I’ve been interviewed and quoted by Prevention magazine a few times about food safety stuff. They didn’t seem any worse or better than anyone else and I always took the time to explain things from my world of microbial food safety and what makes people barf.

But their latest story, which did not include me or any other food safety expert I know, claims to present, The top 7 foods avoided by food safety experts.

Greg Johnson, editor of the Kansas City-based The Packer went twitterlistic, writing that the "7 foods experts won't eat, from Prevention mag lists conventional apples and potatoes. Too bad "experts" are bunch of leftist hacks.”

Not sure if it’s a left or right thing – the U.S. is big on moral dualism. Maybe it’s a dumb or smart thing.

Liz Vaccariello, editor in chief of Prevention Magazine, recently interviewed several experts on food healthfulness and safety. She asked, “What foods do you avoid”, and was surprised by some of the answers.

1. Canned Tomatoes, Canned Soup, Canned Green Beans

Something to do with BPA. Risk is minimal. Canned tomatoes are a great source of antioxidants. Canned soup and green beans are great comfort food. Food safety is impeccable.

2. Corn-Fed Beef

Something to do with nutrient profiles and blowing Whole Foods. Corn-fed beef rocks.

 3. Microwave Popcorn???

Something about the chemicals. Eat real food, not popcorn.


4. Nonorganic Potatoes and Carrots???
Something about root vegetables absorbing pesticides. I worry more about microorganisms, and eating enough fruits and vegetables.


5. Farmed Salmon???
Something about chemicals in farmed salmon, which are far below acceptable government limits. Farmed salmon preserves the environment.

6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones???
Something about rBST and this is the best someone at the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility can come up with, when 30 per cent of all people in all countries get sick from the food and water they consume each year, and none of it has anything to do with genetically engineered hormones.

7. Nonorganic Apples and Pears???
Something about pesticide accumulation. Total BS. Bring on the conventional apples and pears. My kid loves them.

I’ve been following the Tour de France since 2002 when I discovered my former classmate (and 4^th grade crush) Levi Leipheimer was competing. Last year I boycotted the race when team Astana was not allowed in the Tour, but this year I kicked it into high gear and even started playing fantasy cycling. (Nerdy, I know.) Leipheimer broke his wrist on Thursday, and, unfortunately, had to leave the race. But his teammates race on, and racing requires amazing sustenance.

According to the New York Times article, “Five-star tour cuisine for guys who eat and ride” the men on the tour require 5000 to 8000 calories a day.

Eating that much demands enticement and Team Garmin-Slipstream (the team of my fantasy cyclists Farrar, Wiggins and Zabriskie) has its own chef, American Sean Fowler. Fowler works with the team’s physiologist to keep the guys feeling good and their bowels running smoothly. Juliet Macur writes:

Every day at the Tour, Fowler cooks exclusively for Garmin’s nine riders, to the chagrin of team management. (…)

On a typical morning, they will gather their cooking gear and take it to the motor home in which they follow the race. They make sure to arrive early at the team’s next hotel, to inspect the kitchen.

If it is not up to Sean Fowler’s standards for cleanliness, which has happened a few times at this Tour, he will cook in the motor home. He takes precautions to keep the riders safe from food poisoning or other gastrointestinal problems, which could be devastating to their performance. In his motor home, he wields utensils and pots and pans like a careful samurai because the space is cramped.

Although Leipheimer’s out, as of this morning my fantasy team still has four of the top ten riders. Let’s hope none of the others are injured or downed with foodborne illness.

The Super Bowl of football (at least in the U.S.) is Sunday so Top Chef on Wednesday decided to do a football-themed challenge that was probably taped 6 months ago.

The football metaphors used in the show were as corny as the ones in a recent press release -- USDA gives food safety advice to kick off your Super Bowl party – but at least USDA provided accurate cooking advice:

“Color is not a reliable indicator of safety -- internal temperature is. Use a food thermometer to be sure meat and poultry are safely cooked. Steaks should be cooked to 145 °F, ground beef should be cooked to 160 °F and all poultry should be cooked to 165 °F.”

On Top Chef, Jeff and his excessively complex meals were sent packing, although the always entertaining Fabio should have lost for overcooking venison.

Judge: The deer was already dead. You didn’t have to kill it again.
Fabio: It was still bleeding when I sliced it; it was beautifully pink.
Judge: That’s medium-rare?
Fabio: Yes

Use a thermometer, Fabio. It will make you a better cook.

Oh, and Carla (below) won, and proclaimed, “Hands up, whoa. Touchdown Carla”

The Maple Leaf makeover continued this week – a promotional video, settling all lawsuits for $27 million – yet some lingering questions remain. And neither Maple Leaf nor the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is rushing to answer the hard questions:

• who knew what when;

• why won’t Maple Leaf make their listeria test results public; and,??????

• what is Maple Leaf Food's advice to those folks vulnerable to listeria.??????

Rob Cribb of the Toronto Star reports today that thousands of pages of documents detailing the federal government's handling of this summer's listeria outbreak are being withheld.

The Star and the CBC are seeking the records, which include emails sent between officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Maple Leaf Foods and the City of Toronto, through an access to information request.

The CFIA has imposed extensions of a year or more on top of the normal 30-day deadline for responding to such requests.

The joint investigation used the federal access to information law in the hope that a request would yield records showing what went wrong, when officials first knew of the outbreak's potential impact and how quickly the system kicked in to protect Canadians.

None of the records first requested four months ago have been released.

Repeated requests for an interview with Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz have been denied.