Listeria causes illness in fetuses, infants, at much lower dose than previously thought
Chapman is here in Manhattan (Kansas) for a couple days, delivering a seminar later today, hanging out at the Missouri-Kansas State football game tomorrow, and primarily helping plot our research and extension activities for the next few years.
We’ve both sired offspring in the past year-and-a-bit, so the issue of listeria and pregnant women has been a recurring theme – on barfblog.com, in research proposals, and in our microbiological nerd discussions.
Researchers from the University of Georgia reported in the journal, Risk Analysis, this month, that pregnant women may get ill from Listeria at lower doses than previously thought.
The risk of fetal or infant mortality among pregnant women who consume food containing 1 million cells of the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes in soft cheeses and other food is estimated at about 50 percent, suggesting five stillbirths potentially could occur when 10 pregnant women are exposed to that amount.
A previous risk assessment estimated more than 10 trillion cells would result in stillbirths to 50 percent of pregnant women exposed, researchers said.
"We're not saying there's a new epidemic here, we're suggesting we've come up with a more accurate method of measuring the risk and how this deadly bacteria impacts humans, especially the most medically vulnerable among us," study co-author Mary Alice Smith of the University of Georgia said in a statement.
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When estimates are extrapolated from data in tests on laboratory animals, the results showed "Listeriosis is likely occurring from exposure to lower doses than previously estimated," Smith said.
That’s a convoluted way of saying Listeria happens, and it’s probably more deadly than anyone thought for developing babies. Given the ridiculously low levels of awareness amongst physicians, health professionals and expectant mothers, new messages using a variety of media are needed so parents-to-be are at least aware of the risks of certain refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated approximately 2,500 cases of Listeriosis occur annually in the United States, with about 500 cases resulting in death. In 2000, Listeria exposure resulted in a higher rate of hospitalization than any other food-borne pathogen and more than one-third of reported deaths from food pathogens, the CDC says.
Ground beef recall linked to cluster of E. coli O157 illnesses in New England
USDA FSIS has announced a recall of 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and distributed in seven states. According to FSIS, the product has been linked to a cluster of illnesses in New England.
There are quite a few recalls going on most of the time; this one is notable because this product has been linked to an outbreak of illnesses at a camp in Massachusetts. It's also notable because bulk amounts of the product were shipped down the East Coast for further processing. Retail outlets receiving some of this product include Shaw, Giant, Price Chopper,Trader Joe's, BJs and others.
From the press release:
"Products for further processing:
Cases of 10-pound "FAIRBANK FARMS FRESH GROUND BEEF CHUBS."
Each case bears the establishment number "EST. 492" inside the USDA mark of inspection; has package dates of "09.14.09," "09.15.09," or "09.16.09;" and sell-by dates of "10.3.09," "10.4.09," or "10.5.09. These products were distributed to retail establishments in Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia for further processing. However, these products at retail will likely not bear the package dates and sell-by dates listed above. Customers with concerns should contact their point of purchase."(2).jpg)
It is unlikely that any of the product is still being sold fresh at retail stores (the best-if-sold-before dates range from mid-September to early October) but it's likely that the affected beef is still around in freezers. The meat juices from thawing can provide a nice vehicle for pathogen transfer.
Stick it in with a tip-sensitive digital thermometer (in multiple spots) to ensure that ground beef has reached a safe temperature and be vigilant in containing meat juices when thawing frozen meats. Juicy is good, nasty meat juice spread around the kitchen isn't.
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.
Cats shouldn't hang out in supermarket meat cases
Cats like meat.
Even though we live in central Manhattan (Kansas), there’s a small greenbelt behind the house and we’ve had visitors such as deer, turkeys, and yesterday, a fox.
The raccoons, squirrels, birds and rabbits are everywhere.
My two black cats have had happy hunting since our 2006 arrival, and left me a pair of lucky rabbits feet the other day (the two black ones, as kittens in this pic, from 2003; the other one, named Lucky, wasn’t so lucky).
Because cats like meat, it’s a good idea to keep them out of supermarkets, especially those with a butcher shop, or a meat case with open doors.
A colleague sent along this video of a cat in a meat case in a supermarket, apparently, according to readers’ comments, in St. Petersburgh, Russia. Not good supermarket food safety practices.
Hamburger, meat and foodborne illness. Who's to blame? And how do petting zoos fit into this worldview
Amy is a carnivore. First time I went to dinner at her place, almost four years ago, we couldn’t decide what to eat. Eventually, Amy said, let’s go to the supermarket, get a couple of steaks, and grill at home.
I was in love.
Amy’s grill (right) served us well, but the years took its toll. So we splurged and got a new BBQ – the Weber Genesis -- which I used for the first time last night. Whenever we get a new car, or grill, or pretty much anything, since I insist on owning things for 10 years until they are completely spent, I marvel at the technological advances. It was awesome.
We grill meat and vegetables pretty much every day. And maybe it’s not so cool after last weeks tragic story of E. coli O157:H7 victim Stephanie Smith, but we eat hamburgers – make them at home from ground beef and turkey.
The news is confusing: The N.Y. Times feature by Michael Moss that started the latest round of confusion said hamburger trim was mixed together from all sorts of places and no one wanted to test for E. coli O157:H7 (that’s what happens with a zero tolerance policy; don’t test, don’t tell). Subsequently the Times said in an editorial that the only way to be safe was to cook hamburger to shoe leather, and former Centers for Disease Control-type, Richard Bessler told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America the only way to cook meat safely is to "cook it to the point where most people wouldn't want to eat it."
Former U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Food Safety, Richard Raymond, responded on his blog that the Times story simplified a few things about testing and mixing, and that, “raw meat and raw poultry should not be considered to be pathogen free—ever.”
Then yesterday, the Minnesotans, home of Cargill, tried to poke a few more holes in the Times story.
Craig Hedberg, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota, said,
“Testing of product, either raw materials or finished products, is something that has limited usefulness. We can’t test every square inch of an animal’s carcass to see if there’s bacteria present … it just would be too expensive.”
I’m not sure who we is, and playing cost off against human health is never a good tactic.
Ryan Cox, professor of meat science at the University of Minnesota said,
“If you were to go into a modern meat facility, it looks very similar to a surgical suite in a hospital.”
Especially with the sick people.
Cox explained that meat industry practices are so stringently regulated that “to infer in some way that we have an unsafe system would be certainly an error.”
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Pete Nelson , who spent 35 years running a USDA-inspected facility, defended the multiple sourcing used by large processing plants. He cited the need for a steady supply of beef in case an individual slaughterhouse is not able to deliver on time, as well as the need for a variety of meats to ensure consistency. …
Both Nelson and Cox said consumers have an important role in food safety, especially in the handling and cooking of raw meats.
“We both agree on the fact that there really wouldn’t have been much of a story to begin with, particularly with the instance [The New York Times] cited with the food sickness, if the product had been cooked to the correct internal temperature.
Ouch. Blame the consumer. USDA stopped that in 1994.
Cross-contamination is a serious issue, as repeatedly pointed out on this blog and in our research, and that’s why pathogen loads have to be reduced as much as possible before entering a further processing plant, a restaurant, a grocery store or someone’s kitchen. And then, as Raymond says, never assume meat – or any raw food – is pathogen free. Same with animals. Those 90 kids that got sick with E. coli O157:H7 at a petting zoo in the U.K. weren’t dealing with meat from different sources.
And no one has to cook to shoe leather. Meat thermometers can help, and stick it in until 160F for hamburger.
Our steaks were a delicious 125F, climbing to about 135F over time.
Horse meat increasingly on the menu in Florida
I still miss my hockey friend Steve. His tales were – and still are -- so outrageous, his job with the provincial government so boring, and his life with four kids on the farm near Guelph so … comical?
I know he misses me because he can’t find reliable goaltending – and the faculty team hasn’t won the annual tournament since my shattered nerves backstopped the team to victory in 2005, despite Naylor’s total lack of defense.
He was defense in name only.
At one point Steve and his wife had 19 horses. He used to say that it started out, every time they had another kid, the wife got another horse.
Steve had four kids, not 19.
He’s been cutting back on the horses over the past few years, but not in the way they are doing it in Florida,
Today’s USA Today reports that South Florida is seeing a jump in the horse meat market as restaurants quietly serve up the illicit fare, butchers provide it to trustworthy customers and police officers find slaughtered horse carcasses on roadsides.
At least 17 butchered horse carcasses have been found in Miami-Dade County this year, the highest annual number ever recorded in the county and the year is not over, said Detective Edna Hernandez.
Richard "Kudo" Couto of the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. – and I have no idea why his handle is Kudo -- said there has long been an underground market for illicit horse meat, mostly in the rural areas of South Florida. In recent years, sales have become more widespread, he said.
He said some butchers in Miami have stolen frozen horse meat in their stores for trustworthy customers. Sometimes the meat is sold in neighborhoods out of coolers.
N.Y. students suspended for raw-meat hazing
These girls probably failed biology.
The existing members of the girls' varsity soccer team at a high school in Lewiston, New York thought they would say hello and congratulations by hurling raw meat at the new team members and covering their hair in flour and eggs.
Besides being a waste of perfectly good meat, the risks of cross-contamination with E. coli or Salmonella or something is fairly large.
Lewiston is about 25 miles north of Buffalo.
Simply Recipes explains how to use fingers to test if meat is cooked (total BS)
In the expanding category of really bad food safety advice is this entry from Simply Recipes:
There are two basic methods to test for how done your meat is while you are cooking it - use a meat thermometer, or press on the meat with your finger tips. The problem with the meat thermometer approach is that when you poke a hole into the meat with a thermometer, it can let juices escape, juices that you would rather have stay in the meat. For this reason, most experienced cooks rely on a "finger test" method, especially on steaks (whole roasts are better tested with a thermometer).
For example, the story explains that to test for raw: Open the palm of your hand. Relax the hand. Take the index finger of your other hand and push on the fleshy area between the thumb and the base of the palm. Make sure your hand is relaxed. This is what raw meat feels like.
There’s more. This is what Johnny Cash and I think (below). Stick it in. Use a thermometer.
Thanks to another barfblog.com reader for the tip.
Bunny burgers
Kevin Nealon is great on Weeds and he’s great on this 1994 television pilot: Bunny Burgers.
Eat Me Daily writes that to see "just how low American marketers would go to help us to get a completely ridiculous to your shopping mall," they designed stationary, made a 24-page business plan, hired an actor to play the Japanese billionaire investor, and lured PR flacks to the Ritz Carlton to see if they wanted to represent the company. They ran focus groups and rented a store in a mall in New Jersey, offering bunny burgers to unsuspecting customers, complete with hot pink uniforms and creepy bunny mascot. Said one of the people in the mall: "Who dreamed up this name? It's like trying to sell Bambi burgers, you know?"
The bunnies are eating the beans in my all-natural garden; the cats need to be more vigilant.
"Yummy yummy got bunny in my tummy / It's the Bunny Burger taste sensation / Kinda like chicken / Kinda like roast beef / Pledge allegiance to the Bunny Burger nation / They love it in France / Come and give it a chance / Bunny Burger.
Street meat (and other roadside dishes) on the rise
Last week, the Wall Street Journal profiled street food vendors throughout the U.S. highlighting the popularity of mobile/temporary/cart foods. It appears that the segment of foodservice is increasing in popularity as consumers want more than just hot dogs and sausages. Many of the operators profiled by WSJ have online ordering, text message support and tweet (on twitter) to better connect with customers and provide speed and convenience.
With more complex foods (other than just reheating cooked meats) comes more complicated (and potentially risky) preparation and handling steps. Multiple raw ingredients need to be kept at the right temperature, operators have to avoid cross-contamination and, keep bacteria and viruses off of their hands. All within the confines of a cart or trailer.
Operators must know (and care) about the risks associated with the products they sell. Health inspectors are part of the solution, but a good street vendor manages the risks before the inspector points them out.
The WSJ also reported back in April that the strictly street meat industry is booming as well-- hot dog cart sales for some manufactures have doubled..jpg)
Sales of carts, which start at about $2,000 new, have heated up in the past year. "Every model is...taking off," says Joel Goetz, owner of American Dream Hot Dog Carts Inc. in St. Petersburg, Fla. Since January, he has sold about 25 carts a week, 15 more than usual.
"Business is really off the charts," says Dan Jackson, a division manager at Nation's Leasing Services in Newbury Park, Calif. Leases for hot-dog carts account for about three-quarters of sales, and revenue is triple what it was this time a year ago, he says.
Some of the problems that can arise with mobile vendors were exemplified by the good folks at Seattle & King Co. Health. The Seattle Times reports that the health authorities closed a bistro-style mobile restaurant (which was profiled in the WSJ piece), operated out of an Airstream trailer by Skillet Street Food, after finding several health code violations.
The department found several issues — including no water in the hand-washing area, no cold storage for food and no arrangements for restrooms — and shut it down.
The trailer also reportedly didn't have a license to operate (while a sister trailer, which remained open, did).
In a follow-up article, chef-owner Josh Henderson tried to explain the situation:
"We have one trailer not fully approved," explained Henderson as he readied for tonight's game. "The original trailer people see every day was having some mechanical issues, so we were forced to bring out the one that's not approved."
Forced?
"We signed a contract with the Mariners for the season, saying we'll be out in that lot." It was a choice between not operating and potentially having a breach of contract, he said, or not having a permit for the night and hoping they could get away with it. "We made a bad choice."
Henderson went on to say:
"We're a young business. We've invested money. We're struggling to pay bills. We don't have deep pockets and large investors. When it comes down to paying payroll and operating a business, sometimes these risks are outweighed by other stuff. That's the reality."
Yeah, not so sure that potentially making a bunch of people sick so you can honor the terms of your contract the best risk to take. If something goes wrong you're probably out of business (and not fulfilling that contract with the Mariners).
Stop tweeting, get some water and wash your hands.
Are disposable gloves necessary to prepare meat in a home kitchen?
Food is marketed as 21st century snake oil -- a veritable sideshow of hucksters and buskers, flogging their wares to the highest bidder or at least the most fashionable.
And never underestimate the ability of American industry to make a buck off a trend. In this case, it’s food safety, and keeping those nasty bugs away from clean hands.
A colleague passed along this picture of the latest kitchen necessity – Playtex Disposable Gloves, to “Handle raw meat, poultry and seafood with confidence.”
But just like in food service, gloves can provide a false sense of security. Doesn’t matter whether someone is wearing gloves or not, they scratch their ass and cross-contamination is a possibility.
It goes both ways.
If I’m wearing these things while preparing my raw meat, and baby Sorenne or the dogs or Amy demands attention, I may forget I’m wearing bacterial-laden gloves and cross-contaminate.
Reminds me of 2002 when some PR type contacted me to see if I’d endorse Saran Cutting Sheets. These were the new thing, a way to reduce cross-contamination through disposable cutting sheets. The manufacturers commissioned a survey in Oct. 2002 that allegedly found that 65 per cent of Canadians are concerned about food poisoning and nearly as many, 62 per cent, feel they know how to prevent it.
After asking why anyone would want me to endorse anything, me and the PR person had a chat about the human behavior research they had done to verify that people wouldn’t cross-contaminate on these disposable sheets. They hadn’t done any such research, but insisted they knew how all Canadians would handle the new product.
I also said the sheets were unnecessary for the typical kitchen, ad the PR type assured me the sheets were for times when soap, water and cutting boards weren’t readily available, like camping.
I said, maybe there was a role for the things in such situations but without the consumer behavior research, I wasn’t endorsing anything.
When the TV blitz began, with some celebrity chef, the tagline was, Saran Cutting Sheets – No Kitchen is Complete Without Them.
Maple Lodge to market food safety on deli meats; will Maple Leaf follow?
Maple Lodge Farms is Canada's largest independent chicken processor and I’ve been to the slaughter plant in Brampton, Ontario. With all the Maple Leaf listeria stuff over the past eight months, Maple Lodge has been sorta quiet.
Until today.
Maple Lodge chief executive officer Michael Burrows unveiled a new high-pressure method of killing listeria and other bacteria in sliced luncheon meats after the package is sealed. The process applies water under extremely high pressure to the packaged product, has no adverse impact on the product itself, and has been approved by Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
So Maple Leaf, using that newfangled blogging technology, responded by saying Maple Leaf Foods was an early adopter of Ultra High Pressure (UHP) technology in Canada and began using it in Maple Leaf Simply Fresh entree products when they were introduced more than two years ago, in a bunch of other products, and will look at using it in deli meat if it can provide added food safety assurance to consumers.
Maple Leaf, seriously, you need better writers.
But this is what I like about the Maple Lodge approach:
They came out and said internal research showed consumer demand for higher levels of food safety has risen sharply in the past year, and that consumers would be willing to pay a premium of 1-2 cents per 100 grams of product to get it.
Maybe, consumers will say anything on a survey but vote with their money at checkout.
But Maple Lodge is going to label the stuff with a" SafeSure" sticker and market food safety at retail.
Good for them. Rather than lecturing consumers, let them choose. At checkout.
Stick a thermometer in cheap, stinky meat
The quest for discounted groceries has hit the news again with South Carolina news reporter Larry Collins asking,
“Stores slash prices about 50% - 60% on meat when it is nearing the date on the packaging. But, is that food safe to eat?”
According to registered dietitian Charlotte Caperton-Kilburn, such meat is typically safe to consume as long as you cook or freeze it as soon as you bring it home… and it smells okay.
“If the meat smells even remotely strange it should be returned to the store or thrown away,” Caperton-Kilburn told the news station.
In Ireland, Darina Allen wrote in an opinion piece for the Irish Examiner that, just the other night, she found a vac-packed duck in the back of her fridge that smelled “good and high.” Rather than throw it out, she “gave it a good wash inside and out and rubbed a bit of salt into the skin and roasted it.”
Her guests said it was delicious.
Allen reminisced about life before modern conveniences like electric refrigeration and explained, “We learned from our mothers how to judge with our senses whether food was safe.” She asserted that, “in just a few years, many people have lost the ability to judge for themselves when food is safe to eat.”
While most groceries sold in the US have a date consumers can read and use, the USDA only requires manufacturers of infant formula and baby food to determine and display a “Use by” date on their products—and this is mainly for the sake of ensuring nutrient quality. The others are voluntary and only describe when the food will probably taste best. Assessing safety is still up to the consumer.
Modern technologies like stamped dates and color-changing barcodes can help consumers with that assessment, as can the senses of sight and smell. The most reliable safeguard, though, is cooking to a temperature that studies have found will effectively kill pathogens. For poultry, this is 165F.
Chefs may tell you to use your senses to figure temperature, too, but only by using a tip-sensitive digital thermometer can you know for sure. It’s the consumer’s choice, as always, but I’d rather be sure than be positive for salmonella.
Sewing needles in Maple Leaf meats
In what appears to be an isolated incident, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Loblaw Companies Limited are warning the public after 50 mm sewing needles were found in certain luncheon meat kits and wieners at the No Frills Store located on Silvercreek Parkway in Guelph, Ontario. That’s in Canada.
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).
Creator of the Kebab (or donair, the after-bar street meat) dies
Following up on my last post on the passing of the dude who helped create the microwave (and indirectly, caused lots of illnesses in Minnesota) there's news out of Germany that the creator of the kebab (or donair as it's known in Halifax or Calgary) has passed away.
Mahmut Aygün, snack visionary and dab hand with a meat carver, has died of cancer at the age of 87, almost 40 years after permanently changing the drunken dining habits of millions.
The chef was born in Turkey but later moved to Germany in the hope of one day opening his own restaurant. He was serving customers at a snack stall when it dawned on him that kebab meat – a mix of roasted lamb and spices traditionally eaten with rice – could be served differently.
'I thought how much easier it would be if they could take their food with them,' he once said.
(in celebration of the Conchords returning to HBO -- the line "I'll buy you a kebab" is at 2:11)
Donairs have been linked to at least three outbreaks of E.coli O157 in Alberta since 2004. Outbreak investigators found that the cooking practices traditionally used in kebabs and donairs, rotating a cone of meat around a heat source, were problematic. Often, especially in the post-bar-closing rush, the heat sources are turned up so the outside of the cone gets scorched, but meat just below the surface doesn't reach safe temperatures (because it's being cut off quickly to meet the customer demands). The cooking practice, along with the tendency for the meat cones to be made with ground meat and stored frozen can cause a perfect outbreak scenario.
And then cause the squirts. Or worse.
In response to the outbreaks a national committee was created in Canada to look at the risks associated with the food. The group recommended that donairs/kebabs/shawarmas/street-meat-on-a-stick should be grilled after cutting off the cone to ensure pathogen-killing temps. Good call.
I'm all for donairs and street meat. Or 
late-night chinese food. Basically anything heavy and greasy tastes good after a few beers, but the places serving them have to know the risks associated with what they are serving, and where things might go wrong. Public health officials and food safety folks need to help businesses with this. If you don't know what could go wrong, you shouldn't be serving it.
Here's a food safety infosheet on donairs from a couple of years ago.
Raccoon: the other dark meat
When I was 17-years-old, my friend Dave and I hitchhiked to Grand Bend, Ontario, on Lake Huron, to go camping for a few days.
A camping neighbor went into town and bought us four cases of beer – for a fee. We asked for Pleasure Packs – Molson Canadian and Export – and he came back with something else. It contained a beer called 50. Horrible, horrible beer.
But we drank it.
I won’t go into all the sordid details – girlfriends visiting and not being happy, sleeping with the American girls, the dead raccoon – but we got kicked out of the park and then rechecked in under another name.
Did I mention the dead raccoon?
We didn’t eat it.
But I didn’t know about Missouri back then.
The Kansas City Star reported this morning,
He rolls into the parking lot of Leon's Thriftway in an old, maroon Impala with a trunk full of frozen meat. Raccoon — the other dark meat.
In five minutes, Montrose, Mo., trapper Larry Brownsberger is sold out in the lot at 39th Street and Kensington Avenue. Word has gotten around about how clean his frozen raccoon carcasses are. How nicely they’re tucked up in their brown butcher paper. How they almost look like a trussed turkey … or something.
Seriously, Dave and I drove a 1972 Impala to Grand Bend.
Raccoons go for $3 to $7 — each, not per pound — and will feed about five adults. Four, if they’re really hungry.
Those who dine on raccoon meat sound the same refrain: It's good eatin'. …
The meat isn’t USDA-inspected, and few state regulations apply, same as with deer and other game. No laws prevent trappers from selling raccoon carcasses.
Canadian listeria coverage still sucks
Daughter Braunwynn returned to Ontario last night after a great visit.
Her super-sweet 16 is less than two weeks away, so during lunch on Sunday with Amy and Sorenne and Bob, we asked what she might be studying at university (not a fair question cause I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up).
She mentioned science, psychology, maybe journalism – she liked writing.
Amy and I sorta jumped, saying that if she wanted to write, then write, and that maybe J-school wasn’t the best place to learn writing.
I teach a journalism class on food safety reporting, but there’s not much to teach: writers write, and just like scientists, they need to ask the right questions.
Braunwynn, the 15-year-old, gets it; Canadian journalists covering Michael McCain, Maple Leaf and listeria? Not so much.
There are exceptions, like Rob Cribb at the Star, but a couple of holiday puff pieces stood out. On Jan. 4, 2009, the Canadian Press correctly noted that the Canadian government has not yet named the leader of a promised probe into the listeriosis outbreak that killed 20 people -- a lag critics say discredits an already suspect process.
But then they go on to excessively quote the union dude who thinks that inspectors with beer-like listeria googles are the solution. He represents the food inspectors union. Of course he wants more inspectors. As new NC State professorial thingy Ben wrote, more inspectors is not the answer.
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Then there’s the researchers. They always want more research. And new technology. Oh, and to blame consumers. Because you know, consumers are the weak link when it comes to ready-to-eat deli meats. And when the researcher making such public proclamations is an advisor to Maple Leaf, that should be disclosed. Journalism 101. I’m sure glad my previously pregnant wife didn’t rely on your expert advice.
Bert Mitchell had it right the other day when he wrote that while Michael McCain has been gathering year–end goodwill for his handling of the Maple Leaf listeria outbreak, “it is too early for applause. Effective long term solutions have not been put in place.”
For the budding journalists, there are still basic questions to be answered, questions that have nothing to do with more research, more inspectors, a public inquiry or any other narrow special interest, but questions that may help prevent any future unnecessary deaths of 20 people and unnecessary illness of hundreds if not thousands of people:
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• who knew what when;
• why aren’t listeria test results publically available; and,
• if listeria is everywhere, why aren’t there warnings for vulnerable populations?
Separation of church and state: monkey meat needs permit
A federal judge in Brooklyn has rejected a Liberian woman's religious reasons for smuggling endangered monkey meat into the U.S. and ruled Wednesday that Mamie Manneh's faith didn't preclude her from applying for permits to import exotic food or explain why she misled officials.
Manneh was charged with smuggling the meat three years ago after customs agents seized a shipment of primate parts as it passed through Kennedy Airport on the way to her home in Staten Island.
Manneh's lawyers claimed a First Amendment right, arguing that some Liberian Christians eat monkey meat for spiritual reasons.
Condom found in meat in Florida
WCTC reports that Patricia Gibson says she bought a package of meat from an IGA food store in Quincy, Florida, on Wednesday, and on Saturday afternoon when she opened the package, she found a condom embedded in her container of packed pigs feet.
After family members agreed, Gibson called the manager of IGA, and told him what she'd found.
She says the manager asked her "what he was supposed to do about it?"
Angry, Gibson called the Havana Police Department.
"This, that's a serious health issue. I mean, what if people are buying other packages of meat, and something like that's ground up in it? That's not right. That's disgusting."
The manager of IGA says pigs feet are packaged in house, but he says there's no way a condom could be in his meat, saying he is certain his employees are not engaging in any sexual activity in the meat department.
Havana police secured the evidence at Gibson's home in Havana, and told her to contact the Health Department so the state may do a thorough investigation of IGA's food preparation.
Meat served at firefighter's fundraiser source of E. coli O157:H7; sickens 27
Pamela Sage told California’s Contra Costa Times that it's hard to believe tri-tip served at a Sept. 6 benefit barbecue to support volunteer firefighters made at least 27 people sick with E. coli O157:H7.
Sage said if the bacteria really did come from the meat or other food served at the event, she and the other firefighters would be glad to take responsibility for it, but the meat was handled with great care, meat thermometers were used to ensure it was done, and it was served with tongs. Sage also said the Public Health Department had acted irresponsibly in identifying the tri-tip as the source of the bacteria when officials still weren't sure.
That was two weeks ago.
On Monday, Butte County Public Health confirmed that E. coli O157:H7 grown form leftover samples of the tri-tip meat were a genetic match with samples from sick people.
Epidemiology remains a powerful tool.
Dr. Mark Lundberg, Butte County health officer said it's still not known how the cooked meat became contaminated, and it may never be known.
Food preparers at the event had the right equipment and, according to interviews, seemed to do everything right, he said, but obviously something went wrong.
When large amounts of food are prepared there is the potential for contamination, he said. It's possible the cooked meat came into contact with juices from the raw meat. Or possibly, he said, someone who helped prepare the food was sick and didn't wash his or her hands properly.
Bill Marler says an intact cut like tri-tip could became contaminated during the tenderizing process.
It's summertime and dirty dog is on the menu in Seoul
From July 15 to 18, 2008 Seoul City has conducted a four-day intensive inspection on the restaurants selling dog meat.
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The inspection by the city was done for the first time since 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics when most dog meat restaurants in the capital were forced to close or to move out of the city.The spokesperson of the Seoul city, however, said that the control over the dog meat restaurant is far from approval of dog meat.
Koreans are known to enjoy dog meats particularly during the sweltering summer days. In Seoul area alone there are some 6,000 restaurants selling dog meat.
Annually 2 million dogs are butchered for the human consumption in South Korea.
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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Sex, chocolate and meat best for the brain
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that plenty of sex, dark chocolate and cold meats are the latest keys to boosting your brain power, according to a new book published in BritainTerry Horne and Simon Wootton, authors of Teach Yourself: Train Your Brain, contend their recommendations are based on various chemical reactions within the body brought on by certain activities, and that those who want to stop their brain deteriorating should avoid watching TV soap operas, smoking cannabis and mixing with moaners.
While sex, dark chocolate and eating cold meats for breakfast top the list for the best ways to keep the brain fit, cuddling babies, cheating at homework, doing a business degree and reading out loud are also recommended.
"Mix with people who make you laugh, have a good sense of humour or who share the same interests as you and avoid people who whinge, whine and complain as people who are negative will make you depressed."
I'll add in berries and beer.
Most recalled meat is never recovered
Apparently, most of that meat is either eaten, or never recovered.
That's what Julie Schmit and Barbara Hansen concluded in USA Today today, after a review of recall data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.For 73 meat recalls this year and last, recovery rates per recall averaged 44%, but for five recalls that followed reports of consumer illness, recovery rates per recall averaged just 20%.
Kenneth Petersen, USDA assistant administrator, said that recalls spawned by reports of illness have low recovery rates because weeks or months can pass between when a product is produced, someone gets sick and illness is linked with food; recalls resulting from the USDA's product testing tend to result in higher recovery rates.
There have been 54 meat recalls this year, up from 34 last year. For the most recent recalls, recovery rates are not yet available.
To get more consumers to check homes for recalled meats, the USDA next year plans to publicize names of retailers selling meat that was later recalled.
The story explains that on Sept. 29, Topps Meat recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen hamburger because of potential contamination with the deadly E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. The recall, the second-biggest ever for ground beef, was well publicized. Still, New Jersey officials found 141 boxes of recalled burgers in 12 state stores about a month after the recall. Some retailers said they didn't know about the recall, says New Jersey consumer affairs spokesman Jeff Lamm.
Recall fatigue is becoming a serious issue. In July, USA Today reported that retailers have been slow to pull Castleberry's products that may be infected with botulism.
As I said in July, public communications about recalls need to be much more than a press release -- they must be rapid, reliable, repeated and relevant, and that the produce outbreaks of 2006 marked significant changes in how stories were being told using Internet-based networking like YouTube, wikipedia, and blogs.
Safest meat in the world -- especially in pot pies
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While introducing a Senate motion to block the movement of older Canadian cattle into the U.S., U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) couldn't help himself and played the "safest meat in the world" card."American beef is the safest in the world, but increased importation of higher risk Canadian beef and cattle would undermine the confidence of our trading partners and cause further damage to our domestic beef industry."
Observers said it was doubtful the motion would pass.
U.S. has safest meat in the world; outbreaks increase
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I don't know much about farm bills and state versus federal inspection. But claims that,
"U.S. consumers enjoy the safest meat and poultry products in the world,"
especially as E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks in the U.S. appear on the rise and more sick people are identified in Wisconsin, seems to be the height of hubris.
But that's what Ron de Yong, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture, wrote in the Montana Billings Gazette this morning.
An outdated federal law prohibits state-inspected plants from selling products across state lines despite a provision in the law that requires these plants to have safety standards that equal or exceed those of USDA-inspected facilities. …
There are many reasons to abolish the 1967 prohibition on interstate shipments of state-inspected meat. … Enabling interstate sales of state-inspected meat and poultry will provide economic fairness and open markets. New marketing opportunities not only will benefit producers, processors and small businesses, but also will give consumers more choices at the supermarket. This change is common sense and it's the right thing to do.
Maybe. But spouting off about the safest anything in the world without the comparative data to back up such claims seems like a bad way to sell an idea.
"Safest meat products of any country in the world"
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Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., apparently ignored my plea for a moratorium on the "we have the safest food in the world" comments unless some data was provided. Go figure.
The Billings Gazette cited Rehberg as saying Wednesday that U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab has assured him that the Bush administration will not push a free-trade agreement with South Korea until the country opens its market to U.S. beef.
Rehberg said the country was using "false arguments" to keep its markets closed.
"We have the safest meat products of any country in the world."
Bland blanket statements serve only to amplify rather than mollify consumer concerns.
U.S. official says meat supply safest in world; 25 react by barfing
Dr. Richard Raymond, the Agriculture Department's undersecretary of food Safety, said on CBS's ""The Early Show'' this morning that,
"I think the American meat supply is the safest in the world. A recall like this does show that we are on the job, we are doing our inspections, our investigation, and we respond when we find problems to make sure that supply is safe.''
Raymond joins the Brits, Canadians and Kiwis, who all apparently have the safest food supply in the world.
They can't all be right.
Meanwhile, an Associated Press story notes cited a Topps official as saying over the weekend that the company has now augmented its procedures with microbiologists and food-safety experts.
I'm sure all this is a tremendous relief to the at least 25 individuals who have been barfing with E. coli O157:H7 in eight states.
Don't eat poop ... and if you're going to, cook it
Steve Gustafson, program manager for a California county’s Division of Environmental Health, shared some frank words wth the Eureka Reporter about poop:"Most people like their beef and steaks undercooked. It’s a delicacy. For a whole cut, that may be OK. But, ground meat — beef or poultry — is suspect because it’s been handled. It could have bacteria and must be cooked to safe temperatures to kill the bugs and waste produce. … Eating cooked feces can’t hurt you. That’s our joke and it’s true."
Don't eat poop. Either keep it out or cook it.
Jittering jingoism
First it was the Brits, now the Kiwis are jumping into the jingoism wars.AgResearch New Zealand senior microbiologist Guill le Roux was quoted as telling the Waikato Times, "Eat it (meat) and enjoy it; we have the safest meat in the world. But for goodness sake, prepare and cook it properly."
le Roux was further quoted as saying,
"In general, we are better than most other places in the world. In the States, for instance, they use largely untrained Mexican labour, so there's a language problem for a start. They have about 80 per cent staff turnover annually. And they work with very dirty animals, which are kept on feed lots where there's mud and manure, which increases the possibility of disease. … We are lucky here, there is very little risk, even in hamburgers which are notorious overseas. But we can't get complacent, because the goal posts are moving all the time especially in export markets."
The story notes that le Roux gained a certain profile a few years ago when he was reported as saying that New Zealand had the worst incidence of campylobacter in the world, adding, "We were at a conference and everyone else was saying the same thing, but the media focused on me."
He is quick to point out the statement needs clarification. "These bacteria can be found in water and in many food products such as chicken, fruit and vegetables. However, the high reported incidence in New Zealand is probably due to our good reporting systems as much as anything else."
Any country that claims to have the safest food in the world is probably wrong. Only one can be correct. Some data would bolster a claim of safety.
All we are saying ...
… is give LOX a chance.That's low oxygen meat packaging, a system which preserves the quality, bolsters the safety, maintains the color and extends the shelf life of fresh meat products.
Dr. Randy Huffman, vice president of scientific affairs for the American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF), writes to South Dakota's Yankton Daily to explain the technology and outline how the opposing PR campaign is funded by a company that stands to lose with the adoption of LOX. It's a familiar tale, especially in the world of genetic engineering and natural-organics-local.
"Kalsec, a Michigan-based company that makes a competing technology using a chemical extracted from rosemary, stands to lose market share if LOX continues to gain momentum. As a result, they've launched a media campaign that made its way into this paper recently to alarm consumers and attempt to deep-six LOX altogether. In fact, according to a recent Federal Election Commission report, they've spent more than $300,000 in the last six months alone on lobbyists who have succeeded in convincing certain congressmen and senators from Michigan to sponsor bills attacking LOX. And if this beneficial technology is outlawed, the biggest loser of all will be the consumer."
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.
Washing my meat thermometer - part II
Not quite satisfied with my inability to get a quick answer to my meat thermometer quandary, I did a Google search on “Food Safety Question.” “Ask Karen” popped up as the first hit. She’s the FSIS virtual representative for USDA. I typed in my question, “Do I need to wash my digital meat thermometer or is this bad for the mechanism?” This is what Karen said:
Thermometers are devices that measure temperatures. Using a food thermometer is the only reliable way to ensure the safety of meat, poultry and egg products. To be safe, these foods must be cooked to an internal temperature high enought [sic] to destroy any harmful microorganisms that may be in the food.If I were anyone else, I would have given up with this huge list of questions. But being the inquisitive (stubborn) nerd that I am, I searched through and clicked on “What is the proper way to clean a food thermometer?” Karen says, “As with any cooking utensil, food thermometers should be washed with hot soapy water. Most thermometers should not be immersed in water. Wash carefully by hand.”
* Are food thermometers best for large cuts of meat?
* Can oven-safe bimetallic coil thermometers be used in the oven?
* How accurate do thermometers need to be?
* How many people use a food thermometer?
* How to use a food thermometer?
* Can I use a people thermometer for meat and poultry?
* What are deep fry thermometers?
* What is a bimetallic coil thermometer?
* What is a liquid-filled thermometer?
* What is a pop up timer?
* What is a refrigerator thermometer?
* What is a T-Stick?
* What is a thermistor thermometer?
* What is a thermocouple thermometer?
* What is a thermometer fork?
* What is an instant-read thermometer?
* What is an oven cord thermometer?
* What is an oven thermometer?
* What is the proper way to clean a food thermometer?
* What percentage of Americans own food thermometers?
* What types of kitchen thermometers are available?
* Where can I buy a food thermometer?
* Why is it so important that people use a food thermometer when cooking meat, poultry, and eggs?
Karen’s advice sounds … sound. But it isn’t really practical if I’m cooking two things on the grill at once. Will the internal temperatures get hot enough to kill the microbes on the metal if I probe another piece of meat? I’m certainly no scientist, but I wonder what the real cross-contamination risks are. I also wondered if another source would give me a different answer.
Next I Googled, “Wash meat thermometer” (in quotes) and I got exactly one result-- a document entitled “FY 2001 Annual Report of Accomplishments and Results: Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.” This report, comprised of many project overviews, provided one on “Quick & Easy Cooking Schools.” In this project pilot cooking schools were offered in two Oklahoma counties, one of which had a 159% higher rate of foodborne illness than the rest of the state and this was 219% higher than the rest of the U.S. Using a 70 page Quick & Easy Cooking School curriculum, thirty cooking schools were taught in 2000. As a result, the worst county (Washita) dropped from 159% above the state rate to 100% below the state rate for foodborne illnesses. Here are some other “anecdotal” results:
“In addition, there was an increase in the number who used a meat thermometer after attending the cooking school. Moreover, the following are samples of additional food safety comments from participants regarding what they learned: ‘Wash meat thermometer in-between insertions. Do not just rinse the grilling tray that held raw meat but wash it before putting cooked meat back on it. Do not thaw meat on the counter.’”
My friends at iFSN also found the following references for me:
From the Beef Information Centre “Thermometer Know-How” states, “Always use hot soapy water to wash the tongs, plate and thermometer stem used in checking partially cooked meats before using again.”
From the food safety network’s own page, Cooking Temperatures 06.jul.05, “Wash the thermometer stem in hot soapy water every time you use it.”
The explanation that finally cured my curiosity was this one from O. Peter Snyder Jr. His study, “FOODBORNE ILLNESS HAZARD CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR CHURCHES AND NON-REGULATED GROUP FEEDING SITUATIONS” in 1992 for the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management (May 1998 edition) explains that while cooking large pieces of meat, “Do not roast meats, etc. on a spit or stick the meat with a fork, because it will unnecessarily contaminate the center of the food. Always wash the stem of a thermometer before putting it into cooked, ready-to-eat food.”
Now on to investigating how many people use a fork when they grill.
