I try not to be a food safety jerk
After telling Misti Crane of The Columbus Dispatch that I feel naked without a thermometer – when cooking – she came back for more, and asked if I would ever take a thermometer to, say, a Fourth of July BBQ at someone else’s place.
Here's what Doug Powell does: He whips out the thermometer he's recently taken to carrying with him.
You might wonder how the food-safety expert finesses such a potentially awkward social situation.
"I go into it very academic, professor-ish like," he said.
"I try not to be a jerk."
… But nobody will eat a burger off his grill that hasn't been stabbed in the side with a tip-sensitive digital thermometer and is cooked to a minimum of 160 degrees.
I’ve taken thermometers while tailgating at Kansas State football games, I’ve stuck them in potpies, and I’ve converted at least one French professor into using a thermometer. I know it’s awkward to ask questions, or listen politely while someone gases on about how safe their food is cause it comes from some dude with a RR address, but really, I try not to be a jerk.
Below are two videos, one tailgating, and one on how to cook hamburgers.
Now, can someone explain the American fascination with fireworks and the desire for students – especially males – to ignite the noisemakers every night, beginning July 1. What are they compensating for?
Chipotle misses the microbiological mark - again
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., famous for telling consumers what isn’t in its foods – antibiotics, hormones – and has had a couple of recent unpleasantries associated with their food – norovirus and hepatitis A – announced it will start buying locally raised produce for its restaurants this summer.
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Under the plan, 25 percent of at least one of its produce items, including romaine lettuce, green bell and jalapeño peppers and red onions, for each of its 730-plus restaurants, will be sourced from small and mid-sized local farms.
I’m all for local food, as long as someone is checking to ensure the microbiological safety of fresh produce. Local does not automatically mean safe.
Casey Jacob, guest barfblogger: The south central Kansas omnivore's dilemma
My husband and I just moved to south central Kansas after I graduated from Kansas State University’s food science program in May and we got married. I’ve talked him into taking me to see Pixar’s Wall-E tonight, but we need some dinner first.
We thought we might try Acapulco Restaurant, a Mexican franchise in town. That is, until I read on FSnet that the restaurant had just been named as the source of a 19-person salmonella outbreak. My new hubby was suddenly not too keen on going.
I, however, reasoned that after gaining some bad press and losing a bit of business, the restaurant’s management would be preaching food safety harder than they ever had before. The chances of an outbreak due to kitchen hygiene issues likely decreased dramatically.
In August 2007, Donna Garren, vice-president of health and safety regulatory affairs for the National Restaurant Association trade group, said outbreaks were leading restaurant chains to “[spend] additional resources outside of the typical food safety domain.”
Donna also admits, however, “There are costs associated with not knowing your suppliers.” If ingredients aren’t sourced from safe suppliers, even that assumedly sparkling-clean kitchen is no guarantee I’ll be served safe food.
Her quote was included in an article that claimed it was statistically safer to eat at fast-food chain restaurants than to cook for yourself at home.
While the title of Biggest Source of Foodborne Illness – home, restaurant, elsewhere -- is still hard to pin down, it can be safely said that both chain restaurants and the household kitchen are still in the running. So who knows where I’ll have dinner tonight… or if I’ll make it out without barfing.
As one Acapulco Restaurant patron confessed, “You compare all the bad to the good, sometimes it's worth the risks.”
Casey Jacob is the married version of former barfblogger Casey Wilkinson, and continues to work with her Kansas friends.
Mayonnaise makes food safer
The New York Times reports that, despite its reputation, mayonnaise can reduce food spoilage.
Most commercial brands of mayonnaise contain vinegar and other ingredients that make them acidic — and therefore very likely to protect against spoilage.
When problems occur, they usually result from other contaminated or low-acid ingredients (like chicken and seafood), improper storage and handling, or homemade versions that contain unpasteurized eggs.
One prominent study published in The Journal of Food Protection found, for example, that in the presence of commercial mayonnaise, the growth of salmonella and staphylococcus bacteria in contaminated chicken and ham salad either slowed or stopped altogether. As the amount of mayonnaise increased, the rate of growth decreased. When temperatures rose to those of a hot summer day, the growth increased, but not as much as in samples that did not contain mayonnaise.
Or, as Bill Marler quipped, for his summer picnic, “I’ll just have the bun please.”
Salmonella in tomatoes or something else?
With no end in sight, Elizabeth Weise of USA Today reports that suspicions are mounting that fresh unprocessed tomatoes aren't necessarily causing the salmonella outbreak that has sickened 851 people across the U.S., with the latest case beginning June 20.
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Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s division of foodborne diseases, said CDC launched a new round of interviews over the weekend, adding,
"We're broadening the investigation to be sure it encompasses food items that are commonly consumed with tomatoes.”
Weise reports that if another food is found to be the culprit after tomatoes were recalled nationwide and the produce industry sustained losses of hundreds of millions of dollars, food safety experts say the public's trust in the government's ability to track foodborne illnesses will be shattered.
Michael Osterholm of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense at the University of Minnesota, said,
"It's going to fundamentally rewrite how we do outbreak investigations in this country. We can't let this investigation, however it might turn out, end with just the answer of 'What caused it?' We need to take a very in-depth look at foodborne disease investigation as we do it today."
Jim Prevor, editor of Produce Business magazine, says tomatoes couldn't have caused an outbreak that has stretched from early April to late June.
"There's not a field in the world" that produces that long.
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If not tomatoes, what else? "Something that people find difficult to remember but which is always served with tomatoes," says Tauxe.
That would put salsa, jalapeño peppers, green onions and cilantro at the top of the list of potential culprits, says Doug Powell, director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.
Emergency plans for retail food establishments
Ever wonder what to do in an ice storm. A tornado? How about a flood? Living in the Midwest, we get everything.
Now imagine it’s not just you and your family. It’s a restaurant, a store, even a really big store.
The Conference for Food Protection (CFP) has released “practical guidance for retail grocery and food service establishments to plan and respond to emergencies that create the potential for an imminent health hazard.” It includes a list of on-line resources.
It’s a great starting point.
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Strict safety guidelines enforced as produce travels from Mexico
The Dallas Morning News ran a couple of excellent features on the flow of food from Mexico to the U.S. Yesterday's story was about the lack of inspectors, how little product was actually inspected, and, perhaps unwittingly, the problem of inspecting fresh produce for microbial contaminants.
“In December, officials took a sample for testing from a 5,500-pound load of Mexican basil moving through the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego. The basil continued on to its destination and was sold to restaurants and other customers in California, Texas and Illinois the next day. When the test results came back two weeks later, they suggested salmonella contamination, sparking a late recall.”
It's much better to design safety into all operations, beginning on the farm.
Glenn Fry helps run Taylor Farms de Mexico's new $14 million plant in San José Iturbide, Mexico. He picked the land where it sits, designed just about every facet of it, and he manages more than 800 workers who plant, harvest and package produce – including lettuce, onions and broccoli – for export to the U.S.
Today’s story says that Taylor Farms is just one of a handful of U.S. companies lured by Mexico's ideal year-round growing climate, proximity to Texas, low labor costs and plentiful workforce.
During a recent lettuce harvest, quality-control supervisor Laura Patino pointed to an aide who monitors workers coming out of the mobile toilets at the end of the fields to make sure they wash their hands before returning to work.
"Many of our workers don't even have toilets at home, so this is new to them," Ms. Patino explains. "We've literally taught many of them how to go to the restroom. It's that basic."
The lettuce field – owned by Oscar A. Bitar Macedo and leased by Taylor – is fenced off from outside "contamination." Heavy strips of yellow plastic keep out dogs, cattle and other livestock.
Mr. Bitar, owner of Rancho Don Alberto, leases all of his 100 hectares (about 247 acres) to Taylor. And he's responsible for maintenance, water wells, monthly water testing, fencing, security guards and, yes, even toilet paper. …
Within two hours, 24 boxes, each holding about 850 pounds of lettuce, are transported to Taylor's plant a few miles down the road for the first of several safety checks.
At the entrance, 19-year-old Efigenia Rosas checks the boxes to make sure they're labeled with bar codes identifying the owner's farm, crew supervisor, field and time of harvest – a crucial step in the process. If a consumer later finds a problem, Taylor can trace the produce back to the field and farmer. …
At 6 p.m., driver Roman Ayala, an employee of Flensa Trucking, begins the drive north on Mexico's Highway 57. He's in no rush because he has no chance of getting to Nuevo Laredo before Customs shuts down the bridge at 11 p.m. And it won't reopen until 8 a.m., something that frustrates Mr. Fry to no end.
"How can the U.S. government be serious about food safety when they shut down the border overnight and perishable goods have to sit there and wait?" he asks.
There is also a good video overview of the lettuce harvesting procedures available along with the story at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/mexico/stories/063008dningproducttaylor.40d72a3.html
Safest food in the world - Barack Obama edition
Barack Obama may be the change candidate but his food safety rhetoric falls into a tired and unsubstantiated pattern.
Obama wrote on Friday in a letter to Cow Calf Weekly (great reading for the beach),
“America continues to have the safest, most abundant and cheapest food supply in the world. … Beef producers are a key component in a healthy and vibrant rural America. By strengthening USDA and working to enhance food safety and meat processing, my administration will assist the industry in providing a wholesome and safe product to your customers.”
Maybe Barack is using the same PR folks as the Taste of Chicago. And with over 800 people sick from Salmonella in tomatoes and no source in sight, is it really the right time to be making claims about who has the safest food?
Thanks to Kansas State PhD student Charles Dodd for forwarding the item.
Tips for buying fresh produce: Ask, hope, pray
Five people who got sick from salmonella this month ate at the same McDowell County restaurant, O'Dear's Country Diner on U.S. 221 in Marion, North Carolina, but the cases do not appear linked to the ongoing Salmonella-in-tomatoes outbreak.
The restaurant was voluntarily closed Thursday, cleaned Saturday under the supervision of health department specialists, and plans to reopen Monday.
Marion restaurant owner Bob Gaddy said he had not heard about the salmonella problems. He and his brother, Mack, have run Harvest Drive-In for 35 years. Like O'Dear, Gaddy makes a point of buying tomatoes and produce from somewhere he thinks is safe, but said it's tough to know.
"You ask. But you also hope and pray.”
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Raw milk risk
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in the current issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections in children associated with raw milk and raw colostrum from cows -- California, 2006. Some highlights below:
On September 18, 2006, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) was notified of two children hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). One of the patients had culture-confirmed Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection, and both patients had consumed raw (unpasteurized) cow milk in the week before illness onset. Four additional cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection in children who had consumed raw cow milk or raw cow colostrum produced by the same dairy were identified during the following 3 weeks. In California, intrastate sale of raw milk and raw colostrum is legal and regulated. This report summarizes the investigation of these cases by CDPH, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), and four local health departments and subsequent actions to prevent illnesses. As a result of this and other outbreaks, California enacted legislation (AB 1735), which took effect January 1, 2008, setting a limit of 10 coliforms/mL for raw milk sold to consumers. Raw milk in several forms, including colostrum, remains a vehicle of serious enteric infections, even if the sale of raw milk is regulated.
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Six cases were identified; four persons had culture-confirmed infections, one had a culture-confirmed infection and HUS, and one had HUS only. The median age of patients was 8 years (range: 6--18 years), and four of the patients (67%) were boys. The six cases identified during this investigation were geographically dispersed throughout California. All six patients reported bloody diarrhea; three (50%) were hospitalized. Illness onset occurred during September 6--24, 2006. Isolates from the five patients with culture-confirmed infections had indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. The PFGE pattern was new to the PulseNet (the National Molecular Subtyping Network for Foodborne Disease) database and differed markedly from the pattern of the E. coli O157:H7 strain associated with a concurrent multistate outbreak linked to spinach consumption (1). Four of the five E. coli O157:H7 isolates were subtyped by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) according to a protocol used by CDPH laboratory and were found to have closely related MLVA patterns (2).
Five of six patients reported they had consumed brand A raw dairy products in the week before their illness onset; the sixth patient denied drinking brand A raw milk, although his family routinely purchased it. Among the five patients who consumed brand A dairy products, two consumed raw whole milk, two consumed raw skim milk, and one consumed raw chocolate-flavored colostrum. Four of the five patients routinely drank raw milk from dairy A. One patient was exposed to brand A dairy product only once; he was served raw chocolate colostrum as a snack when visiting a friend. No other food item was commonly consumed by all six patients. No other illness was reported among household members who consumed brand A dairy products.
Using purchase information supplied by the patients' families, investigators determined that the patients consumed raw milk from lots produced at dairy A during September 3--13, 2006. Milk samples from these production dates were not available for testing. Fifty-six product samples from several lots with code dates of September 17, 2006, or later were retrieved from retails stores and dairy A and were tested for aerobic microflora, total coliform, fecal coliform, and E. coli O157:H7. The outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 was not found in any product samples. However, standard aerobic plate counts and coliform counts of collected samples with code dates of September 17 through October 9, 2006, were indicative of contamination. Colostrum samples had high standard plate counts and total coliform counts, and fecal coliform counts of 210--46,000 MPN/g. California standards limit standard plate counts for raw and pasteurized milk to 15,000 CFU/mL and total coliform counts for pasteurized milk to 10 coliform bacteria/mL. At the time of this outbreak, California did not have a coliform standard for milk sold raw to consumers. California also classifies colostrum as a dietary supplement, for which it has no microbiologic standards, rather than a milk product.
Raw milk from dairy A was the likely vehicle of transmission, but the exact mode of milk contamination in this outbreak was not determined.
Asymptomatic cows can harbor pathogens and cause human illness by shedding pathogens in untreated milk or milk products. These findings suggest that if raw milk had been subject to the same coliform standard as pasteurized milk in California, milk from dairy A might have been excluded from sale and this outbreak might have been averted.
From 1998 to May 2005, raw milk or raw milk products have been implicated in 45 foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, accounting for more than 1,000 cases of illness (CDC, unpublished data, 2007). Because illnesses associated with raw milk continue to occur, additional efforts are needed to educate consumers and dairy farmers about illnesses associated with raw milk and raw colostrum. To reduce the risk for E. coli O157 and other infections, consumers should not drink raw milk or raw milk products.
Tornado hits Manhattan (Kansas)
I love Manhattan (Kansas).
People are always asking me, with a bemused, smug look, Kansas? Why would you move to Kansas?
I explain to them how Manhattan is huddled in the Flint Hills, beautiful spot, and most of the bad weather goes around Manhattan.
Not last night.
The townhouse Amy used to live in probably doesn't exist anymore. That was one of two areas of town that got hammered by a tornado about 11 pm Central time.
ABC affiliate KTKA in Topeka captured the tornado on video as it entered Manhattan, at least until the camera on the weather tower got taken out (see below).
Cheryl May, Kansas State University's (awesome) director of media relations extraordinaire, told CNN the storm destroyed a wind erosion lab, damaged several engineering and science buildings and tore the roof off a fraternity house at the school (right, Weber Hall, home of much of Animal Science).
"Our campus is kind of a mess."
There were no immediate reports of injuries, she said.
In an update released at 8 a.m. (CST), Tom Rawson, vice president for administration and finance, estimated storm damage at Kansas State University to exceed $20 million.
"The damage on campus is extensive. Roofs have been damaged or torn off, windows have been blown out in many buildings. Weber Hall is severely damaged. The Wind Erosion Lab is gone. There is significant damage to the engineering complex, and to Waters, Call, Cardwell and Ward Hall."
And since my students don't seem to know, but of course read barfblog, classes are cancelled for today.
Local radio station KMAN has a complete list of known damage. People are being asked to stay away from damaged areas -- and there are various unsubstantiated reports of looting.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has the following food safety advice after a weather emergency:
Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.
Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items after 4 hours without power.
Never taste a food to determine its safety
Drink only bottled water if flooding has occurred
Undamaged, commercially prepared foods in all-metal cans and retort pouches (for example, flexible, shelf-stable juice or seafood pouches) can be saved.
When in Doubt, Throw it Out
If you have any firsthand reports, pictures or video, send it along. Amy and I are going to start working our way home from Quebec City.
Can TV cooks become food safety celebrities? or Have you spotted Doug Powell ranting?
"If you read Doug Powell’s FSnet e-mail news, you have probably spotted some of his rants against unsafe techniques demonstrated on television cooking shows."
So says Gary Acuff, president of the International Association for Food Protection in his June 2008 column about the poor food safety practices of celebrity chefs.
My rants are based on research, reviewed and published in Food Protection Trends, a monthly journal of … the International Association for Food Protection.
In 2004, my 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, we observed 13 unsafe practices. The most common errors were inadequate hand washing and cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods. The abstract is below and available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/article-details.php?a=3&c=14&sc=102&id=842.
To answer Gary's question, is there something that can be done? After completing the initial research in 2002, I began writing about the topic, with snappy headlines like, Can TV cooks become food safety celebrities? One of my students at the time, Christian Battista, put together four, 3-minute greatest hits videos, depicting various practices we observed like cross-contamination and lack of handwashing. The videos were a hit.
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Once the paper was published, it made headlines around the globe. Some folks at the Food Network in Canada gave me a call, and said they wanted to work with me and my lab, to enhance food safety on their shows.
I said sure.
I also kept showing the videos at my various public appearances.
And then the Food Network called again.
This time the folks at the other end were on a speakerphone -- and there was a lot of them. Lawyers, I suspect.
The Food Network people said if I ever showed the videos again they would sue my ass.
But YouTube didn't exist back then. And I'm in the U.S. now. Hmmm ….
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..jpg)
Keeping the crap out of camping
Amy and I are leaving this afternoon for Canada for a month, to do some research in Quebec and play some hockey. We could go camping -- but we won't. I've become like Ben's mom, whose idea of camping is when the hotel doesn't have air conditioning.
But for millions of others, this Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of camping season. For Canadians, the season usually starts with the Victoria Day weekend (May 19, 2008) and is characterized by drunk students freezing their assess off in pouring rain. This year was no different.
Camping can either be a flurry of fun and adventure, or a miserable few days of getting sick in the bushes and being dehydrated. Every summer, thousands of people set out on these camping adventures, and every summer, many become stricken with foodborne illnesses or a parasitic infection. Some of the most common culprits include norovirus, E. coli O157:H7, Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia duodenalis.
Such illnesses are not limited to the occasional outdoor excursion; there are many recorded outbreaks at children’s summer camps. In 2007 norovirus struck down dozens of children and staff members in Three Rivers, MI at a local summer camp. Such outbreaks are not new; in 1994 E. coli O157:H7 infected multiple people at a summer camp in Virginia. Since children are more susceptible to these illnesses than adults, it’s especially important that when camping with children care is taken to prevent infection.
Basic camping food safety is similar to kitchen food safety:
• keep meat in the cooler below 40°F;
• store the food in a large cooler, in the shade and away from the campfire;
• when cooking meat, try to use disposable utensils and if metal utensils are used, sterilize them in the fire; and,
• use a tip sensitive digital thermometer.
Never drink untreated water; even the cleanest looking streams can contain harmful parasites. There are a couple of options for treating water: boiling and filtration. Bringing a metal cup along to boil water in is the easiest and most effective method. Bring the water to a rolling boil, and let it boil for at least one minute. If you’re in the mountains or higher elevations, it’s best to boil for several minutes. Higher altitudes lower the boiling point of water.
If boiling is not an option, then a filter will suffice. Make sure to purchase a filter with a pore size of 1 micron absolute or smaller. This method works best in combination with water tablets. Water tablets also help to remove some sediment. The tablets may leave a slight aftertaste, so bringing orange juice crystals or a powdered drink along may help to stifle it.
Is free soft-serve ice cream for pregnant women a good idea?
Baskin Robbins is offering free soft serve ice cream to expectant mothers on May 21, 2008, in California, Chicago, New York, Nashville, and El Paso, Texas. It's apparently the beginning of a national roll-out of soft serve ice cream at Baskin Robbins.
I have no idea why they targeted expectant moms, or why they recruited a pregnant Tori Spelling as spokesthingy.
Andrew Reece and I did some quickie research and found the Australians, in particular, may have a problem with this promo.
Soft serve ice cream is on the Australian list of foods pregnant women should avoid. Sanitation with the equipment appears to be an on-going problem.
A 1996 study in Sydney, Australia found 49 of 86 samples of soft serve to have dangerous bacteria levels. Another study in Wisconsin in 2003, found 15 of 22 local soft serve machines at retail food service establishments to have dangerous levels of coliforms and other bacteria. In 2006, Iowa also found a high level of soft serve machines (23%) in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area to have dangerous levels of coliforms and other bacteria. Regular cleaning of machines with soap and sanitizer could reduce the number of bacteria found on the soft serve machines.
Poor hygiene can lead to the spread of foodborne illness through soft serve ice cream. Soft serve ice cream is typically kept at a higher storage temperature than frozen ice creams, which could lead to increased bacterial growth. Ice cream is high in moisture and protein content, which is favorable for bacteria to grow. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has its own publication warning of such risks.
The risk appears minimal with good sanitation -- although our research was limited and forced by time constraints. A reader asked, would I take my pregnant wife for free B&R soft serve ice cream?
No.
Where frozen and canned vegetables come from: 2001
Another blast from the past, with iFSN's Andrew Reece editing together some old video on food safety in the Ontario processing vegetable industry. Newbie student Ben Chapman worked the camera and provided some narration, as we toured farms and processing facilities in Ontario.
Posers like Gordon Ramsey can gas on all they like about the political food flavor of the day, producers and processors supply the bulk of food ingredients that are a cornerstone of a healthy and abundant diet.
Show me, don't tell me
Show me, don't tell me: That's what I thought as I glanced through the latest survey from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation on May 14, 2008.
The survey of 1,000 American adults, conducted in February and March of 2008, found that,
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"while more than three-quarters of Americans (82%) say they are confident in their ability to safely prepare food, many do not take steps to reduce the spread of bacteria in their kitchen. For instance, less than half (48%) report using separate cutting boards for raw meat or poultry and produce, and just 29% say they use a meat thermometer. … Most (92%) report washing their hands with soap and water when preparing food, and nearly as many (79%) say they store leftovers within two hours of serving. But just 15% report checking the wattage on their microwaves, and even fewer (7%) say they use a meat thermometer when using their microwave."
Danielle Schor, Senior Vice President of Food Safety for the IFIC Foundation and registered dietitian, said,
“Consumers are a lot more confident about their ability to safely prepare food than they ought to be, based on what we learned. We still have a long way to go to educate the public about the basics such as avoiding cross contamination and cooking to proper temperature."
We've been doing a bunch of observational research over the past year and results will start trickling out in the next few months. Until then, as Brae Surgeoner wrote in the June 2007 issue of Food Protection Trends
"The study of consumer food-handling practices has relied almost exclusively on data obtained in self-report surveys. … The problem is that people often lie.
"In 1999, a team of Australian researchers, in their article, “A Video Study of Australian Domestic Food-Handling Practices,” impressed upon readers of the Journal of Food Protection the discrepancy that exists between what consumers say they do, and what they actually do. Comparing responses to a food-safety questionnaire administered prior to video surveillance of participants in their home kitchens, the researchers found significant deviations between stated and actual behavior. For example, there was a highly significant difference between self-reported and observed hand-washing practices. … Without observing actual behavior, food safety educators may be developing interventions that are successful in changing what individuals report they do, but may do little in changing what they actually do."
Oh, and anyone who says that avoiding cross-contamination is simple should be videotaped preparing a meal -- preferably with a few kids running around or some other distractions similar to actual scenarios -- and the video analyzed by trained coders looking for food safety, including cross-contamination, mistakes. My videos are at http://www.youtube.com/SafeFoodCafe, and I make mistakes -- or at least what may be defined as a mistake. That's because food safety -- including avoiding cross-contamination -- is not simple.
Food safety is not simple; and please, stop yelling
When people write using exclamation marks, especially in an e-mail or web-based postings, they seem to be yelling,
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At the reader.
At me.
The U.K. Institute of Food Science & Technology issued an update yesterday on avoiding cross-contamination in the home. Why did the group specifically target the home and not include food service and retail? No idea.
I won't bicker with the advice -- although in some cases it seems excessive and culled from brochures rather than actual observation. For example, under handwashing, the report says,
"Wash hands, including finger-tips, thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and dry them thoroughly before you start preparing food. Do this repeatedly during food preparation - after every interruption and always if you have had to change the baby's nappy or have been to the toilet; or after combing or touching your hair, nose, mouth or ears; or after eating, smoking, coughing or blowing nose; or after handling waste food or refuse; or after handling dirty cloths, crockery etc; or after shaking hands; or after touching shoes, the floor or other dirty surfaces. After preparing raw foods such as fish, meat, or poultry, wash your hands again before you start handling other foods. Rings can harbour germs - remove them before preparing food!
Twenty seconds of handwashing -- which is itself excessive -- is further excessive after simply scratching (not picking) my nose. I'm sure that will spark some hate mail. We were talking about that yesterday during my presentation at the Alabama Food Safety and Defense Conference in Montgomery, AL, yesterday.
But look at that exclamation mark. Gives it the ring of a fascist line-dancing instructor barking out orders.
The document concludes by stating,
If you suspect cooked, or ready-to-eat food might be contaminated, don't serve it or eat it!
Remember:
Food-poisoning is preventable - avoiding cross-contamination is simple and important!
Food safety is not simple. And save the exclamation marks for the truly exclamatory.
Safe food gardening
Whether purchasing from a local gardener, or starting your own garden, keep a few food safety questions in mind:
where is the garden located;
what type of fertilizer is used;
what is the water source;
is the garden and surrounding area properly maintained; and,
is the produce harvested safely?
Local gardeners and produce customers should understand that whether
it is a 1,000-acre commercial operation, or a small 10’ x 10’ plot of
land in one’s backyard, the principles of safe gardening remain the
same. The grower must prevent the produce from being contaminated.
Remember: food safe from farm to fork – even if it’s a small farm.
For more information about safe gardening visit
http://ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu/UC_Publications/
Court says Tyson chicken antibiotic claims must stop
Hucksterism. That's how I characterized the marketing by Tyson Foods Inc. of its antibiotic-free fresh chicken almost a year ago.
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A couple of judges have now agreed.
Today, a federal appeals court in Baltimore refused to block an order barring Tyson Foods from advertising that its poultry products don't contain antibiotics thought to lead to drug resistance in humans.
The lower court ruling was a victory for rivals Perdue Farms and Sanderson Farms, who are suing to stop the advertisements. The two companies say the advertisements are misleading because none of the companies uses those types of drugs and shoppers could be led to think other companies use the drugs.
I continue to look forward to the day when food is marketed and advertised based on the lack of dangerous bugs that make people barf and shit.
Organic food myths
Rob Johnston argues in the U.K.'s Independent newspaper this morning that organic foods are not healthier or better for the environment, they're packed with pesticides, and in an age of climate change and shortages, these foods are an indugence the world can't afford.
Organic myths:
• Organic farming is good for the environment
• Organic farming is more sustainable
• Organic farming doesn't use pesticides
• Pesticide levels in conventional food are dangerous
• Organic food is healthier
• Organic food contains more nutrients
• The demand for organic food is booming
All myths, and backed up by Johnston in the article. As far as microbial food safety, as we've written before,
Organic standards are process-based, and have nothing do to with end-product safety. Specific omissions include worker hygiene and recommendations for safe use of processing and irrigation water. Further, any guideline or standard is meaningless without robust verification. The production of safe food is the responsibility of everyone in the farm-to-fork chain -- conventional or organic -- and food safety, especially with fresh produce, must begin on the farm.
I ate a fast food burger and it made me sick a few hours later: doubtful
Dallas Morning News columnist James Ragland tried to raise awareness of foodborne illness yesterday but instead perpetuated some of the worst myths -- that barfing is caused by the last food eaten and that fast-food burger joints are largely to blame.
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Ragland writes that on Monday,
"I decided to swing through a popular fast-food restaurant to grab a burger, fries and a cold drink.
Hours later, the burger grabbed back. My stomach tightened. A chill fell over me. Then sweat.
If you've ever had food poisoning, you know what happened next.
One recurring thought crossed my mind as my wife patiently dabbed a cold damp towel across my forehead: "Go into the kitchen, fetch the solid cast-iron skillet and whack me over the head with it!"
By week's end, I was still struggling to get back to full strength, relying mostly on saltines and Gatorade."
Foodborne illness sucks for anyone, and Ragland deserves credit for reporting on the topic and telling people how to report foodborne illness in Dallas. However, except for a few toxins, it's not the last meal that made someone like Ragland sick, and fast-food joints -- especially the popular ones -- have fairly good food safety systems; they have too, with so many outlets and so many people looking to make a fast buck. Incubation times for most foodborne ailments can be found in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Bad Bug Book at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/app2.html.
If you think food made you sick, here's what to do:
• go to the doctor if necessary;
• keep the food, in the fridge or freezer if necessary; and,
• contact your local health department.
Cooking with a microwave
In October 2007, at least 270 people in 36 American states got sick with Salmonella after eating Banquet Pot Pies, leading to a national recall and prompting many to question the safety of microwave cooking. Since the outbreak, the manufacturer, ConAgra, has revamped their labeling to try to ensure proper microwave preparation by consumers. But questions still loom whether these label changes are enough, and may leave people wondering how to properly cook using a microwave.
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For thick items that can’t be cut:
∑ use medium power;
∑ microwave for a longer period of time;
∑ stir, turn, or flip food halfway through to limit cold spots;
∑ let food stand for a couple minutes when finished microwaving; and,
∑ be cautious of bones (they can act as heat shields.
There are many other variables that dictate how well food is cooked in the microwave, including:
∑ type of container;
∑ physical state of food (frozen or thawed);
∑ type of food;
∑ product geometry;
∑ moisture content;
∑ bone presence; and,
∑ microwave wattage.
The wattage of a microwave is located on the back or inside the door. Microwave power is grouped into high (1000 – 1300 W), medium (700-900 W) and low (500-600 W). Many labels on microwave foods give cook times for high, medium and low wattage microwaves, so it is handy to know the wattage being used.
There are hundreds of frozen, prepared products or meals, like pot pies, that may contain raw or fully cooked ingredients. The only way to know is to read labels carefully. Package labels may also contain instructions to cook to 165°F for poultry and 160°F for beef and other meats, and to verify doneness using a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer. To be on the safe side, leftovers should reach 145°F.
Food safety in Seattle
The Dali Lama is at the hotel next door, Chris Rock is doing standup at a theatre down the street, and I'm sitting at Seattle University with a bunch of food safety geeks.
Wouldn't have it any other way.
What I learned from Marler's food safety conference in Seattle for the past two days is:
• the supposed experts are as confused as mere mortals when it comes to food safety solutions;
• faith-based food safety systems are as common as I thought they might be; and,
• there's a whole lot of supposedly smart people who can't be bothered to edit themselves to their allotted time.
Marketing food safety at retail may be a way to create a food safety culture from farm-to-fork.
Oh, and they protest about everything in Seattle.
Meat safety chief: Increase E. coli testing
Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reported from Seattle this morning that USDA’s undersecretary for food safety, Richard Raymond, said he’s determined to increase testing for E. coli contamination before he leaves office, adding,
"We need to address this tougher problem and take some moves there to help protect the American public."
Raymond, a physician who was formerly the chief medical officer in Nebraska, said results from some public health laboratories shows illnesses form non-O157 strains of E. coli are “at least as prevalent” as O157 illnesses. He said the non-O157 strains are harder to detect.
I'm at the same conference, Who's Minding the Store? - The Current State of Food Safety and How It Can Be Improved, hosted by lawyer and barfblog sugar daddy Bill Marler.
Washington Governor Christine Gregoire (right) gave the food safety luncheon address.
I chatted with the affable Dr. Raymond after his presentation, and asked him if USDA would consider using video cameras to augment veterinary inspection in slaughterhouses. He said, "ask me after next Thursday."
Raymond, and several of the other speakers stated that the political-media focus on a single food inspection agency was a distraction.
I agree. Whatever is done, it should reduce the number of sick people. That's the measure that counts, and one where progress has stalled.
New strategies required to reduce foodborne illness says CDC; don't eat poop
The Centers for Disease Control reported today that foodborne illness remains a significant public health issue in the U.S., with Salmonella infections increasingly problematic.
"Although significant declines in the incidence of certain foodborne pathogens have occurred since 1996, these declines all occurred before 2004," the CDC reported (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5714a2.htm).
"Outbreaks caused by contaminated peanut butter, frozen pot pies, and a puffed vegetable snack in 2007 underscore the need to prevent contamination of commercially produced products. The outbreak associated with turtle exposure highlights the importance of animals as a nonfood source of human infections. To reduce the incidence of Salmonella infections, concerted efforts are needed throughout the food supply chain, from farm to processing plant to kitchen."
"Food safety is a continuing problem that starts at the farm and continues through the food chain all the way to the kitchen," Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of CDC's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, said during a teleconference.
Given that rates of foodborne infection haven't changed significantly in the past three years, more needs to be done to improve food safety, Tauxe said "We have to be vigilant about hygiene practices and prevention all along the way to reduce the risk of foodborne infection."
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"There's just way too many sick people," said Dr. Douglas Powell, an associate professor and scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University.
" The CDC data show existing efforts to reduce fodborne illness have stalled," said Powell, who also publishes barfblog.com. "We need new messages using new media to really create a culture that values microbiologically safe food."
Bad advice from the UK Food Standards Agency
London's Sunday Times ran a little puff piece -- and with spring coming in the Northern Hemisphere there will be many more -- that said food safety problems are primarily caused by eating food already past its shelf life, cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods (often involving poor hygiene) and eating food that was either not cooked or not stored properly.
Um, fresh fruits are vegetables are the leading vehicles of foodborne illness today.
Simple precautions include avoiding cooking food that’s about to go off and making sure you dry your hands properly after washing them – far more bacteria are spread from damp hands than dry hands.
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The story cites the U.K. Food Standards Agency as a source for additional information. FSA tells folks,
"If you are checking a burger, sausage, or a portion of chicken or pork, cut into the middle and check there is no pink meat left. The meat should also be piping hot in the middle. If you're checking a whole chicken or other bird, pierce the thickest part of the leg (between drumstick and thigh) with a clean knife or skewer until the juices run out. The juices shouldn't have any pink or red in them."
This is bad advice. Color is a lousy indicator of doneness using a tip-sensitive digital thermometer is the only safe way to determine is food has reached a safe temperature.
And just what is piping hot?
"To test if food has been properly cooked, check that it is 'piping hot' all the way through. This means that it is hot enough for steam to come out. Cut open the food with a small knife so that you can check that it is piping hot in the middle. Generally, if food is piping hot in the middle, then it will be piping hot all the way through. … Some foods change colour when they are cooked. Looking at colour is especially useful for checking meat."
I wonder how much money was spent on consultants, and how many salaries sat around a conference table, to conclude that consumers weren't bright enough to understand more accurate messages that would actually protect their well-being.
Stick it in.
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Tega Cay, S.C. fire department barbecue food contaminated; throw it away
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is urging anyone who purchased barbecue at a March 30 fundraiser for the Tega Cay Volunteer Fire Department to throw the food away.
Firefighters sold approximately 3,000 servings of food and the York County Public Health Department has identified more than 40 people who became ill. Many people bought barbecue in bulk for freezing and later use.
Tests are under way to identify the cause of the illness.
Eat this, you'll be fine
Last week, Italy's Agriculture Minister, Paolo De Castro, (right) dug into some buffalo mozzarella for the cameras after assuring the European Commission that no mozzarella cheese contaminated with cancer-causing dioxin had been exported.
On Saturday President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras downed some homegrown cantaloupe for a CNN news crew, proclaiming, "I eat this fruit without any fear. It’s a delicious fruit. Nothing happens to me!”
Both were continuing a questionable tradition that may actually amplify the concerns of citizens when the safety of certain foods is scrutinized: roll out the politician to consume the food in question.
The list is long:
• Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien scarfed back a burger after the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in Canada in May 2003;
• French President Jacques Chirac and future French president Nicolas Sarkozy consumed cooked chicken during the International Agriculture show in Paris in March 2006 to bolster confidence after an outbreak of avain influenza;
• Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said in 2006 he often fed salmon to his own children after Russia banned imports of fresh Norwegian salmon because of worries about toxic metals;
• Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell lunched at a Philadelphia Taco Bell in Dec. 2006 after an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to lettuce sickened 71; and,
• most famously, former U.K. Agriculture Minister John Gummer feeding a hamburger to his four-year-old daughter Cordelia as concerns about the safety of British beef mounted in 1990 (left)..jpg)
Do people believe politicians? How about company executives?
In 2000, 14,700 Japanese were sickened and 180 hospitalized after Snow Brand milk employees failed to properly clean factory pipes for weeks. As reported in The Economist, "At one point during Snow Brand’s latest poisoning scare, its befuddled boss fled a press conference shouting, 'I haven’t slept at all in the past week.'"
Snow Brand has a bit of a reputation for dramatics.
"When, almost half a century ago, some 1,900 school children fell ill after drinking Snow Brand’s powdered milk, a dismissive company executive confidently downed a glass of the drink in front of the press to allay fears of contamination. A few hours later, as expected, he was rushed to a bathroom."
Several years ago, Health Canada proposed to ban the sale of cheeses derived from raw milk, but they failed to provide a compelling case for such a ban. They also ignored the cultural and social factors—the enjoyment—that lead some people to rank specific cheeses like fine wines. Raw milk cheeses can contain the bacterium Listeria which can cause life-threatening illness and lead to miscarriages, but such cases simply had not been seen in Canada (which does not mean such cases did not exist). This left health officials arguing that such cheeses should be banned, even in the absence of Canadian-based scientific evidence to warrant such a ban. The Minister of Health at the time, David Dingwall, was soon in Quebec, scarfing down raw milk cheese for the television cameras.
People make risk/benefit decisions every time they enter an automobile, smoke a cigarette, have a drink, eat fat or enter into a relationship. Rather than eating up in front of the camera, governments, executives, even local farmers, should provide data to back up their claims of safety.
Douglas Powell is scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University.
Local is good -- what about flooding and tornadoes?
Driving through Oklahoma yesterday on our way to Longview, Texas for a couple of talks, I was reminded several times by billboards that local is good in Oklahoma.
It's the same in Arkansas, Texas, and pretty much every other state and province in North America.
What happens to the local food supply when there is torrential rainfalls and tornadoes. Seriously. For 10 of the 11 hours we spent on the road yesterday, it was pouring. Much of Texas got at least 6 inches of rain. Texas flood (right). And shortly after we arrived in Longview last night, the tornado warning sirens went off and we all congregated in the laundry room. The storm also knocked out most Internet connections, so news and blogging are delayed.
But back to the local is good. Bob Woldrop, president of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, told NewsOK.com,
"I think local foods are better and safer. Local foods are processed in smaller facilities. When I buy beef through the Oklahoma Food Co-op, I buy it from a particular farmer, and it all comes from one animal."
Samantha Snyder, horticulture educator at the Oklahoma County Extension Center, said,
"Some people really prefer the organic, and some people say it is safer because they know where it's coming from and how it's been treated."
Snyder also urges people to plant their own vegetable gardens as a step in ensuring safety and freshness of their food.
Freshness maybe. But safety depends on the grower taking steps to manage and mitigate microbial contamination. Floods make that difficult, no matter the size or location of the farm.