More than 40 percent of packaged meats sampled from three Arizona chain stores tested positive for Clostridium difficile (C. diff), a bacteria that can cause intestinal distress and, very rarely, death. About 40 percent of the cooked products and nearly 48 percent of the ready-to-eat products showed evidence of C. diff. Nearly 30 percent of the tainted samples of ground beef, pork and turkey and ready-to-eat meats were identical or closely related to a super-toxic strain of C. diff that's a growing problem in hospitals across the country.
But there are no proven cases of humans getting C. diff from food; it's almost always hospital transmitted. And if food-person transmission is possible, it's not known if the levels of bacteria in the supermarket meat are high enough to cause infection. But it does seem to add to the growing evidence that overuse of antibiotics, both at home and in meat processing plants, are leading to nasty superbugs. Yet another reason to eat sustainably-raised hormone and antibiotic-free meat.
After some comments in my post about shrimp cocktail, I began to think about kitchen fears. Shayna covered "risky eating" in April, but what about how you run your kitchen and how you prepare your food? Are you an Alton Brown, who treats raw chicken like an infectious disease with his gloves, sterilizing, and paranoia? Are you like a Jamie Oliver, who will run ribs, chicken, and lamb through a barbecue sauce, and then run his finger through it to lick and taste? Maybe somewhere in between?
I am, by no means, going to refute the possible dangers of bacteria. Everyone's immune systems are different, and one person's healthy, bacteria-filled oasis is another's stomach-bugged hell. That being said, I'm happy to say (knock on wood) that it's never been an issue for me. In my early cooking days, I would try to keep things clean, but would always get a little lazy with my chicken/meats -- until I dated someone who looked at my kitchen practices with horror. I got more particular and careful, especially when cooking for others, but when I'm only cooking for me, I'm still fairly lax.
And I see no reason to change my habits. I've never had food poisoning, and I have only been sick a few times in the last 10 years. It's hard not to buy into the notion that exposure is great for building resistance when my lifestyle has kept me ridiculously healthy.
And we're not talking about your mental health because you haven't looked at anything but spreadsheets for four days. We're talking about your physical health.
As you wind down your day in front of your computer sitting at your desk, take a moment and look down at your keyboard. You could be looking at something that is dirtier than the toilet seat in the bathroom down the hall. This means eating lunch in front of your computer might be a health hazard!
According to British microbiologist James Francis four of 33 keyboards he tested were potential health hazards and one had germs at a level five times higher than that found on the toilet seat.
Makes me want to dip my laptop in a bleach solution and never eat at my desk again.
Of course, that's not possible when your boss's demands are forcing you to wolf down a sandwich at your desk through lunch. Just make sure to wash your hands, don't let other co-workers touch your keyboard, and my best advice is to eat lunch with utensils, not your hands.
When you go out to eat, it's often the case that the water, iced tea or soda you order comes with a wedge of lemon perched on the rim of the glass. However, according to the research done by scientists at New Jersey's Passaic County Community College, you could be endangering your health by dropping that lemon slice into your glass.
They sampled 76 lemon wedges from 21 different restaurants and found that nearly 70% produced some form of microbial growth in the lab. In total, they were able to find 25 different forms of bacteria and yeasts on the sampled lemon wedges. It is not known what effect this is having on the consumers who come into contact with these contaminated lemon wedges, however, it could be causing problems for people who have weakened immune systems.
(Oops, we seem to have posted about this just a few weeks ago. Please excuse the duplication)!
Over at Culinate, Catherine Bennett Dunster wrote an interesting article/explanation about probiotics -- live microorganisms found in foods which may have health benefits. Dunster writes that probiotics have been reported to improve intestinal health, boost immune systems and reduce lactose intolerance, but adds that there is currently minimal strong scientific evidence to support these claims.
As an immune-suppressed, lactose-intolerant person with an auto-immune intestinal disease, I've tried my fair share of probiotics. Though I used to take a powdered, lemonade-flavored probiotic, VSL3, which I dissolved in water, I've switched to just trying to eat probiotic-friendly foods. My experiences are pretty much in line with Dunster's report, in that I don't notice a big difference in how I feel based on how much of these foods I consume (my doctors warned of this). Mostly, I just eat them because they taste good and I figure they can't hurt.
My favorite probiotic-containing food is Kashi Vive, a cereal for digestive health that I eat -- again -- because it tastes delicious. I have to be careful not to consume too much, though, because it's also high in fiber (which isn't great for my intestines). Many yogurts are also well-known for containing them, and some companies have even launched lines of yogurts aimed at promoting digestive health (though there has been backlash). Check out a longer list of brand-name foods containing probiotics here at The Nibble, and definitely let us know if you've had success with any of them!
Between beef recalls and threats of mad cow disease, the simple action of eating is quickly becoming less of a pleasurable activity and more of a chore, or, in some cases, a big wager.
Think you know your salmonella from your E.Coli? Feeling bored? Test your smarts with National Geographic's food safety quiz. Yes, I know, online quizzes are pretty nerdy, but this one actually provides you with decent information. After you answer each question, the site gives you a brief synopsis of the topic, so you can bulk up on your food safety knowledge for your next dinner party.
Or, even better: when the weather gets warmer and you attend a picnic, turn to your friend as she takes her first bite of chicken salad and bust out with, "Did you know that food borne illnesses are more common in warmer weather?" and watch her spit out her food and glare at you. If nothing else, your new found knowledge will provide you with hours of entertainment.
Stories like this make me happy I don't like ice in my cold drinks.
The Chicago Sun-Timestested 49 different restaurants and fast food places in the area and found out that not only did 1 in 5 have ice cubes that had high levels of bacteria, 21 of the 49 had toilet water in the Sun-Times restroom that had less bacteria than the ice cubes. The paper actually names the restaurants.
Now, this either means the restaurants aren't handling their ice cubes correctly (or there's something in the water), or the urinary and digestive tracts of Sun-Times employees are unusually clean.
I remember I worked in a restaurant that had a large sink behind the bar that we just filled with ice, and it was left open. I can imagine what could have fallen in there or how clean the sink was when the ice was put in.
So, did you hear about the cooked shrimp that glowed in the dark? I realize that sounds like the set-up to a joke, but it's no joke. A Seattle man recently bought some cooked shrimp at his local Thriftway. He ate some of it and then left the rest sitting on his kitchen counter for a moment. When he came back he noticed that in the darkened kitchen the shrimp was glowing, "like a bright eerie light was shining on it."
The FDA has said that they have no plans of looking into the case of the glowing shrimp (sounds like a Nancy Drew mystery) as since no one got sick, it isn't a food safety issue. Apparently, this is not the first time that seafood has glowed in the dark. It is thought to be caused luminescent species of bacteria found in ocean waters that the shrimp picked up while they were alive.
Since most of us love chocolate (some like all kinds of chocolate), it would be good to know why we're so addicted to the stuff. Could it be ... bacteria?
Nestle paid for a study in Switzerland that showed that, while everyone has various microbes in their stomachs and intestines, people who crave chocolate seem to have different types of microbes than other people. The study actually took a while to complete because they couldn't find 11 men who didn't like chocolate!
I'm not sure what's more interesting: the fact that people who love chocolate have different types of bacteria in their body, or the fact that we all have trillions of bacteria in our bodies.
We all know we're supposed to wash our fruits and vegetables before we cook or eat them, but how do you know how much washing is enough? And should you use soap or is water plenty? The editors over at Cook's Illustrated recently took on this question, washing apples and pears with four different methods. They discovered that using a scrub brush with water was fairly effective, removing 85% of bacteria, but that using a solution of one part vinegar to three parts water was the best. That method removed 98% of the bacteria.
A good way of keeping that vinegar around is to fill a spray bottle with the stuff and leave it by the sink. Simply spritz the item that needs to be cleaned with a little bit of the solution and rinse off with cold water. Ninety-eight percent clean fruits and veggies will result!
Here's the latest battle in the "U.S. said/China said" food wars.
China has impounded shipments of apricots and orange pulp because of "excessive bacteria and mold." According to this article, some believe that this is in retaliation for the various problems the U.S. says it has been having with food and other products imported from China in the past several months. China warns that rules and guidelines about food from the U.S. could be tightened.
It's not only food that the U.S. has complained about. It is also faulty tires, unsafe fake toothpaste, lead paint in toys, and that whole nasty business with pet food.
After green onions were identified as the source of contamination for an E. coli outbreak at several East Coast Taco Bells, the company not only recalled all the scallions at its 5,800 locations nationwide, but sent out samples of the rest of their food products for testing to ensure that no other foods were at risk. The tests have come back negative, leaving the green onions as the sole source for the bacteria.
Taco Bell has switched produce suppliers, but with 61 cases identified, including 48 hospitalizations and 7 cases of kidney failure, the company is not out of the woods yet. Lawsuits are already being filed on behalf of some of those who were victims of the contamination, and because most chain restaurants have indemnity agreements with their suppliers, the company will be the one held accountable in these cases.
The company is working to sanitize and reopen stores that closed as a result of the outbreak.
In a recent study, Consumer Reports concluded that 83% of all the chickens sold in the US are likely to contain foodborne illness-causing bacteria, such as campylobacter and salmonella. Known for its reliable research techniques and consumer-minded approach to issues, Consumer reports has come under criticism from the USDA, which "called the report 'junk science.'"
The CR study involved running tests on 525 supermarket chickens (from leading brands) before drawing their conclusions. Despite the fact that different brands were tested, the USDA says that the sample size was too small to conclude anything about all the chickens in the country - especially considering that there are something like 9 billion chickens killed for food in the US every year. A spokesperson for the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said that the methodology was not there, or at least was not sufficiently explained, to justify the conclusions. For example, the study found that 15% of chickens carried salmonella (a number actually in line with USDA data), but failed to identify the strain(s) present, not even mentioning that not every strain makes people sick.
The USDA will conduct its own study of the matter beginning in January.
Researchers at the USDA have developed an edible coating that will actually kill bacteria on fresh produce. It is intended to be an alternative to conventional or chemical produce washes that will keep the food just as fresh, if not fresher, and reduce the risk of food-borne illness that is associated with fresh produce. The coating is made of apple puree and oregano oil. The oregano oil is a natural antibacterial agent and did a better job at eliminating bacteria than other oils, while the apple puree helps the coating adhere to the fruit/vegetable and takes the edge off the oregano flavor. So far, it has only been tested on E. Coli, where the oregano has been shown to kill at least half of all present bacteria in under 3 minutes. The are planning on developing wrappers in other flavors, as well as targeting different bacteria in the future, including salmonella and listeria.
The products could be commercially available in as little as two years, but they are now being tested by some selected companies and stores.
The USDA has some comprehensive food safety guidelines to help you cook your Thanksgiving turkey. While some cookbooks, and probably some chefs, might tell you that cooking times and temperatures should be changed to produce a moister bird, at least you'll get a safe bird from using the USDA's guide. First things first, you need to completely defrost your turkey before beginning. Keep the turkey in its original wrapper as it thaws and try to keep it as cool as possible. It should either be defrosted by being submerged in cold water or on a tray in the refrigerator.
Frozen turkey thawing timetable Weight In refrigerator In cold water 4 to 12 pounds 1 to 3 days 2 to 6 hours 12 to 16 pounds 3 to 4 days 6 to 8 hours 16 to 20 pounds 4 to 5 days 8 to 10 hours 20 to 24 pounds 5 to 6 days 10 to 12 hours
And we're not talking about your mental health because you haven't looked at anything but spreadsheets for four days. We're talking about your physical health.
Stories like this make me happy I don't like ice in my cold drinks.
Since most of us love chocolate (some like 
Here's the latest battle in the "U.S. said/China said" food wars.
After 
In a recent study, Consumer Reports concluded that 83% of all the chickens sold in the US are likely to contain foodborne illness-causing bacteria, such as campylobacter and salmonella. Known for its reliable research techniques and consumer-minded approach to issues, Consumer reports has come under criticism from the USDA, which "
Researchers at the USDA have 
The USDA has some comprehensive 
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