Don't eat poop (like those kids at Georgetown); proper handwashing and proper tools
I used to steal toilet paper.
As an undergraduate 25 years ago, and once my girlfriend showed me how to get at the theft-proof rolls in the university centre, the supplies of toilet paper in our household became one less student expense.
My hockey bag is still filled with those little soaps and shampoos from hotel rooms around the globe.
I was the kind of student -- and apparently I'm not alone -- University of Guelph administrators in Canada were worried about when they said that residence students should provide their own handwashing soap.
In 2005, the university switched to sanitizers instead of soap and paper towels in the residence washrooms because soap dispensers, paper towels and garbage cans went missing.
That was before a 2006 norovirus outbreak sickened over 150 students, primarily in one university residence.
The university subsequently returned soap and paper towels to all residences to help control the outbreak.
Students at Georgetown University are now being implored to wash their hands after a norovoirus outbreak linked to the school’s dining hall caused 175 students to vomit their way to the hospital. Said one university official, “Handwashing is going to be our mantra for a very long time around here.”
That’s great. A little late, but better than before. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 25 per cent of the 76 million annual cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. could be eliminated with proper handwashing.
That's a lot fewer sick people.
But, as Jon Stewart quipped in 2002, “If you think the 10 commandments being posted in a school is going to change behavior of children, then you think ‘Employees Must Wash Hands’ is keeping the piss out of your happy meals. It's not.”
So why don't more people wash their hands?
While some practice a Howard Hughes-like paranoia, study after study shows that many are lazy when it comes to handwashing. The proclamations to practice proper handwashing, on restroom posters, in daycare facilities, in media scare stories, will always fail to register with those who are impervious to risk -- that bad things happen to someone else, not me.
But as the Guelph example demonstrates, anything that can even slightly encourage proper handwashing and hygiene in general needs to be encouraged -- and that means ready availability of soap, water and paper towels.
Once available, the facilities have to actually be used, whether in the workplace, the home, the university residence, or, the farm.
The steps in proper handwashing, as concluded from the preponderance of available evidence, are:
• wet hands with water;
• use enough soap to build a good lather;
• scrub hands vigorously, creating friction and reaching all areas of the fingers and hands for at least 10 seconds to loosen pathogens on the fingers and hands;
• rinse hands with thorough amounts of water while continuing to rub hands; and,
• dry hands with paper towel.
Water temperature is not a critical factor -- water hot enough to kill dangerous bacteria and viruses would scald hands -- so use whatever is comfortable.
The friction from rubbing hands with paper towels helps remove additional bacteria and viruses.
The next time you visit a bathroom that is missing soap, water or paper towels, let someone in charge know. And next time you see someone skip out on the suds in the bathroom, look at them and say, “Dude, wash your hands!”
Dane Cook and his pooping dog give up apartment
TMZ reports that Dane Cook has given up his fight to live in what he believes is an apartment that has a supernatural force.
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“Cook was evicted from a West Hollywood apartment last August after a jury decided the "comedian" habitually violated the rules requiring him to pick up his dog's crap.
“As reported yesterday, Cook threw a Hail Mary at the judge, arguing that hizzoner should block the eviction because the apartment building had almost paranormal qualities -- John Belushi and Steve Martin both lived there, and Cook believed if he moved out his creative juices stop flowing and a bad case of writer's block would ruin his career. Did anyone see "Employee of the Month?"
Cook has apparently abandoned the appeal.
Dog poop contains common pathogens such as tapeworms, roundworms, cryptosporidium, salmonella, E.coli, and many others. Owners, clean up after your dogs and wash your damn hands.
It’s gotten so bad that the Israeli city of Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, has started a six-month trial program where it is matching the DNA of dog poop, either in special containers or found on the street, to a database of registered dogs and their owners.
“Owners who scoop up their dogs' droppings and place them in specially marked bins on Petah Tikva's streets will be eligible for rewards of pet food coupons and dog toys.
“But droppings found underfoot in the street and matched through the DNA database to a registered pet could earn its owner a municipal fine.”
Geese poop a lot
The parents of my high school girlfriend had a cottage in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. Lovely place, including memories of dive-bombing geese and the darkest night skies ever.
Nearby Pembroke, Ontario, also has a problem with geese – specifically their poop -- like many other communities.
The Daily Observer reports that Pembroke’s Riverside Beach was closed last month due to high E. coli levels, primarily from geese poop.
Deputy Mayor Les Scott said,
"This matter has gotten to the point where this animal is contributing negatively to the health and safety of our citizens.”
What annoys him is if the city is found to be the cause of elevated E. coli, the province would be on them in a minute. When it is geese, nothing happens.
The shit that is listeria in Canada
The first time I met Amy, at a Canadian studies club meeting at Kansas State, I told Amy the French professor that French food was overrated and that sleeping with her cocker spaniel was a microbiological hazard.
She asked me out anyway.
Today we walked up to school and Sadie, the dog that saved our relationship, had a dump. And then there was this worm-like turd hanging out of her ass.
I thought and hoped and prayed it would go away.
It didn’t.
So I grabbed a stick and tried to knock the poop off her ass.
No luck.
So Amy gave me a tissue and I pulled the hanging turd out of her ass and there was another six inches of stick that came out.
Gross. Like when my daughter Courtlynn hurled as the plane landed in Atlanta – those airplane barf bags are fairly solid and I got it in time.
I really just needed a break from writing about the shit that is listeria in Canada.
Poop on Mushrooms? Sara Snow on Jon and Kate Plus 8
While I was working with the TV on this afternoon, I heard Sara Snow, Television host and Green Goddess, telling Kate Gosselin of Jon and Kate Plus 8 that mushrooms should not be washed. Kate, who is raising her family on organic food believing it will make her young twins and sextuplets healthier and stronger, was clearly put off by Sara’s advice. She said the family doesn’t normally eat mushrooms, but she was willing to follow directions. Sara told her to just wipe off the mushrooms with a damp paper towel.While the stir fry cooked, the dialog was enlightening:
Sara to Kate: “In my opinion, if there’s a little bit of dirt left on there, it’s fine. It’s not gonna hurt anyone.”
Kate to camera: “She taught me how to clean them, which was a little disturbing to me.”
Jon in Kate’s ear: “Fungi!”
Kate to Jon: “There was dirt on them. Active dirt. And she said you don’t wash mushrooms.”
Jon to Kate: “It’s not dirt.”
Kate: “I know that.”
Jon grins: “Poopadoop.”
Kate: “I know. You see. That’s why he doesn’t eat them, he claims.”
Kate to Sara: “I don’t know if I like to eat dirt, Sara.”
Kate to camera: “I was essentially merely just wiping the poop off of them and that concerned me that I didn’t get every last speck.”
Sara responds to Kate: “I let all sorts of things fall into my food and I’m not worried about it.”
Is Sara crazy? Is Kate right? Sara concludes, “By the time it all cooks down you won’t even notice it’s there. I’ll cover it up nicely.”
That’s the point, really. If you’re cooking your mushrooms, you can kill the nasty microbiological matter. But would you pop them in your mouth raw? Neither Sara nor Kate visibly ran to the sink to wash with soap and water after touching the Poopadoop Mushrooms. In the next scene everyone was heading to the table to eat.
Please, wash your hands first
I was camping out at Yellowstone last weekend, trying hard to synchronize my food safety concerns and the limited resources of a campsite.
We arrived early morning, started setting up the tent and unloading the truck when I popped open a bag of mini rice cakes. The three boys I was camping with (shown at the left) quickly joined to share the treat.
I starred wide-eyed when I saw their dirty hands digging into the food. No offense to the guys but, I knew there wasn’t soap in the bathroom of the campsite, which doesn’t really matter, because they probably went in the woods anyways. In conclusion, there was most likely no hand washing before digging in.
I didn’t want to be a food safety geek, and I wasn’t going to start acting like all of their moms, so I sucked it up, looked the other way, and kept eating.
Luckily we all survived the trip safely.
Today a news story was published about 20 people getting sick at a wedding reception in Minnesota after eating from a bowl of chips. The chips were contaminated with norovirus, possibly spread through poop.
Ok next time, I promised myself, I will be that geeky mom and order everyone around to wash their hands before sticking them into that bowl of chips.
We arrived early morning, started setting up the tent and unloading the truck when I popped open a bag of mini rice cakes. The three boys I was camping with (shown at the left) quickly joined to share the treat. I starred wide-eyed when I saw their dirty hands digging into the food. No offense to the guys but, I knew there wasn’t soap in the bathroom of the campsite, which doesn’t really matter, because they probably went in the woods anyways. In conclusion, there was most likely no hand washing before digging in.
I didn’t want to be a food safety geek, and I wasn’t going to start acting like all of their moms, so I sucked it up, looked the other way, and kept eating.
Luckily we all survived the trip safely.
Today a news story was published about 20 people getting sick at a wedding reception in Minnesota after eating from a bowl of chips. The chips were contaminated with norovirus, possibly spread through poop.
Ok next time, I promised myself, I will be that geeky mom and order everyone around to wash their hands before sticking them into that bowl of chips.
Texas: Crypto suspect in child's death
6-year-old Rosemary Stagaman of Richardson died last Tuesday morning in Dallas County. Health officials believe that the death was due to a cryptosporidium infection, but the medical examiner is still waiting on toxicology tests to determine the exact cause of her death. Her family says she tested positive for crypto after swimming in the Greenwood Hills Community Pool. Tests will take 10 days to confirm whether cryptosporidium played a part in the child’s death. If it is related, it would be the first death from the waterborne illness in recent memory.
Since June 2008, Dallas County has confirmed 41 cases of crypto. The crypto outbreak in the area began at Burger’s Lake in Fort Worth. Tarrant County has reported 81 cases of crypto, with 67 of them coming from Burger’s Lake.
All 30 pools of the YMCA of Metro Dallas, along with the city pools, were temporarily closed and hyperchlorinated in an attempt to wipe out the nasty parasite.
Experts are unsure of why there’s been a spike in outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis in recent years. It could be due to poor hygiene standards practiced by parents.
The crypto parasite has a thick outer shell, making it resistant to normal levels of chlorine. Available treatments include hyperchlorination and UV filters. Crypto enters the pool through fecal matter and the infection is especially dangerous to the young an the elderly, as well as the immunocompromised. Swimmers should wash their hands with warm soap water and also take a shower before entering the pool and after using the bathroom.
Topeka, KS: Poop in Lake Shawnee
Lake Shawnee in Topeka, Kansas recently had a code brown: poop in the lake. Lakes with swimming areas should have a safe policy in place, but two year lifeguard Gray Botswell was told to go into the water and retrieve the fecal matter with his bare hands. When he refused, he was asked to go home and not to return. Girlfriend Kristen Whithorn who has been a lifeguard at th
e lake for four years also walked off the job after she was told that she couldn’t speak to media about her boyfriend’s incident.
It sounds like there was no proper policy in place, so the guys in charge decided that the lifeguards would just have to take care of the problem. However, removing fecal matter with bare hands isn’t ideal. It’s much better to try to protect the hands somehow or to fish out the poop with a scoop.
The director of parks and recs for Shawnee County, John Knight, says that a new policy is in place for lifeguards at Lake Shawnee if poop is found in the lake again. The lake water has been tested for E. coli but results have not been released.
Public beaches on the coast are often tested for fecal coliforms and E. coli. Both are indicator organisms of the presence of harmful bacteria in the water. If the levels of bacteria are too high, the swimming area may be closed for a period of time. But the same system does not exist for many lakes with swimming areas.
When swimming in lakes, oceans or rivers, children should not drink the water they are swimming in. There is the possibility of human fecal matter and also wildlife fecal matter in the water.
e lake for four years also walked off the job after she was told that she couldn’t speak to media about her boyfriend’s incident.It sounds like there was no proper policy in place, so the guys in charge decided that the lifeguards would just have to take care of the problem. However, removing fecal matter with bare hands isn’t ideal. It’s much better to try to protect the hands somehow or to fish out the poop with a scoop.
The director of parks and recs for Shawnee County, John Knight, says that a new policy is in place for lifeguards at Lake Shawnee if poop is found in the lake again. The lake water has been tested for E. coli but results have not been released.
Public beaches on the coast are often tested for fecal coliforms and E. coli. Both are indicator organisms of the presence of harmful bacteria in the water. If the levels of bacteria are too high, the swimming area may be closed for a period of time. But the same system does not exist for many lakes with swimming areas.
When swimming in lakes, oceans or rivers, children should not drink the water they are swimming in. There is the possibility of human fecal matter and also wildlife fecal matter in the water.
See and Tell restaurant inspection: Waiter, I see a fly and in soup and I'm telling (and texting)
Croydon Today in the U.K. reports,
The See and Tell service, launched this month, enables people to text the Croydon Council's food safety team with concerns about food safety or labelling issues - in restaurants, shops or takeaways.
There are 2,600 food businesses in Croydon, from takeaways to supermarkets.
Brian Griffiths, manager of the council's food safety team, said,
“There are various levels of action we can take, but in the worst case scenario we can go in and close a place down on the spot. We rely heavily on customers tipping us off and this new text service will make it all the easier. If you find a hair in your soup you can literally text us from the restaurant table and we'll come and investigating.
“Sometimes I've opened bins at the back of restaurants and seen the meat moving because there were so many maggots on it. And at the moment we're dealing with a mice infestation at a high street store which sells food. It is really important we get to hear from residents about these sorts of things so we can go in and take the appropriate action.”
The move to enlist citizen diners seems like another expansion of social networking – the power’s with the people.
The city of Chicago has started encouraging Chicagoans who believe that a restaurant or any other licensed food establishment is operating in an unsafe manner to call 311 and report it.
Back in Feb. 2005, customers with cameras in South Korea were reported photographing any violation of food safety standards and reporting it to authorities.
The sikparazzi -- a combination of the word sik, meaning food, and paparazzi -- are, however, good news for the authorities.
The Korean Food and Drug Administration said 10,567 food safety violations were reported in the first nine months of 2004, and 74.2 million won ($118,624) paid in rewards, reported the Joong Ang Daily.
So lucrative is it to be a sikparazzi in South Korea that at least one private institute runs courses to train people for the job.
There have also been allegations that the sikparazzi sometimes contaminate the food themselves and then demand compensation, threatening to report it.
Mr Griffiths in Croydon also advised people to go to their GP if they think they have got food poisoning and give a poo sample, stating,
“The proof is in the poop and if people give a sample it can be used as evidence, which helps us wrap things up much easier if we get an allegation of food poisoning.”
Follow the poop. Everything comes down to poo.
The See and Tell service, launched this month, enables people to text the Croydon Council's food safety team with concerns about food safety or labelling issues - in restaurants, shops or takeaways.
There are 2,600 food businesses in Croydon, from takeaways to supermarkets.Brian Griffiths, manager of the council's food safety team, said,
“There are various levels of action we can take, but in the worst case scenario we can go in and close a place down on the spot. We rely heavily on customers tipping us off and this new text service will make it all the easier. If you find a hair in your soup you can literally text us from the restaurant table and we'll come and investigating.
“Sometimes I've opened bins at the back of restaurants and seen the meat moving because there were so many maggots on it. And at the moment we're dealing with a mice infestation at a high street store which sells food. It is really important we get to hear from residents about these sorts of things so we can go in and take the appropriate action.”
The move to enlist citizen diners seems like another expansion of social networking – the power’s with the people.The city of Chicago has started encouraging Chicagoans who believe that a restaurant or any other licensed food establishment is operating in an unsafe manner to call 311 and report it.
Back in Feb. 2005, customers with cameras in South Korea were reported photographing any violation of food safety standards and reporting it to authorities.
The sikparazzi -- a combination of the word sik, meaning food, and paparazzi -- are, however, good news for the authorities.
The Korean Food and Drug Administration said 10,567 food safety violations were reported in the first nine months of 2004, and 74.2 million won ($118,624) paid in rewards, reported the Joong Ang Daily.
So lucrative is it to be a sikparazzi in South Korea that at least one private institute runs courses to train people for the job.
There have also been allegations that the sikparazzi sometimes contaminate the food themselves and then demand compensation, threatening to report it.
Mr Griffiths in Croydon also advised people to go to their GP if they think they have got food poisoning and give a poo sample, stating,
“The proof is in the poop and if people give a sample it can be used as evidence, which helps us wrap things up much easier if we get an allegation of food poisoning.”
Follow the poop. Everything comes down to poo.
Give these cows some dried prunes
Cow patty bingo, an American Red Cross fundraiser, had to be rescheduled to August 16 after two cows failed to poop. The cows wandered the bingo grid behind the third-base bleachers for 2 1/2 hours, but didn't leave any patties behind, said Suzanne Phillips, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross in Burlington.
I was visiting a close friend about a week ago and he sent me to the store to get some “poop pills” – a bag of dried prunes. He eats about 4 or 5 each morning while reading the paper.
His mother is another constipation victim of the family. She was telling me she cannot afford to skip her daily “poopy shake”– a mixture of 8 different types of fiber that she mixes with orange juice. She eats a ton of fruits and vegetables, and has a wide variety of natural laxatives in the medicine cabinet. This is the most impressive one here (in Spanish, sorry)
Maybe these cows could call my friend or his mom for some advice.
Read the story at: the times news
I was visiting a close friend about a week ago and he sent me to the store to get some “poop pills” – a bag of dried prunes. He eats about 4 or 5 each morning while reading the paper.
His mother is another constipation victim of the family. She was telling me she cannot afford to skip her daily “poopy shake”– a mixture of 8 different types of fiber that she mixes with orange juice. She eats a ton of fruits and vegetables, and has a wide variety of natural laxatives in the medicine cabinet. This is the most impressive one here (in Spanish, sorry)
Maybe these cows could call my friend or his mom for some advice.
Read the story at: the times news
Arizona: Phoenix pool closures due to Cryptosporidium
Phoenix city officials have announced that all city pools will be closed after reports of 35 people who swam at Starlight Pool, including 14 from the pool staff, developing symptoms of cryptosporidium.The city of Phoenix says that while the water at all of its pools has been tested and "has continued to meet all water quality standards," it is taking extra precautions. To treat the pools, parks staff is super-chlorinating all of the pools to a level of 40 parts per million of chlorine and maintaining that level of chlorine for 40 hours. The Centers for Disease Control recommends 20 parts per million, but the City of Phoenix is using 40 parts per million to be safe.
Last summer Utah suffered an outbreak of cryptosporidium. Colorado has also suffered outbreaks. Hopefully this summer’s outbreak will be quickly contained and taken care of to avoid large numbers of sickness.
And of course, when using the bathroom at the pool, always wash your hands.
Draper's diaperless daughter poops in Stanley Cup
Amy watched all of hockey’s Stanley Cup finals this year. After 6 years at the University of Michigan she became something of a Detroit Red Wings fan. We had the games on in background for most of our Quebec trip earlier this year – although fell asleep before the start of the third overtime in game 5..jpg)
The Stanley Cup is awarded to the victor of each National Hockey League season, and is the only trophy in professional sports that has the name of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff engraved on it. Red Wings forward Kris Draper has now added to the tales surrounding the travels of Lord Stanley’s Cup.
His daughter pooped in the Stanley Cup.
While visiting his native Toronto last month, Draper’s diaperless baby, Kamryn, did a number (2) in the Cup.
"A week after we won it, I had my newborn daughter in there, and she pooped in the Cup. That was something. We had a pretty good laugh. I still drank out of it that night, so no worries."
Don’t drink poop.
The Stanley Cup is awarded to the victor of each National Hockey League season, and is the only trophy in professional sports that has the name of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff engraved on it. Red Wings forward Kris Draper has now added to the tales surrounding the travels of Lord Stanley’s Cup.
His daughter pooped in the Stanley Cup.
While visiting his native Toronto last month, Draper’s diaperless baby, Kamryn, did a number (2) in the Cup."A week after we won it, I had my newborn daughter in there, and she pooped in the Cup. That was something. We had a pretty good laugh. I still drank out of it that night, so no worries."
Don’t drink poop.
Dane Cook in trouble for dog poop
Dane Cook recently spent time in a Beverly Hills courthouse fighting allegations that his mini-Pinscher, named Beast, poops all over his apartment complex. The management of La Fontaine in West Hollywood took the comedian to court to have him evicted on grounds that he was not properly cleaning up after his dog."Neither he nor his girlfriend pick up after the dog," said a source. "They've sent him three notices so far over the last year warning him he'll be evicted, and they have video. The neighbors all hate him."
Cook’s rep, Ina Treciokas, told the press in April: “Dane vigorously denies the allegations in the complaint and is looking forward to complete vindication through the legal proceedings.”
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On Tuesday, the building manager took the stand and told the court that the actor is a serial offender, despite the signs in the gardens warning against animals pooping on the lawn. He also said he noticed "recurring small black poop being left behind in the backyard." The manager is alleged to have video footage of Cook's pooch committing the offense.Cook faced a trial by jury and he was found guilty 11-1. His landlord can now officially evict him.
Dog poop contains common pathogens such as tapeworms, roundworms, cryptosporidium, salmonella, e.coli, and many others. The owners should always and after picking up dog poop hands should always be washed.
Scooping Poop
“Pick up your dogs’ droppings.” I’ve seen the street signs for years, but I always thought it was the yuck factor. As I’ve grown up and gone through high school biology, I’ve learned that it’s not just the yuck factor, it’s also the sick factor. Dog waste on the sidewalk is a significant contributing factor to the spread many disease, bacteria and protozoa. Some of the common pathogens are tapeworms, roundworms, cryptosporidium, salmonella, e.coli, parvovirus and many others.
One of the worst culprits is the tapeworm. They are the single most common infection transmitted by discarded dog poop in United States.
Tapeworms are caused by the ingestion of flea larvae, but also can be caused if an owner tracks flea larvae-contaminated dog poo into the house and a pet is exposed. In the veterinary clinic I work at during the summers, tapeworms are commonly referred to as rice worms. They’re easily treated with flea preventative and tapeworm treatment, but even more easily prevented by properly disposing of animal poop.
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Doggie doo is also an environmental pollutant. If the waste is not picked up it will run into the sewers with the rain. This leads to contaminated streams and seawater.
According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Americans owned 68 million dogs in 2000, and 40% of these dogs were large dogs over 40 pounds. This adds up to a large mess if owners don’t clean up after their pets.
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Pet poop is a problem, but what’s the solution? Many cities have laws concerning scooping poo. Most states will issue a ticket ranging from $25 to $200 for leaving a dog’s business on the sidewalk. Australia has even gone so far as to have their own plain clothes poop police approaching irresponsible owners to change their behavior.How do we take care of it? Common recommendations are to carry a “doggie doo-doo” sack along when taking a pet out for a walk. Using flea preventative will help prevent a pet from developing tapeworms from ingesting any flea larvae on their own skin, but they are still susceptible to flea larvae in the environment. Annual distemper/parovirus vaccinations from a licensed veterinarian will help protect dogs from parvovirus, which is spread through fecal material.
Most importantly, wash your hands after picking up animal waste. Otherwise get ready for those tapeworms.
Michelle Mazur: Punching the clock to go poop at work
Pooping is a natural phenomenon, but what happens when you have to go at work? I was quite surprised that many people on the Internet seem to have strong options about this issue. For example, a humorous email forward has been circulating around the Internet for a few years concerning how to poop at work. There are also quite a few YouTube opinions about the issue.
No matter what method or etiquette is used, it simply must be done during the workday. That leaves many wondering, how much time and money is spent doing your business in the bathroom? Workpoop.com is a website that offers a handy calculator to help calculate a person’s annual earnings from pooping at work.
But not everyone is on board with being paid to poop. Recently, Brown Brothers, a meat company based in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, has received quite a bit of bad press about their new bathroom policy. The meat company supplying Tesco has been accused of "Dickensian employment practices" by making workers clock off when they go the toilet.
The Unite union is now calling on Tesco to intervene to stamp out the practice at Brown Brothers. The company insists anyone wanting to be excused from the system has to provide medical evidence, the union added.
BBC reports the policy was part of a special pay deal agreed with workers and unions to ensure production ran smoothly. Staff received extra money as part of the pay deal which was aimed at focusing toilet breaks at set times of the day.
But employees are less than thrilled. “We have to clock out, take off our wellies, overalls and hairnets, we have to run up stairs, have to come back in get dressed again,” one employee told the BBC.
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One organization seems to be doing the exact opposite; they’ll pay people to poop. The Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College held an event last fall entitled the “Low on Cash, High in Fiber Bash.” Participants earned 25 cents for every time they “donated” to the cause.
Paid to poop or otherwise, wash your hands.
No matter what method or etiquette is used, it simply must be done during the workday. That leaves many wondering, how much time and money is spent doing your business in the bathroom? Workpoop.com is a website that offers a handy calculator to help calculate a person’s annual earnings from pooping at work.But not everyone is on board with being paid to poop. Recently, Brown Brothers, a meat company based in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, has received quite a bit of bad press about their new bathroom policy. The meat company supplying Tesco has been accused of "Dickensian employment practices" by making workers clock off when they go the toilet.
The Unite union is now calling on Tesco to intervene to stamp out the practice at Brown Brothers. The company insists anyone wanting to be excused from the system has to provide medical evidence, the union added.
BBC reports the policy was part of a special pay deal agreed with workers and unions to ensure production ran smoothly. Staff received extra money as part of the pay deal which was aimed at focusing toilet breaks at set times of the day.
But employees are less than thrilled. “We have to clock out, take off our wellies, overalls and hairnets, we have to run up stairs, have to come back in get dressed again,” one employee told the BBC.
One organization seems to be doing the exact opposite; they’ll pay people to poop. The Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College held an event last fall entitled the “Low on Cash, High in Fiber Bash.” Participants earned 25 cents for every time they “donated” to the cause.Paid to poop or otherwise, wash your hands.
More children wearing diapers to Australian schools
Australia’s Courier Mail reports that children as old as five are being sent to school in nappies because their parents cannot be bothered toilet-training them.
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The problem has become so widespread that Education Queensland is drawing up a toilet-training fact sheet amid calls from teachers' groups that nappy-wearing children be banned from attending school. …
State School Principals Association president Norm Hart has written to Education Queensland, citing concerns that the problem could result in litigation - with teachers possibly accused of molestation.
"Toilet training is a parental responsibility and not something that should be taught at school.”
The problem has become so widespread that Education Queensland is drawing up a toilet-training fact sheet amid calls from teachers' groups that nappy-wearing children be banned from attending school. …
State School Principals Association president Norm Hart has written to Education Queensland, citing concerns that the problem could result in litigation - with teachers possibly accused of molestation.
"Toilet training is a parental responsibility and not something that should be taught at school.”
Tellruide, Colorado, has a problem with poop.
Tellruide, Colorado, has a problem with poop.
Dog poop.
A local biologist, Ramona Gaylord, told city council that the impact of waste produced by 100 dogs located within a 20-mile radius of a watershed draining to a small coastal bay would contribute enough bacteria and nutrients to temporarily close it to swimming and shell fishing after two to three days, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A new form from the Marshal’s Office is due to come into circulation soon. It will enable passersby to document occasions on which they witness owners neglecting their doodie duties. By signing the form the complainant agrees to be called as a witness if a ticket is issued and the matter goes to trial.
So pick up your poop.
And if you find some old poop, send it to University of Oregon archeologist Dennis Jenkins.
Jenkins found 14 feces, or coprolites, in the Paisley caves in south-central Oregon. He reported in Science on Friday that the oldest piece of crap in the collection was 14,300 years old.
Eske Willerslev, a Danish expert in ancient DNA and one of the authors of the paper, said genetic material found in the ancient poop suggests the earliest known North Americans came from Asia and Siberia, and were the ancestors of modern native peoples
As they sing on Scrubs, Check the Poo.
Dog poop.A local biologist, Ramona Gaylord, told city council that the impact of waste produced by 100 dogs located within a 20-mile radius of a watershed draining to a small coastal bay would contribute enough bacteria and nutrients to temporarily close it to swimming and shell fishing after two to three days, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A new form from the Marshal’s Office is due to come into circulation soon. It will enable passersby to document occasions on which they witness owners neglecting their doodie duties. By signing the form the complainant agrees to be called as a witness if a ticket is issued and the matter goes to trial.
So pick up your poop.
And if you find some old poop, send it to University of Oregon archeologist Dennis Jenkins. Jenkins found 14 feces, or coprolites, in the Paisley caves in south-central Oregon. He reported in Science on Friday that the oldest piece of crap in the collection was 14,300 years old.
Eske Willerslev, a Danish expert in ancient DNA and one of the authors of the paper, said genetic material found in the ancient poop suggests the earliest known North Americans came from Asia and Siberia, and were the ancestors of modern native peoples
As they sing on Scrubs, Check the Poo.
Babies won't be banned from public pools -- yet
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that babies in diapers will most likely not be banned from public pools this summer to prevent the spread of cryptosporidium.
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But, their parents may be required to buy special swim diapers that do a better job of containing diarrhea than widely available but ineffectual diapers like Huggies' Little Swimmers.
And if there is another outbreak, tots in diapers will likely be banned.
Utah had one of 2007's largest crypto outbreaks in the nation, with 1,949 crypto cases reported. To try to stem the illness, spread through fecal-oral contact, pools in most of the state barred children under 5 from late August to late September. Children in diapers were banned through mid-November.
State epidemiologist Robert Rolfs was quoted as saying,
"Children should be able to go swimming. Most of the children aren't causing any trouble."
The suggested state rule would require waterproof pants and/or swim diapers that fit around the legs and waist for children 3 or younger, those who aren't potty-trained, and anyone without control of bodily functions.
But, their parents may be required to buy special swim diapers that do a better job of containing diarrhea than widely available but ineffectual diapers like Huggies' Little Swimmers.And if there is another outbreak, tots in diapers will likely be banned.
Utah had one of 2007's largest crypto outbreaks in the nation, with 1,949 crypto cases reported. To try to stem the illness, spread through fecal-oral contact, pools in most of the state barred children under 5 from late August to late September. Children in diapers were banned through mid-November.
State epidemiologist Robert Rolfs was quoted as saying,
"Children should be able to go swimming. Most of the children aren't causing any trouble."
The suggested state rule would require waterproof pants and/or swim diapers that fit around the legs and waist for children 3 or younger, those who aren't potty-trained, and anyone without control of bodily functions.
Taco John's E. coli lettuce grown next to Calif. dairy farm
The Bakersfield Californian reported on Friday that a 16-month federal and state investigation found that lettuce raised on Wegis Ranch in Buttonwillow Calif., and served at Taco John’s restaurants was the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened 81 people in Iowa and Minnesota in late 2006.
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The report does not definitively state how the lettuce was contaminated but said water contaminated by manure from two nearby dairies could be a possible source.
Wegis Ranch uses manure water to irrigate some fields where animal feed is grown, according to the report. It said lettuce linked to the E. coli outbreak was grown directly across from two of those fields.
In addition, the ranch’s irrigation system may have allowed manure water to taint freshwater used to irrigate fields where lettuce was grown, the report concluded.
E.coli samples from the ranch and dairies genetically matched the strain found in the tainted lettuce. The dairies were Maya and West Star North.
The next day, Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had published guidelines that suggested employees of fresh-cut fruit and vegetable processors wash their hands to help stop the spread of contamination.
Yes., handwashing is important. So is not growing fresh product in cow shit.
Don't eat poop.
The report does not definitively state how the lettuce was contaminated but said water contaminated by manure from two nearby dairies could be a possible source.Wegis Ranch uses manure water to irrigate some fields where animal feed is grown, according to the report. It said lettuce linked to the E. coli outbreak was grown directly across from two of those fields.
In addition, the ranch’s irrigation system may have allowed manure water to taint freshwater used to irrigate fields where lettuce was grown, the report concluded.
E.coli samples from the ranch and dairies genetically matched the strain found in the tainted lettuce. The dairies were Maya and West Star North.
The next day, Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had published guidelines that suggested employees of fresh-cut fruit and vegetable processors wash their hands to help stop the spread of contamination.
Yes., handwashing is important. So is not growing fresh product in cow shit.
Don't eat poop.
Cat poop coffee
Brian for Cornell University alerted me to a new video that appeared on CNN this morning.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2008/01/05/mi.cat.poo.coffee.beans.wzzm
Cat poop coffee, or kopi luwak -- otherwise known as the most expensive coffee in the world -- is, according to wiki, coffee made from coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The civets eat the berries but the beans inside pass through their system undigested. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, and in the Philippines (where the product is called Kape Alamid). Vietnam has a similar type of coffee, called weasel coffee which are coffee berries which have been defecated by local weasels. In actuality the "weasel" is just the local version of the Asian Palm Civet.
Lots has been written about cat poop coffee, but here's a more graphic representation from a few months ago.
And don't eat poop.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2008/01/05/mi.cat.poo.coffee.beans.wzzm
Cat poop coffee, or kopi luwak -- otherwise known as the most expensive coffee in the world -- is, according to wiki, coffee made from coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The civets eat the berries but the beans inside pass through their system undigested. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, and in the Philippines (where the product is called Kape Alamid). Vietnam has a similar type of coffee, called weasel coffee which are coffee berries which have been defecated by local weasels. In actuality the "weasel" is just the local version of the Asian Palm Civet.Lots has been written about cat poop coffee, but here's a more graphic representation from a few months ago.
And don't eat poop.
Don't let your dog poop on this lawn
"Warning: Idiot holding dog."
And it gets better. Mentalfloss reports on what it calls a rather aggressive warning sign for dog walkers in Sarasota and the potential risks of crapping on this particular lawn.
And it gets better. Mentalfloss reports on what it calls a rather aggressive warning sign for dog walkers in Sarasota and the potential risks of crapping on this particular lawn.Top 10 movie poop scenes
Propellor.com has posted what it deems to be the Top 10 Poop Movie Scenes.
Below is the list of movies. You can visit propellor.com for pics and descriptions.
And I've seen all the movies except the last one, Friday.
It's hard to argue with the classic simplicity of Caddyshack -- a Baby Ruth chocolate bar in the swimming pool -- but I'll go with Harold and Kumar.
Don't eat poop.
1. Dumb & Dumber
2. Along Came Polly
3. American Pie
4. Van Wilder
5. Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery
6. Caddyshack
7. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
8. Not Another Teen Movie
9. KingPin
10. Friday
Below is the list of movies. You can visit propellor.com for pics and descriptions. And I've seen all the movies except the last one, Friday.
It's hard to argue with the classic simplicity of Caddyshack -- a Baby Ruth chocolate bar in the swimming pool -- but I'll go with Harold and Kumar.Don't eat poop.
1. Dumb & Dumber
2. Along Came Polly
3. American Pie
4. Van Wilder
5. Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery
6. Caddyshack
7. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
8. Not Another Teen Movie
9. KingPin
10. Friday
Pigeon poop payoff
Fifty-six-year-old Shelton Stewart, a former New York doorman who slipped on a pile of pigeon droppings on a subway station's stairs in 1998, has been awarded $6 million in compensation.The New York Post reports that the trial took three weeks, but the jury took less than a day to award Stewart $7.67 million in damages. He'll get only 80 percent of that, or $6.13 million, because he was found 20 percent liable for failing to avoid the poop pile the second time around.
New York City Transit has indicated that it planned to appeal.
Stewart was planning to use his windfall to buy a house and take his two daughters and grandchild to Disney World in Florida.
Don't Eat Poop
Douglas Dakin, a high school teacher and soccer coach in Stone Mountain, Georgia, doesn’t want to eat poop. He e-mailed me and said he saw a woman from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control wearing a Don't Eat Poop shirt and he wanted one for himself.
The shirt's in the mail, Doug.
Tell me your best Don't Eat Poop story and I'll send you a shirt too.
Or you can give to the International Food Safety Network.
Give large. Give small. It's all on-line at
https://one.found.ksu.edu/ccon/new_gift.do?action=newGift&CCN_FUND_ID=3894&SCENARIO=SELECTFUND
Any problems, just e-mail me, dpowell@ksu.edu.
And if you benefit from our services, then we're continuing with our payment model that alt.music darlings Radiohead stole from us: pay what you want.
The shirt's in the mail, Doug.
Tell me your best Don't Eat Poop story and I'll send you a shirt too.
Or you can give to the International Food Safety Network.
Give large. Give small. It's all on-line at
https://one.found.ksu.edu/ccon/new_gift.do?action=newGift&CCN_FUND_ID=3894&SCENARIO=SELECTFUND
Any problems, just e-mail me, dpowell@ksu.edu.
And if you benefit from our services, then we're continuing with our payment model that alt.music darlings Radiohead stole from us: pay what you want.
Don't eat cow poop
But apparently that's exactly what 11 boys and one staff member at the Mount Carmel Youth Ranch in Wyoming did earlier this year and got a whopping dose of campylobacter.
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The Billings Gazette reported that Kelly Weidenbach, a Wyoming Department of Health epidemiologist, said that the outbreak was probably caused by residents unknowingly ingesting feces from a sick calf.
Weidenbach also said that stool samples from some residents and one calf from the ranch tested positive for the same strain of campylobacter, making it likely that a calf with a diarrheal illness was the source of the outbreak, and that tracking the source of the outbreak was "complicated by the fact that boys help prepare food for one another, and they were also working with cattle."
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She said there was no evidence that the bacteria was food-borne, and water tests came back negative.
Don't eat poop.
The Billings Gazette reported that Kelly Weidenbach, a Wyoming Department of Health epidemiologist, said that the outbreak was probably caused by residents unknowingly ingesting feces from a sick calf.Weidenbach also said that stool samples from some residents and one calf from the ranch tested positive for the same strain of campylobacter, making it likely that a calf with a diarrheal illness was the source of the outbreak, and that tracking the source of the outbreak was "complicated by the fact that boys help prepare food for one another, and they were also working with cattle."
She said there was no evidence that the bacteria was food-borne, and water tests came back negative.Don't eat poop.
Tiffany Eversley, guest barfblogger: Dry lips? Try some Chicken Poop
While skimming through the pages of People magazine, discovering the latest in style and fashion, I came across chicken poop lip chap.
The label reads “100% free range chicken poop lip junk “ however despite the name, there is no fecal matter listed in the ingredients. In fact, the natural ingredients include all natural 100% pure non-GMO soy, jojoba, sweet orange, lavender, and bees wax.
I was relieved to find out that consumers weren’t actually putting shit on their lips. Chicken feces are often a vector of salmonella- a serious bacteria that can cause sever diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.
Chicken poop lip junk originated when its creator, Jamie Faith Tabor Schmidt, heard her grandfather say, "I know how to fix those chapped lips, I'll rub some chicken poop on `em so you won't be lickin` 'em."
Along with the ambiguous Chicken poop lip chap, The Simone Chickenbone™ Natural Put-Ons™ line also includes “Good gravy”, a moisturizing hair pomade, and “Kill It Dead”, a natural vegan spray deodorant- great stocking stuffers for the 2007 holiday season.
--
Tiffany Eversley is an fourth year food science student at the University of Guelph
The label reads “100% free range chicken poop lip junk “ however despite the name, there is no fecal matter listed in the ingredients. In fact, the natural ingredients include all natural 100% pure non-GMO soy, jojoba, sweet orange, lavender, and bees wax.
I was relieved to find out that consumers weren’t actually putting shit on their lips. Chicken feces are often a vector of salmonella- a serious bacteria that can cause sever diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.
Chicken poop lip junk originated when its creator, Jamie Faith Tabor Schmidt, heard her grandfather say, "I know how to fix those chapped lips, I'll rub some chicken poop on `em so you won't be lickin` 'em."
Along with the ambiguous Chicken poop lip chap, The Simone Chickenbone™ Natural Put-Ons™ line also includes “Good gravy”, a moisturizing hair pomade, and “Kill It Dead”, a natural vegan spray deodorant- great stocking stuffers for the 2007 holiday season.
--
Tiffany Eversley is an fourth year food science student at the University of Guelph
Is vomiting a symptom of bird flu?
Apparently that's what a flight crew on a Korean Air flight to Auckland thought when they alerted police on the ground that a passenger was vomiting, or "displaying bird flu symptoms". According to an AP report in the New York Times today:.jpg)
Crew on the flight, from South Korea via Australia, alerted airport authorities when the woman began vomiting and showing other possible bird flu symptoms, sparking a lockdown on the tarmac as the plane landed, said Norman Upjohn, an ambulance duty manager.
The 223 people aboard the Boeing 747 were held for about an hour under ''full quarantine procedure'' while a paramedic in protective clothing examined the woman, Upjohn said.
South Korea declared itself bird flu free in June, after reporting no new cases of the H5N1 strain of bird flu -- in birds or humans -- for three months.
I sure hope that no one with a bit of vomit or diarrhea flies to NZ from the UK this week.
Crew on the flight, from South Korea via Australia, alerted airport authorities when the woman began vomiting and showing other possible bird flu symptoms, sparking a lockdown on the tarmac as the plane landed, said Norman Upjohn, an ambulance duty manager.
The 223 people aboard the Boeing 747 were held for about an hour under ''full quarantine procedure'' while a paramedic in protective clothing examined the woman, Upjohn said.
South Korea declared itself bird flu free in June, after reporting no new cases of the H5N1 strain of bird flu -- in birds or humans -- for three months.
I sure hope that no one with a bit of vomit or diarrhea flies to NZ from the UK this week.
'Mr. Toilet' and his latest creation
Today's the, The USA Today, reports that in South Korea, Sim Jae-duck has earned the moniker "Mr. Toilet" for his work in beautifying public restrooms.
Now, though, he's taken his work to a whole new level.
Jae-duck is building a toilet-shaped house (complete with a luxury lavatory) just in time for the World Toilet Association conference this month in Seoul, South Korea.
Poop in the field
Monterey County, California's, Agricultural Field Toilet Inspection Program requires clean toilets, hand-washing stations and drinking water for Monterey County's workers, enforcing long-standing state laws with new resolve.The increased inspections are meant to encourage good hygiene among workers and to prevent crops from being contaminated.
Lourdes Bosquez, Salinas office supervisor of Consumer Health Protection Services, said,
"We used to do this in the '80s and '90s. Now, with the E. coli outbreaks, we thought it was important that we brought the program back."
Farmers will need Health Department permits for their field toilets by Jan. 1.
Our video for Poop in the Field is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL8iXUbTqgI.
Poop is sometimes OK?
The Scotsman is reporting that trials in a Scottish hospital have shown patients suffering from Clostridium difficile infections can be cured using human faeces -- a 'donor stool' administered via a tube through the nose into their stomach.
Clostridium difficile is a particular problem among patients who have been prescribed strong antibiotics as they also wipe out the so-called 'friendly' disease-fighting bacteria in the intestine. Faecal 'transplants', as they are known, are believed to restore the bacteria to levels at which they help the recovery process.
Doctors involved in the trials admit there are "obvious aesthetic problems" in the treatment, which involves patients ingesting a liquidised sample of faeces from a partner or close relative.
Despite the positive results, doctors stress that they still regard the faecal transplant as a "last resort" because it is cumbersome and the idea of is unpleasant.
Clostridium difficile is a particular problem among patients who have been prescribed strong antibiotics as they also wipe out the so-called 'friendly' disease-fighting bacteria in the intestine. Faecal 'transplants', as they are known, are believed to restore the bacteria to levels at which they help the recovery process.
Doctors involved in the trials admit there are "obvious aesthetic problems" in the treatment, which involves patients ingesting a liquidised sample of faeces from a partner or close relative.
Despite the positive results, doctors stress that they still regard the faecal transplant as a "last resort" because it is cumbersome and the idea of is unpleasant.
How much poop can humans safely eat?
Kent Sepkowitz, a physician in New York City who writes about medicine, writes in Slate.com that,"… one year ago, the now-famous E. coli outbreak arising from contaminated spinach rattled the natural-food industry and gave carnivores a moment of schadenfreude. The story had the heartbreaking elements we have come to dread: A young child eats something mundane and dies a horrid death. Boom, gone. I have (unsuccessfully) treated one such case and rate it as perhaps the most chilling moment of my career.
"With every outbreak, the same question sounds: Why can't we keep the food chain clean? … The best response to E. coli and the other pathogens that cause food poisoning is to recognize, humbly, that we can get the food supply almost perfectly clean, but never completely. There's just too much crap out there: human crap, horse crap, cow crap, pig crap. In the feces of these and other animals are trillions of infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, fungi, worms, and everything else that upsets the stomach). Try as we may to contain the mess, we can never win. Pig dung fouls rivers; cow crap seeps into water tables; human shit kicks back every time heavy rains overwhelm a sewage system's filtration capacity. …
"Rather than frantically throwing money at new ways to eradicate the pathogens that reside in shit, we should fund the boring scientists who focus on untangling the intricacies of the gut's immune system. Labs, answer this: How much shit can we safely eat and, as importantly, how much must we eat to remain healthy?"
While there is some truth in the doctor's comments, humans just aren't smart enough to figure out who is genetically susceptible to the various nasties out there. Maybe the population's immunity can be increased by exposure to some cryptosporidium or salmonella or whatever, but individuals are gonna die. We're gonna lose a few. And we don't know who those few are.
So while we're figuring that out, we have a responsibility to use the science we know to reduce the number of people who get sick from the food and water they consume. And don't eat poop.
Vanilla made from cow poop: demand slow
Mayu Yamamoto, exactly as shown, left, accepts her Ig Nobel prize for research that "cannot or should not be reproduced," Thursday night.Ms. Yamamoto, of the International Medical Centre of Japan, won the chemistry prize in the annual spoofs of the real Nobel awards for discovering that vanillin, the main ingredient of vanilla essence, can be synthesized from a wide variety of herbivore animal dung -- from cows, goats, horses and even pandas. It cannot be made, however, from tiger excrement.
Although the production cost using dung is less than a half of making vanillin out of vanilla beans, Yamamoto found that her work was ignored by multinational corporations.
Fine for making unpasteurized cider below bird nests
While some may argue that bird poop is natural, others may argue that bird poop is an excellent source of salmonella, campylobacter and others.On September 4, 2007, Dennis Wasylyszyn, an employee of Aberdeen Farm Market in Coldstream, B.C., pled guilty in provincial court to one count of violating s.4(e) of the Food and Drugs Act by selling an article of food which was manufactured or prepared under unsanitary conditions. Mr. Wasylyszyn was fined $2000 for this violation.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency explains that Mr. Wasylyszyn was preparing fresh, unpasteurized apple juice with a machine that was protected only by an open-raftered roof supported by four beams. The processing area was open to the air and there were indications birds were roosting in the rafters above the machine.
There was no evidence of illness related to consumption of the juice.