Fantasy cycling and fantasy eating during the Tour de France
I’ve been following the Tour de France
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.
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.
Sarah DeDonder: TV chefs can be dumb
A television show recently showed parents how to make chicken strips for their children in a short amount of time. The recipe was simple enough: strips of chicken were rolled in crumbs and placed in the oven for 10 minutes. The host of the show went on to explain, as the strips came out of the oven, simply squeeze the strips to determine the doneness of the product.
I was awestruck as the host revealed to observers watching nationwide her absurd method for determining whether the chicken strips had reached a safe endpoint temperature. The only reliable way to check the doneness of the chicken product would have been to use a food thermometer. Not color. Not the squeeze method. Just temperature.
Over the last ten years, there have been several foodborne outbreaks associated with frozen, uncooked, pre-browned chicken entrees. Lee Weiss of Milaca, Minnesota fell ill after consuming a chicken cordon bleu dinner. His wife apparently cooked the product according to the directions printed on the package; however, she did not check the internal temperature of the product with a thermometer. After eating the product, Weiss described a sensation of something “swimming in his stomach.” He had been violated by a foodborne pathogen. The infection left him with extreme weight loss, a large hospital bill, and difficulty eating specific foods in the future. This is just one illustration of an individual who has suffered from salmonellosis after eating an undercooked stuffed, pre-browned chicken entrée.
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Many individuals underestimate the importance of using a food thermometer, especially with small meat products. Most individuals associate using a food thermometer with larger meats, such as turkeys or roasts. The processors of raw, frozen breaded chicken entrees put the statement—Uncooked: for food safety, cook to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F measured by a meat thermometer—on their product’s packaging for a reason. What many don’t realize about breaded chicken products is that the breading alters the consistency of the product which could cause uneven cooking. And uneven cooking can lead to foodborne illness.
Recent consumer studies have revealed a variety of excuses why people do not use a food thermometer. Some place blame on their role models; Martha Stewart didn’t, so they don’t. Some have more knowledge about how to use a palm pilot than how to operate a food thermometer. For some, it’s inconvenient, others are lazy. Many think it’s unnecessary to stick a metal temperature reading probe into their chicken cordon bleu.
There are reasons why individuals should use a food thermometer. You are helping to keep your children healthy. Children under the age of ten are in the high risk group for getting a foodborne illness. By using a food thermometer you are ensuring the food product has reached an internal temperature high enough to destroy foodborne pathogens, thus reducing your chances of acquiring a foodborne illness. The overall quality of the product can be enhanced. By using a food thermometer foods will not be overcooked and will taste better.
Next time you are preparing a small meat product, such as a frozen chicken entrée, make sure to use a food thermometer, so you won’t end up like Lee Weiss—with something swimming in your stomach.
Sarah DeDonder is a PhD student at Kansas State University.
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UK TV chefs 'fail on basic hygiene'
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"I really get frustrated, I've seen it so many times. They bring in the vegetables, they open the bag and they make the salad straight from unwashed vegetables. They do it for the sake of expedience, but these programmes are watched by millions of people."It's irresponsible. If they are going to do something that's not healthy they should say: 'We are in a hurry but please wash the salad and vegetables before you serve it'."
A spokeswoman for Ready Steady Cook said the programme followed the "very highest standards."
Celebrity Masterchef stated,
"Before contestants are allowed to cook they are thoroughly briefed by our qualified home economists on all aspects of hygienic food preparation. In addition they are also monitored whilst cooking as we take the health of everyone involved in the programme extremely seriously."
The problem is the highest standards sorta suck. And for the apologists who say that cleaning and handwashing occur off-camera … I doubt it. It’s easy to mention hygiene without preaching. Who wants to eat poop?
Mathiasen, L.A., Chapman, B.J., Lacroix, B.J. and Powell, D.A. 2004. Spot the mistake: Television cooking shows as a source of food safety information, Food Protection Trends 24(5): 328-334.
Consumers receive information on food preparation from a variety of sources. Numerous studies conducted over the past six years demonstrate that television is one of the primary sources for North Americans. This research reports on an examination and categorization of messages that television food and cooking programs provide to viewers about preparing food safely. During June 2002 and 2003, television food and cooking programs were recorded and reviewed, using a defined list of food safety practices based on criteria established by Food Safety Network researchers. Most surveyed programs were shown on Food Network Canada, a specialty cable channel. On average, 30 percent of the programs viewed were produced in Canada, with the remainder produced in the United States or United Kingdom. Sixty hours of content analysis revealed that the programs contained a total of 916 poor food-handling incidents. When negative food handling behaviors were compared to positive food handling behaviors, it was found that for each positive food handling behavior observed, 13 negative behaviors were observed. Common food safety errors included a lack of hand washing, cross-contamination and time-temperature violations. While television food and cooking programs are an entertainment source, there is an opportunity to improve their content so as to promote safe food handling.
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Gordon Ramsey has a problem with food processing
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"There should be stringent laws, licensing laws, to make sure produce is only used in season and season only. If we don't restrict our movements within this industry of seasonal-produce only, then the whole thing will spiral out of control."Ramsay also went on to vent his anger at fellow TV chef Delia Smith, whose latest book, How to Cheat at Cooking, encourages people to mix together ready-made food rather than cook from scratch if they are short of time or on a tight budget, adding,
"I would expect students struggling on £15 a week to survive eating from a can but the nation's favourite, all-time icon reducing us down to using frozen, canned food. It's an insult. And it makes our lives, from a chef's point of view, a lot harder. Here we are trying to establish a reputation across the world for this country's food and along comes Delia and tips it out of a can. That hurts."
Me, I'm a fan of freezing, canning, fresh and whatever. It's about mixing it up. Frozen corn, peas (left) and others, canned tomatoes and sauces, the garden out back, Amy and I got it all (and enjoyed our first spinach and lettuce salad of the season this evening, with frozen scallops, which don't grow so well in Manhattan -- Kansas).I'll have more to say about this in the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, Oxfam's head of research, Duncan Green, said he was sure "the million farmers in east Africa who rely on exporting their goods to scrape a living would see Gordon Ramsay's assertions as a recipe for disaster."
UK celebrity chefs focus on animal welfare: at some point they may focus on their own food safety practices
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celebrity chefs, are launching a campaign get consumers to eat more welfare friendly reared chicken by revealing some of the welfare issues in poultry production.ThePoultrySite reports that on January 11, Jamie Oliver will host a gala dinner to demonstrate the reality of how chickens live and die.
The program is part the Big Food Fight, a season of programming that aims to raise awareness and encourage debate about food production, animal welfare and healthy eating.
That's great. I eagerly await the day Jamie and other celebrity chefs pay attention to their own food safety habits. A 2004 paper we published based on 60 hours of detailed viewing of television cooking shows -- including Jamie Oliver's - found that an unsafe food handling practice occurred about every four minutes, and that for every safe food handling practice observed, we observed 13 unsafe practices. The most common errors were inadequate hand washing and cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods.
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Guess we can't expect much of U.K. celebrity chefs when the best their own, taxpayer funded food safety group can come up with in terms of advice is cook your holiday bird until it's piping hot.Jamie, Hugh, let's see you stick it in.
New iFSN infosheet -- Dirty Finger Al
Dirty Finger Al got his name because he is allegedly “grotesque in his hygiene because of filthy hands and fingers and open, oozing sores while cooking.” And he's a chef. Yum.
Top Chefs... Stick it in
Last night on Bravo’s Top Chef, Micah got eliminated for her bad-tasting but healthy meatloaf. Last week, Micah caught my attention as she used a meat thermometer in the barbeque elimination challenge. She came in the top three for her perfectly grilled lamb chops.
This is the same show that has had openly sick (or at least nauseated) chefs cooking anyway because they didn’t want to be kicked out of the competition (they wouldn't get work in Michigan, where the state has proposed that someone with vomiting, diarrhea or a sore throat with fever could not return until 24 hours after the symptoms are gone).
And last night when the oven wasn’t working and Cheftestant Sara M’s chicken didn’t get done, she handpicked and served the pieces that looked cooked… no meat thermometer in sight, at least to the viewers.
Although Micah’s gone now, hats off to her. Often depressed and crying, missing her daughter, Micah still had the presence of mind to stick in the meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of her barbecued meat. Whether she did it for accuracy or safety, Micah’s choice to use a thermometer stood out. How often do you see one on a TV cooking show? Perhaps the climate on the reality cooking circuit will change.
In 2004, Doug's laboratory reported that, based on 60 hours of detailed viewing of television cooking shows, an unsafe food handling practice occurred about every four minutes, and that for every safe food handling practice observed, they observed 13 unsafe practices. The most common errors were inadequate hand washing and cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods.
Hey, reality cooking show producers: serve up another helping of food safety.
