I could eat a horse
In the wake of news that some in south Florida are taking to butchering horses, here are some tips from Australia on how to eat horse.
Horse Steaks
The world’s most famous horse steak eaters, the French, have only gained that reputation since the 1789-1799 revolution simply because the horses of aristocrats were an easy source of protein for a country in turmoil. Its popularity was reinforced during food shortages post World War II. Traditionally, horse meat is sold from boucheries chevalines (horse butchers), although now it can also be bought from supermarkets. In French-speaking Quebec, in Canada, horse meat is also popular (above, right, a horse butcher at the Toulouse market, 2007).
Chips Cooked in Horse Fat
Horse with Noodles
Pastissada de Caval
In northern Italy, the traditional horse meat stew from Verona known as Pastissada de caval is made with wine and paprika. Legend has it that the dish originates from the town’s inhabitants marinating the meat from dead horses in the local Valpolicella wine and herbs and spices after a battle between the Ostrogoths and Barbarians in AD489. In Italy, horse - and donkey - meat has traditionally been cured to make bresaola or carpaccio.
The Original Steak Tartare
Needless to say with horses being central to life on the central Asian steppes, so it is central to their diet. For those magnificent horsemen the Tartars, the most famous being Genghis Khan and his army, the horse was also a living meal. They would slice meat from the horses' hindquarters for sustenance, sewing-up the wound, and continuing on their rampage. Another legend has it that the Tartars tenderized their meat under their saddles, the origins of the classic French raw meat beef dish steak tartare.
Alcoholica Mare's Milk
This reliance on the horse on the central steppes also means a reliance on mare’s milk. Fermented, mare’s milk becomes a mildly alcoholic yoghurt-like drink known as Kumis or Airag. When visiting Mongolia in 2005 President Bush was apparently offered Kumis although there is no record as to whether or not he actually consumed it.
Horse Jerky
Commercially produced packets of horse meat jerky is an easy introduction to horse meat for squeamish tourists in Kazakhstan. For the locals though, horse flesh is a real treat and made into sausages including Kazy and the smoked sausage Shuzhuk.
Horse Sashimi
In Japan, barbecued, horse is simply called horse meat: baniku; or skewered horse: bagushi. But raw horse meat is poetic, named after its cherry-red colour and known as sakura (cherry blossom) or sakuraniku (cherry blossom meat). Sakura served sashimi-style with soy sauce and ginger is known as basashi.
Air kissing or 'la bise' discouraged in France because of H1N1 flu
It was so confusing when I was in France: do you kiss anyone on the cheek or just friends; two pecks or three (the further south, the greater the frequency of the tri-peck). I usually defaulted to a handshake, but after a fabulous lunch with tons of great wine at a chateau near Bordeaux where I had unlimited Internet access for the first time in two weeks, I gave the dude a bi-peck at the train station – we had just met, and he was a little taken aback (that’s me and the dude at a wedding in Montreal a couple of months later 2007, right, below; look at that suit).
Now, according to Associated Press, the French tradition of "la bise," the cheek-to-cheek peck that the French use to say hello or goodbye, has come under pressure from a globalized threat: swine flu.
Some French schools, companies and a Health Ministry hotline are telling students and employees to avoid the social ritual out of fear the pandemic could make it the kiss of death, or at least illness, as winter approaches.
For kids in two schools in the town of Guilvinec, in France's western Brittany region, the first lesson of the year came from local officials: no more cheek kisses to teachers or other students.
The national government isn't calling for a ban. But the Health Ministry, on its swine flu phone hotline, recommends that people avoid "close contact — including shaking hands and giving the bise."
Mon dieu: There's a mouse in my pizza
France Info reports that a Parisian Pizza Hut, where a consumer had found a dead mouse on his pizza last May, was closed by the Prefecture yesterday due to persistent hygiene problems.
A local union representative said there was an “ongoing problem with mice for several years” in this store on the Ledru-Rollin avenue in 7th district of Paris. Management denies the accusations and claims “an act of malice.”
France: Recall of Carrefour Discount brand frozen hamburger patties
The bites/barfblog French team of correspondent Albert Amgar and Manhattan (Kansas) translators Abby Herald and Amy Hubbell have provided news of the latest E. coli related recall from France, this time in Carrefour Discount Frozen Hamburger Patties (right).
Product recalled by: Carrefour
Department: Food and Drinks
Brand: Carrefour
Product: Lot Number/Serial Number: The aim of this recall is for lot number IE 565 EC with a “best by” date of August 5th, 2010.
Reason for recall: Discovery of contamination by the E.coli bacteria
Recommendation: Consumers having bought this product are asked not to consume it.
Place of recall: Consumers who have purchased the product are asked to bring it back to the store where they will be reimbursed.
Additional information: Carrefour states that they have received no consumer complaints. According to the distributer this bacteria is destroyed at a temperature of 65° C (149° F) and the hamburgers are of no risk if they have been thoroughly cooked. The products related to this recall have been removed from Carrefour, Carrefour Market and Champion stores.
Consumer Hotline: For more information, call the toll free hotline 0 805 90 80 70
Again, the recommended cooking temperature seems low, and it’s really risky to say there’s no-risk with any product. Cross-contamination in any food preparation area is a huge issue. That’s why everyone tries to get the pathogens out, rather than blaming the cook.
25 people sick with Salmonella Muenster from unpasteurized goat cheese, France, March 2008
Eurosurveillance reports today on a March 2008 outbreak of Salmonella Muenster in 25 laboratory confirmed cases in France.
Four patients were admitted to hospital. … S. Muenster was isolated from both cases and the incriminated goat's cheese. …
The place of purchase of the goat's cheese was known for 10 cases: Seven cases had purchased unpasteurised goat's cheese at an agriculture exhibition that was held in Paris from 23 February until 2 March, and three cases had purchased this type of cheese at a local market in south-eastern France…. During the same period, a household cluster of salmonellosis involving three cases was reported through the mandatory notification system. The investigation of this cluster incriminated unpasteurised goat's cheese (consumed on 8 February 2008) as the source of infection. The isolates of these cases were later shown to be positive for S. Muenster.
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.
Belgica mussels under the microscope; is New Zealand better than Old Zeeland?
A year ago Amy and I were sitting in a Wellington, New Zealand restaurant overlooking the harbor, pulling mussels from the shell (it was a holiday complete).
Consumers in Belgium are just beginning to enjoy the annual harvest of so-called Belgica mussels. According to a report forwarded by our European safe food correspondent, Albert Amgar:
Last year there was a lot of hubbub around the so-called presence of toxic substances in Belgica mussels. This toxin would provoke Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning, characterized by gastric and intestinal problems, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and intestinal cramps. Counter analyses could not confirm the presence of this toxin.
The mussels cultivated in Belgian waters underwent bimonthly bacteriological testing conducted by the Federal Agency for Food Safety. Weekly tests were also taken in order to detect the possible presence of toxins in mussels and the presence of toxin-bearing algae in the water where the mussels are raised. French authorities are responsible for testing the mussels raised in France.
Belgica was the name given to a Roman province encompassing parts of modern Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. These Belgica mussels are 20 per cent from Belgian waters and 80 per cent from French waters of the North Sea. Apparently, the less-fleshier Zeeland mussels, from the Zeeland waters of the North Sea – Zeeland is a southern province of The Netherlands – compete with Belgica mussels for the food dollars of Belgian consumers (apparently American and Canadian country-of-origin labels aren’t the only confusing – and largely meaningless – labels out there).
To continue on with the wiki-ized history, the name New Zealand originated with Dutch cartographers – Dutch explorers being the first Europeans to arrive -- who called the islands Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand.
Katie, enjoy some NZ mussels; cause as the poster says, New Zealand: Better than Old Zealand.
Soft-serve sucks in Belgium
Not just a problem for Toronto or Tori Spelling, Belgium also apparently has some issues with soft-serve and regular ice cream.
Albert sent along a link to a recent report by Test-Achats, a Belgian-based consumer group that anonymously sent researchers to 69 points of sale for ice cream and soft-serve in Belgium during the summer of 2008. Amy translated, and highlights of the report are below.
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“Attention was essentially directed towards touristic sites like the Côte, the Ardennes, and various country towns. They bought ice cream cones and soft-serve. While making the purchases, they took the opportunity to evaluate the hygiene at the point of sale as well as of the personnel, the place where the counter or the soft-serve dispenser was located, the conditions for rinsing the ice cream scoop, etc. Immediately after the purchase, and in appropriate sterile and temperature conditions, the ice cream was taken to the laboratory to undergo detailed bacteriological testing. …
Apparent cleanliness was rarely noted during our visits: only 18 points of sale received a good or very good score for this category. In 8 cases, general hygiene at the point of sale was simply unacceptable… and added to that was a serious lack in the staff’s personal hygiene. A serious problem that was already underscored by Test Achats: the ice cream scoop. It was only rinsed under running water in 6 of the points of sale. This is however fundamental for serving ice cream in good hygienic conditions. Too often, the scoop was left resting in obviously unclean water or it wasn’t, in any case, cleaned before service. Finally, it is unacceptable that the ice cream counter or the soft-serve machine be located in full sunlight, exposed to outside air or that the ice cream be accessible to or touched by clients. However, this was the case in 11 locations.
The testing of 5 specific bacteriological parameters as well as the number of total germs gives a realistic image of the hygienic quality of the 70 samples analyzed. Fortunately the presence of Salmonella and Listeria was never detected, on the other hand, Escherichia coli (which can provoke enteritis or diarrhea) was detected in three cases. In two cases, staphylococcus was present, proof of a lack of the personnel’s hygiene. …
Throughout the years and through successive studies, the results are obvious: the hygienic quality of ice cream is getting worse: 35% of ice cream cones and 61% of soft-serve are bad to mediocre. This is a completely unacceptable situation."
Handwashing at Local Hospital
My knowledge of foreign languages is limited to high school Spanish and learning while traveling. Thankfully, I have Amy, who translated all these French words into English, so I could understand what I was reading (and French-bites correspondent, Albert Amgar, who sent the story in the first place).
At Local Hospital of Penne-D’Agenais, France, Tuesday, June 16 was dedicated to handwashing. Representatives across all hospital services contributed in the “Clean Hands = Saved Lives” campaign. This included taking a training class, informing the public on handwashing, how handwashing contributes in reducing the risk of germs and soiling, and that handwashing reduces cross-contamination between people and objects. Handwashing is also suggested for the prevention of infectious disease spreading and foodborne illness [don’t eat poop].
Hands should be washed before and after handling food, after using the toilet or changing a diaper, and when taking care of others. Proper handwashing includes using soap, rubbing hands together fiercely, and drying with a paper towel.
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Handwashing campaign in France
I’m taking over the handwashing blogging today while Megan recovers from the devastating 2-1 win by Pittsburgh over Detroit to win Lord Stanley’s cup.
I’m talking about hockey.
And I’m not sure Megan cared, but I did. Amy’s crushed.
Albert Amgar in France just e-mailed me about a new handwashing campaign being run by the French Ministry of Health. There are lots of pretty pictures available at http://www.sante-sports.gouv.fr/dossiers/sante/mission-mains-propres/IMG/pdf/Recap_affiches2.pdf
Albert was kind enough to translate one of the posters – it’s below. His English is a lot better than my French. But in honor of Albert, and Amy the French professor, and Katie who’s in Jemaine and Bret’s hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, I also once again present, Foux da fa fa (below).
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In bad taste
As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about The Food Taster, bites.ksu.edu French correspondent Albert Amgar sent along this story from Le Monde, and French professor Amy translated.
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In the Parisian restaurant La Fontaine de mars, where Obama ate dinner on Saturday evening, the cooks were stunned: an American secret service member tasted the dishes before they were served to the President of the United States. Nonetheless, this is a precautionary method as old as the earth, even predating Nero and Cleopatra. Who would dare get offended? God save Obama!
A food sampler (male or female) must have excellent taste buds and a certain taste for danger. But his job is really not to be a food taster. He has no right to give his opinion about the menu, the cooking method or preparation of a dish.
The only thing expected of him is to verify the innocuousness of the food destined for the presidential palace. After having brought the spoon to his mouth, a disapproving pout would have a disastrous result. The disgusted look of a food sampler would be in bad taste.
Why limit such precautions to food? While less sudden, some poisons are as dangerous as arsenic or rat poison. There are innumerable heads of state, deprived of efficient food samplers, who were politically killed by an excessive appetite for power.
The Food Taster
I’ve been working my way through Peter Elbling’s 2003 novel The Food Taster, for about a year. It’s sorta always there but I just can’t get that excited about the main character, Ugo, and his struggle to survive as he tastes countless dishes to protect a much loathed but important 16th Century Italian Duke (Federico).
Amy has written while at this point in history simply having food was a luxury, the formerly starving peasant, Ugo, learns that he can no longer enjoy his food. Although now an expert at identifying ingredients and seasonings (right up there with today’s top food pornographers) he is constantly afraid of being struck by a mystical potion. His backwards, yet perhaps scientifically accurate, strategy is to slowly expose himself to all sorts of potions and poisons to build up (immuno) resistance should he actually be struck.
The N.Y. Times reported in 2006 that Saddam Hussein once sentenced his elder son, Uday, to be executed after he beat Mr. Hussein’s food taster to death in front of scores of horrified party guests, but later rescinded the order.
In Medieval times men of power had tasters who valiantly sampled their food in case an enemy tried to poison them. This practice was built on a myth that survives today – if you get food poisoning, it’s from the last thing you ate, and the symptoms will commence rather immediately.
Last week, reports surfaced that U.S. President Obama had his own food taster present to sample dinner in a French restaurant. Not so, said Presidential spokesthingy Robert Gibbs, but a Secret Service dude may have been watching things.
I hope so. Most people, including chefs, know nothing about food safety. A couple of years ago, Amy and I had the privilege of an after-hours chat with some FDA-types who spoke of the precautions they would take when preparing safe salmon for Laura Bush and any other meal fit for a President. They had thermometers. And knew how to use them.
Science says: wine-in-a-box OK
That’s a relief. I love my vino in a box, or from a box. In Maubisson, France, I’d bike to the store, and the dude would fill up a 2 litre bottle with Bordeaux from a box. Awesome.
Gary J. Pickering, senior author of a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry says that for some reason the researchers can't explain, wines stored in Tetra Pak-brand cartons had the lowest levels of unwanted chemicals, called methoxypyrazines.
One possibility, Pickering said, is that the chemicals escape through the carton's innermost layer, made of polyethylene, and then attach to an adjacent layer made of aluminum foil.
The best storage method for preventing that problem, the study found, was a bottle sealed with a screw-cap - which, like the cardboard carton, has some connoisseurs wrinkling their refined noses.
From France to Kansas City: foodborne illness in schools
Several headmasters from the Haute-Garonne and Tarn primary schools in France simultaneously informed the health authorities of the occurrence of digestive disorders of low severity among students.
A retrospective cohort study, conducted through self-administered questionnaires among approximately 3,000 students and teachers who had participated in two meals in 36 schools concerned, was initiated to confirm the existence of a foodborne outbreak and its origin. …
This large-scale foodborne outbreak illustrates the main factors that encourage the occurrence of foodborne outbreaks (multiple malfunctions in the preparation of meals), and stresses the importance of associating the epidemiological, veterinary and microbiological investigations in the early management of the alert, as well as the first management measures (eviction of sick personal) to avoid major consequences in collective catering.
Meanwhile in Missouri, two Lee's Summit kindergarten students have been hospitalized with salmonella.
The kids, a boy and a girl, have been enrolled in Richardson Kids Country during the school year. The Health Department has not determined if their illness is related to the school.
Hamburgers in France, steak tartare in the Netherlands linked to shiga-toxin E. coli
Epidemiological studies conducted in France show that beef burger consumption is the main risk factor of a serious disease caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli bacteria or STEC.
A quantitative risk assessment for the consumption of beef burgers containing STEC by the Agence Francaise De Securite Sanitaire Des Aliments concluded that almost 50% of children under the age of 5 eat well-done beef burgers (as well as 29% and 24% of 5-10 year olds and 10-15 year olds respectively). The proportion of beef burgers consumed rare increases with the children’s age: 10%, 17% then 20% for each of the age groups defined (under 5, 5-10 year olds and 10-15 year olds). Regarding the effectiveness of cooking (a frozen beef burger being pan-fried and turned over once), it should be noted that cooking “rare” is associated with a percentage of STEC destruction of 0% to 87% ; “medium” 37% to 96% and “well done” 94% to 99.8%. Concerning the consumption habits that prevail in French households today, these results highlight the importance of the length of cooking on STEC destruction (currently not enough), and the hygiene of beef burger production.
A place to start might be to accurately define what rare, medium and well-done actually mean, as quantified by time and temperature
Eurosurveillance reports that the Netherlands experienced a nationwide outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 with onset of symptoms from the end of December 2008 until the end of January 2009. A total of 20 laboratory-confirmed cases were linked to the outbreak strain, serotype O157: H-, stx1, stx2, eae and e-hly positive. The investigation into the source of this outbreak is still ongoing, but evidence so far suggests that infection occurred as a result of consuming contaminated raw meat (steak tartare).
Child stricken with HUS in France; link to frozen ground beef patties
Our French correspondent Albert forwarded a press release issued yesterday by the French Ministry of Health and Sports; Amy translated.
Following notification on February 11, 2009 to InVS (The French Institute for Public Health Surveillance) of a case of hemolytic uremic syndrome in a child who is hospitalized in the Parisian region, health authorities have begun an investigation to identify the source of contamination.
The tests done on the child indicated he or she was infected with E. coli.
Among the foods consumed was frozen ground beef patties on which tests were conducted. The results of these tests were relayed today to health authorities and demonstrated the presence of E. coli. The link between this case and the consumed food will only be confirmed after further testing which is currently in progress.
While waiting for those results, the authorities have asked the producer to proceed with a recall of CERGEL brand frozen ground beef patties sold in boxes of 10 with a best-by date of 10/31/09.
The health authorities are asking people who have bought these patties to not eat them and to return them to where they were purchased.
The Ministry also has some general advice, which seems a bit lacking, but maybe it got lost in translation.
Generally you are reminded that:
- Ground meat ordered at the butcher shop must be consumed that day and frozen ground meat must be used without any prior defrosting;
- Cooking the ground beef patties through to the center prevents the consequences of E. coli contamination. The bacteria is destroyed by a temperature of 65°C (149°F). Children and pregnant women should not consume rare meat.
- Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) is an illness most frequently originating in food, rare in France, and potentially serious for the very young and very old. It can cause acute renal insufficiency in children under the age of 3.
Watching the trainwreck that is diarrhea
There’s a certain appeal to trainspotting – or watching an impending trainwreck. It’s appalling and compelling at the same time. Ben and I went to a Sloan concert in Guelph several years ago and we wanted to leave they were so bad – and Sloan is usually great – but had to stay and watch where they would descend to next.
It was worth the wait.
Amy the French professor has a similar obsession. There’s some woman who writes a blog about her meaningless life in France and Amy is hooked. Amy finds this woman’s blog posts meaningless, facile and unbelievably stupid. And she reads it every day.
Recently, French blogger’s daughter had, as Ben likes to say, the squirts: diarrhea at daycare. Mom says, “Our daycare is pretty cool about letting her (diarrhea daughter) come.”
Diarrhea in a daycare is not a good thing, but hey, poop happens. Not so sure about the quality control when the kid’s runny poop ends up on the bandage of her finger that mom had accidentally attempted to sever using a bedroom door. Read the blog and it may make sense; or want to kill yourself.
Surprisingly, the newspaper in Pembroke, Ontario, near the Barry’s Bay cottage owned by the parents of my high school girlfriend, has some tips for kids with the squirts.
Prevent the spread of viruses. Clean your hands and your child's hands often, especially after using the toilet or changing a diaper. Use soap and warm water, or hand sanitizer. If hands are dirty, hand sanitizers won't work, you'll need to wash with soap and water first.
Amy and I have been changing a lot of diapers. We wash our hands. And despite some fantastically explosive messes, haven’t gotten baby shit on the kid’s fingers.
Botulism in Companeros enchiladas ... in France
I didn’t know French people had discovered enchiladas, and much less those you can buy in the grocery store. That’s one food I often crave when traveling for an extended period in France, and it’s my standby order at my first visit to any Mexican restaurant. But obviously someone in France is buying enchiladas because two people are now reported in serious but stable condition in a French hospital after eating Companeros brand chicken enchiladas. Several of the national ministries have issued a recall of all enchilada and fajita products from Companeros, regardless of the expiration date. Apparently the source of the Clostridium botulinum bacteria is not yet completely identified as the recall requests that people do not discard the meals. Instead, they should be returned to the store so that further analysis can take place.
In case you’re paranoid, like I am, about getting botulism or other illnesses, there are a few facts you should know…
- Symptoms occur on average between 6 and 36 hours (and not more than 15 days) after consumption of the contaminated food
- Botulism can cause serious complications such as paralysis and death
- Common symptoms include difficulty swallowing or speaking, facial weakness, double vision, trouble breathing, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and paralysis
- Botulism commonly grows at room temperature in an anaerobic environment – that means when food is deprived of air. Risky foods include potatoes left in aluminum foil at room temperature
- In 2006, 7 people were stricken due to botulism in bottled carrot juice
- Botulism cannot be transmitted between humans
Check out the FDA’s Bad Bug Book for more detailed botulism information.
French food porn - burger chic
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As French chefs have embraced the quintessentially American food, they have also made it their own, incorporating Gallic flourishes like cornichons, fleur de sel and fresh thyme. These attempts to translate the burger, or maybe even improve it, strongly suggest that it is here to stay.The story has a lot of food porn about $50 burgers and nothing about food safety. Or thermometers.
Frédérick Grasser-Hermé, consulting chef at the Champs-Élysées boîte Black Calvados, said,
“A hamburger is the architecture of taste par excellence. The meat needs to be a mix of fatty and lean. Not raw, not rare. It must be medium rare. At the same time the bread needs to be smooth, tepid, toasted on the sesame side. I like to brush the soft side with butter. There needs to be a crispy chiffonade of iceberg lettuce. Everything plays a role.”
Rare, medium-rare, these terms are too subjective. Use a thermometer, and stick it in.
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How to cook hamburger - more from France
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From cooking ”a hamburger to the center” (page 21) to “well-cooked” (page 12), the document is short on specifics, and absolutely wrong when speaking to an audience I particularly care about these days – pregnant women.“For sensitive consumers (pregnant women, children, the elderly…) eat any meat (beef, poultry, pork) “well done” (that is to say at 65°C = disappearance of pink color), and avoid the consumption of raw meat, of some cold cuts (charcuterie) or tripe product.” (p. 15)
The temperature – 65 C or 149 F – is too low for any ground meat or poultry, and simply does not equal the disappearance of pink.
Color is a lousy indicator of doneness. So is well-cooked, cooked to the center, and, as the Brits prefer, piping hot. Use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. And stick it in.
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Camembert Wars: if this is progress, I'll take mine pasteurized
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The AFP is reporting today that “real” camembert makers can rejoice. In addition to reducing the geographic boundaries of the camembert region, now the only camembert makers that will be recognized with the prestigious AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) label will: - use only raw milk;The grazing restrictions are new to the AOC conditions. I find them particularly surprising as research has shown that grass-fed or not, all cows can carry E. coli O157:H7.
- have at least half of the cows providing the milk from Normandy origin; and,
- ensure that their cows graze on Normandy pastures for at least 6 months of the year and fed hay the remainder of the time.
The “real camembert” supporters apparently found the decision to be “undeniable progress.” Lactalis and Isigny-Sainte-Mère, two large companies that previously produced more than 80% of AOC Camembert, decided last year to begin heat-treating their milk as a safety measure.
Francophiles, can read today's original story for themselves. The French clearly articulate that the raw milk camembert has a velvety taste compared to the pasteurized version, but that the traditional methods are more onerous because they require various testing measures to avoid pathogens such as listeria. According to my favorite food safety advisor, you cannot test your way to safe food. The new and improved camembert will have enhanced risks.
Color is crap -- no matter what the French government says
Amy translated parts of the document, which stated,“I would especially like to point out the simple method of control described in the memo that consists of visually verifying that the meat is no longer pink in the center to assure that the temperature range is respected.”
Amy's best translation of another part of the document is:
Cooking the ground beef patties through to the center eliminates the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. This method of cooking can be considered as a kill-step according to the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA). This corresponds to an internal temperature of 65 C. While elaborating control procedures for the cooking temperature of ground beef patties, a simple method for assuring that the temperature range is sufficiently respected is to visually verify that the meat is no longer pink in the center. This can provide a sure and practical control procedure for personnel preparing the meals in institutions that do not have means to continually measure the internal temperature of finished products.
It is important to make the food service staff aware of these measures that allow the prevention of the risks of E. coli O157:H7. These measures are not incompatible with the good quality of the dishes served.
If eating habits cause certain French consumers to prefer ground beef patties that are pink in the center, recent organoleptic studies seem to indicate that the taste for rare meat develops with age and that young children appreciate well-done meat. The same has been found by a recent ad hoc study recently directed by a committee from the AFSSA.
Color is a lousy indicator of doneness in all kinds of meat, especially hamburger. The references are all here, along with a video.
Stick it in. Use a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer.
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Hamburgers contaminated by E. coli O157:H7 in France
Amy, the French professor partner took a crack at this one:
"On March 25, 2008 the press conference held by DGS, DGAL, InVS and AFSSA made precisions on the available information on the contamination of hamburger by the bacteria E. coli O157:H7 on which the shelf life has expired.
This outbreak was revealed by analyses that were undertaken at the producer’s initiative, conforming to communal and national hygiene rules.
It remained to be clarified the levels of contamination of these products because the first analyses were conducted without a microbial count. The official count analyses performed on the same hamburgers confirmed an important contamination on two samples and a weaker one on two others.
Since beginning informing consumers on March 21, 2008, there have been no human cases confirmed tied to this outbreak. In specific, no hemolytic uremic syndrome cases have been found.
Recommendations for consumers:
You are reminded that if you bought or are storing in your freezer the lots of hamburgers in question (fresh ground steak or ground meat, 5-15% fat, Monoprix or Carrefour brands, expiration date March 17 or 18, 2008, sanitary check number FR 50.147.02), you are formally recommended to not consume them and to bring them back to the store where you bought them.
In case digestive problems arise within a maximum of 10 days after consumption of the hamburgers from the incriminated lots, you are recommended to consult your physician and indicate your consumption to him."
And in what I've learned to love about the French, the press release says,
If you have not consumed any of the hamburgers from the incriminated lots or i
f you have no symptoms, it is useless to worry or to consult anyone.The release also says to cook hamburger to the center. Whatever that means. What is French for piping hot?
Generally, it is advisable to remember that cooking the hamburgers through to the center prevents the consequences of such an outbreak, as the bacteria are destroyed by a temperature of 65°C.
Here's our advice.
'Real Camembert' wins war against pasteurized posers
Two of France’s top lait cru Camembert producers, Lactalis and Isigny-Sainte-Mère, announced last year they were forgoing the status of “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée” and switching to cheese made exclusively with heat-treated micro-filtered milk (not quite pasteurized but still an affront to purists).Lactilis’ spokesperson, Luc Morelon said that although they recognize the importance of Camembert traditions, they’re making the change,
“[b]ecause consumer safety is paramount, and we cannot guarantee it 100 per cent. We cannot accept the risk of seeing our historic brands disappearing because of an accident in production."
In response to his critics Morelon added,
“I don't want to risk sending any more children to hospital. It's as simple as that."
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Lactalis and Isigny-Sainte-Mere had argued for dropping the requirement that raw milk be used in the production of Camember to qualify for the AOC label.Doggy Dining
Pictured: Restaurant in Nîmes, FranceIn France dining with your dog is a part of every day life. Dogs go in restaurants, grocery stores, and even on trains with their owners. The other night at dinner at a table next to us, a couple sat with their ‘tween son and a tiny doggy that they passed from person to person until the food came. Then he was expected to sit calmly under the chair. He started yelping quickly afterwards when a very big dog came wondering around the restaurant’s terrace looking for handouts (see above photo).
We are the owners of two dogs and two cats who live with us in Kansas. Our lives would be more convenient if we could live like the French and both walk our dogs and sit in restaurants with them on the patio. We used to be able to do this at one of our favorite restaurants in Manhattan, but the management there recently changed and they told us we would have to attach the dogs on the outside of the railing rather than have them at the table with us. They even brought us cups of water for the pooches so they wouldn’t get too hot. Sadie, who was a puppy at the time, dug up their herb garden, and we decided we’d better leave.
Around the same time that rule changed last fall, a reporter called Doug and asked what he thought about the doggy dining laws in Florida. My reaction was that I would frequent a restaurant that allowed me to bring my dog, but if I were a restaurant owner, I would not allow dogs on the patio. Beyond the liability issues of “What if a customer’s dog bit one of my staff or other clients?” I see people do all sorts of strange things with their pets. I confess, I too am guilty of letting my dog lick my plate, but some people even share their food while they’re eating it. As a restaurant owner, knowing I am liable if someone gets sick in my restaurant, and knowing that dogs do often eat poop and live to …err.. tell about it, I wouldn’t trust that a customer wouldn’t sue me for their E. coli poisoning if they got sick from their dog’s germs. The U.S. has strict liability laws when it comes to food safety. If I served the food with poop, I’d be hard pressed to prove where it came from.
