"hygiene" news and stories

Healthy officials say celebrity chefs often fail to maintain basic hygiene standards, according to an article by BBC news.

Interestingly, however, the article only cites one health official, but it states that the issue was brought up at a medical conference in Edinburgh. Crimes by the celebrity chefs include not washing lettuce and using the same utensils for raw meat and cooked foods. Guilty shows include BBC's Ready Steady Cook and Celebrity MasterChef, which I've actually never seen.

I'm not sure whether the problem, if it exists, happens here in the U.S. as well, as I have never thought about the issue while watching food TV. I guess I always presume that ingredients are pre-washed, or that the washing is edited out of programs like Top Chef and Iron Chef America. Your thoughts?

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The World Health Organization advises that in areas free from the disease, poultry and poultry products can be prepared and eaten as usual (following good hygiene practice and proper cooking), with no fear of acquiring infection.

General hygiene rules should be followed when handling raw poultry

• those preparing the food should wash their hands thoroughly
• surfaces and utensils in contact with the poultry products should be washed throughly. Soap and hot water are sufficient for this purpose

There are no reports of people contracting bird flu (H5N1) from eating eggs of meat from poultry. But the WHO still advises that the the virus may be present in meat and eggs from affected birds. The virus is easily killed by by cooking and, if still present, the virus is destroyed by saliva and by gastric acid, as well as the fact that there are very few receptors the virus needs to enter the body in the gut.

The WHO has a PDF download on combating the disease.

[image from the steeldeal]

 

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In response to ongoing talks of change to established pension plans, the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) union in the UK is considering a five-day strike. If a strike went ahead, the slaughterhouses throughout the country of Scotland, where 150 members of the union are employed, would be forced to close - a move that would definitely hurt small businesses and butchers whose customers look forward to picking up fresh products. There would be no alternative to closing during a strike, because the 900-member MHS union inspects the conditions and quality of meat throughout the production and packaging process. Serious safety and health issues could arise from improperly inspected meat. Sources, according the BBC, are reportedly urging the union to rethink it strike position and keep negotiations open, as business closures could have a long-term, negative impact on the economy. Approximately 200,000 public workers in Scotland went on strike on Tuesday to show solidarity with the MHS.

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