Casey Wilkinson
Casey is an undergrad in Food Science at K-State. And she doesn't barf.
Even animal lovers can get E. coli
Nathan Dalenberg was quite annoyed this week to find a letter from Kathryn Dalenberg (no relation) in the Gadsden Times in Alabama lamenting the inhumane handling of livestock at US slaughter facilities.
In his own letter today, Nathan points out that not all facilities are the same and cites the extensive steps his facility takes to ensure humane handling by all employees. "I myself am a big animal lover," he says, "and would not tolerate animal cruelty in my facility."
Nathan goes on to say that "just because I kill animals for a living and also eat them doesn't mean I don't love them."
Kathryn is an admitted vegetarian. Unfortunately for her, that doesn't make her food any safer. As Nathan wrote: "Hope she never ate any of the E. coli contaminated spinach."
Here's another line from Nathan that I also enjoyed: "When people speak or write about things they don't know or haven't seen firsthand, it makes them seem somewhat foolish."
Yep. Even animal lovers can get E. coli. Or Mad Cow... So whatever you choose to eat, please handle it properly. And don't eat poop.
Health department sued over inspection
The White County Health Department is being sued by a restaurant they temporarily closed due to a.jpg)
poor inspection. Owners of Mo's Restaurant in Monticello, Indiana, claim that following inspections of their restaurant, health department employees "negligently and/or intentionally prepar[ed] a false and defamatory Food Inspection Report" on three different occasions.
A story in the town's Herald-Journal says, "The lawsuit seeks a judgment against the defendants in an amount sufficient to compensate Drake and Liebner for their losses, including permanent and temporary damage, loss of value, loss of profits, loss of use, costs of repair and mental and emotional stress, as well as "such further relief as the court deems appropriate."
Kosher certification is causing consumer confidence in processors
Heather Sokoloff writes in today's Globe and Mail that "As health-savvy consumers become more concerned about what is in their food, many non-Jews are equating kosher with safety and quality."
Doug begs to differ and wrote last week that "Fancy food does not mean safe food," even when the establishments are certified as kosher.
"The rabbi is more thorough than the guy from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency," insists a nut- and dairy-free snack producer in Victoria.
Another processor claims that the four annual surprise inspections by the rabbi to her facility have caused her to "be more careful about plant maintenance and cleanliness than any government [inspection]."
The Orthodox Union, North America's largest certifier of kosher foods, is now overseeing production at 6,000 facilities in 85 countries around the world. Real or imagined, consumer confidence created by producers' kosher certifications seem to be great for business.
Listeria found in pasteurized milk
Two elderly men died from listeriosis contracted from contaminated milk from Whittier Farms in Shrewsbury, Mass. in June and October. Just this week, state health officials warned consumers not to drink milk from the farm, while they investigated the source of contamination.
Officials today announced that the pasteurization process at the dairy was found to be working properly and that contamination must have occurred after the milk was pasteurized.
Doctor Alfred DeMaria, the state director of communicable disease control, says the dairy appeared to do everything right.
The dairy continues to suspend operations and work with officials to pinpoint the source of the deadly listeria.
Continue Reading...UWO is finished with Salmonella
A few hours ago, I did an adorable "finals-are-finished" jig outside the library, as I finished up my
final exams for the semester. As much as I love HACCP and handwashing, it's always nice to have another semester of my Food Science education completed.
Students at the University of Western Ontario are also joyfully celebrating... the end of the Salmonella outbreak that originated in the university's food court and sickened over 90 students
London Topic in Ontario reported today that, "Cross-contamination of surfaces or equipment is felt to be the likely cause of the outbreak." And notes that "extensive cleaning and disinfection of the University Community Centre's (UCC) food preparation area...has been successful in controlling the outbreak."
Always wash your hands, utensils and workspace after finishing with one food product and before moving onto the next; especially when working with raw meat and poultry. Keeping hands and equipment clean helps keep bacteria and viruses off of ready-to-eat foods, and keeps Salmonella out of the dining halls.
Continue Reading...Kids should be allowed hand sanitizer
"We have been wanting to put hand sanitizers in schools," said Lorri Pilkington, coordinator for health and nursing services for Leon County schools, "but we want to do it safely and with the blessings of all the agencies that are involved with the school system."
The "agencies of concern" are the Florida Department of Health, the Department of Education and the state Fire Marshal's Office, who are afraid that the high alcohol content of the sanitizers may be a hazard for starting fires or poisoning the children.
Considering the horrible E. coli poisoning of the children Galena Elementary School last month, I'd prefer they let the teachers have had sanitizer. And just keep them away from open flames.
Moths on the barbie
Millions of bogong moths have been blown off-course during there yearly migration and ended up in
Sydney and Canberra, Australia. Reuters reports that years ago, Aborigines took advantage of the abundant source of fat and protein, and Australian restaurants have decided to do the same today.
"They are lovely," French-born chef Jean-Paul Bruneteauhe (pictured at right) told the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this week. "They have a nutty, crisp, popcorn flavour, like buttered hazelnut." Mr. Bruneteau recommended pulling off the furry wings then roasting the bodies for three minutes in a dash of canola oil.
Australian Museum naturalist Martyn Robinson supports their consumption as well, but warns against the possibility of pesticide residue. "I'd probably recommend only 10 a day," said Mr. Robinson, "But 10 is plenty."
Plenty, indeed.
A purpose for your appendix
I always wondered what that little guy was for...
Many people have their appendix removed after a horrid bout with appendicitis. And they function just fine without it. So in all my human anatomy classes (one in high school and one here at K-State), I had been told that its function was unknown, and it might even be worthless altogether. (It's that little white thing pictured at the right that sort of looks like a worm.)
But scientists at Duke University Medical School think they've figured it out.
Your gut harbors entire populations of good bacteria that help to digest your food and outnumber bad bacteria. Sometimes these populations can get wiped out by diseases like cholera or amoebic dysentery, which are more common in less developed countries. Iraq, right now, is having a huge problem with cholera because of their poor water supplies.
The appendix, then, is responsible for restoring your population of good bacteria.
Back in the day, when people didn't live so close together, they couldn't get back their populations of gut flora. Nowadays, germs are all over the place, so its not quite as necessary, but still... it has a purpose! And I for one, am happy for it.
NYU is proud of their safe ground beef
New York University's student newspaper, Washington Square News, assured students this morning that meat served in their dining hall has not been part of the recent recall of Topp's brand frozen ground beef patties linked to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7.
The students didn't seem too concerned, however. As one freshman revealed to the student reporter, "I don't think it's likely that an outbreak of E. coli would happen here because NYU is pretty health conscious."
While I'm glad they have confidence in their dining hall, I don't believe that being health conscious will keep deadly pathogens out of their food. 
Good hygiene practices and proper heating will, though. And another freshman at the university found peace of mind in those characteristics of the dining hall: "I know that NYU has strict requirements about heating the meat at a high enough temperature to kill bacteria," he said, "And NYU always claims how clean and healthy their kitchens are..."
Students should know that using a food thermometer to cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160F is the only way to ensure its safety. So, stick it in! And wash your hands: Don't eat poop.
Saving the world one sucker at a time
The Rhode Island Oyster Gardening for Restoration and Enhancement program at Roger Williams University is putting oysters in the state's waterways to filter out pollution and rev up the ecosystem.
Each little sucker takes in up to 50 gallons of water in a day, clearing out pollutants, plankton, and silt so that the water is nice and clean for the aquatic plants below. These plants, along with tiny fish that like to live in the oyster beds, attract winter flounder and lobster can be harvested for us to eat. The area's aquaculture producers are happy about that one.
The oysters also clean up after crop fertilizers. Nitrogen from agricultural runoff is sucked up and oxygen abounds for our newfound aquaculture.
Clean water, more food, and a pick-up system for ag chemicals. I, for one, am impressed. All hail the mighty oyster: saving the world one sucker at a time.
