I don’t know the characters; I don’t care. But I like a good food safety yarn.

    Lisa of The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills, says, “I’ve sold thousands of chicken dinners in my restaurant so I’m perfectly qualified to teach Adrienne how to cook a chicken. I mean, it’s not rocket science.”

    Lisa and Adrienne wear gloves, spread bacteria everywhere, wash the bird, and then remove their gloves to stuff the birds with herbs and stuff.

    Lisa is amazed that Adrienne wants to wash her chicken with soap.

    I’m amazed Lisa the restaurant owner wants to wash the bird.

    Most government agencies now advise against washing chickens, but decades will pass before bad culture catches up.

    As a spokesthingy from the U.K. Food Standards Agency said a while ago,

    ''Washing raw poultry is a common kitchen mistake, and it simply isn't necessary. … By washing your raw bird, you're actually more likely to spread the germs around the kitchen than get rid of them.''

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    Chicken, Cross-contamination, food safety, real housewives, wash
  • Real Housewives, Really Gross

    Posted: October 18th, 2011 - 8:50pm by Amy Hubbell

    Author: 
    Amy Hubbell

     We’ve been away from our American television channels and DVR for a few months already, and I’ve had some odd cravings for bad television. So last night I loaded up the season premiere of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills only to watch some unsanitary behaviour and food safety mistakes.

    The entire episode was weirdly awkward, but when Ken, the stiff-upper-lipped British gentleman, claimed that therapy would make him feel weak, and then proceeded to let his little celebrity-pooch Jiggy drink from the very expensive crystal glass set before him, I cringed. Not to worry, it got worse. Once Jiggy had finished shoving his whole head into the glass, Ken picked it up and had a drink, too.
     
    Bad television? The Housewives never disappoint. In the outtakes for upcoming episodes, Lisa (Jiggy’s mommy) is demonstrating to Adrienne how to prepare a large bird. She says that first it needs to be washed. Adrienne has her own bird, follows Lisa to the sink, and proceeds to use hand soap on it. Lisa thinks this is utterly ridiculous, of course. I can’t wait to see the cross-contaminations continue.
     
    I’m no real housewife but I do know better than to wash my bird in the sink or to let my doggy drink from my glass at a dinner party.

     

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    Food Safety Culture  |  0 Comments
    Cross-contamination, food safety, hand soap, Jiggy, mistakes, real housewives, Television, unsanitary, wash
  • Gonzalo Erdozain: Real housewife of New Jersey or not, don’t wash your poultry

    Posted: June 7th, 2011 - 10:28am by Doug Powell

    The only positive thing about working on the couch while my wife watches Real Housewives of New Jersey is that sooner or later, they will screw something up, and I can blog about it.

    This week’s episode wasn’t any different. Teresa (right, exactly as shown), one of the many wives, was hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the family. After visiting a local poultry farm, and feeling sorry for the live turkey, she decided to buy a turkey that had been slaughtered the day before. The issue however is not animal welfare, but the food safety atrocity she committed next by washing her turkey in the sink –- this is somebody who has published two cooking books. It has been proven that bacteria can travel up to 3 feet from the sink, highly increasing the risk of cross-contamination.

    On a positive note, she was actually shown using a thermometer – it wasn’t digital, but at least she was using one.
     

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    Food Safety Policy  |  1 Comment
    food safety, Poultry, real housewives, wash