Tag Archives: food safety

‘I got to publish a paper with Ninja in title’: evaluation of a food safety education game

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Erstwhile food safety nerd and friend of the blog, Don Schaffner of Rutgers, was one of the authors of a new paper in the British Food Journal exploring food safety education for middle school youths.

“Teaching people about food safety is easy, says Schaffner. “Getting them to really get it – especially when it’s busy – is hard. This game shows the balancing act that kitchen employees have to master to keep customers happy while still keeping food safe.  Plus I got to publish a paper with Ninja in the title.  How cool is that?”

The game is available at http://ninjakitchengame.org.

ninja.kitchenAbstract below.

Ninja Kitchen to the rescue: Evaluation of a food safety education game for middle school youth

British Food Journal, Vol. 115 Iss: 5, pp.686 – 699

Virginia Quick, Kirsten W. Corda, Barbara Chamberlin, Donald W. Schaffner, Carol Byrd-Bredbenner

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0007-070x&volume=115&issue=5&articleid=17088306&show=abstract  

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of Ninja Kitchen, a food safety educational video game, on middle school students’ food safety knowledge, psychographic characteristics, and usual and intended behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach – The experimental group (n=903) completed the following activities about one week apart from each other: pretest, played the game, posttest, and follow-up test. The control group (n=365) completed the same activities at similar intervals but did not have access to the game until after the follow-up test.

Findings – Linear mixed-effects models, controlling for gender, grade, and geographic location revealed significant time by group effects for knowledge of safe cooking temperatures for animal proteins and danger zone hazard prevention, and usual produce washing behaviors. Pairwise comparisons, adjusted for multiple comparisons, indicated that after playing the game, the experimental group felt more susceptible to foodborne illness, had stronger attitudes toward the importance of handling food safely and handwashing, had greater confidence in their ability to practice safe food handling, and had greater intentions to practice handwashing and safe food handling. Teachers and students found the game highly acceptable.

Originality/value – The game has the potential to promote positive food safety behaviors among youth, in a fun and educational format.

Ethnic restaurant in Sydney fined $85,000

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The Crow’s Nest, an Indian and Pakistani cuisine restaurant in North Sydney, has been fined $85,00 for more than 15 different food safety violations that took place between 2011 and the present date.

Mike Stewart of Australian Food Safety News writes this type of fine is considered the worst that could be given, used only when the types of crow's.nestviolation are so serious that they truly put public safety at risk.

Some of the violations that the restaurant was found guilty by the North Sydney Food Council for included:

• serious cockroach infestation;

• no hot water available in kitchen;

• walls, floors, and shelves were covered in grease and grime, creating food safety concerns as well as fire hazards;

• food was being stored in broken containers;

• chopping boards were not being cleaned properly; and,

• refrigerators were not functioning properly or were not sealed to keep cold air in.

The owner of the Crow’s Nest indicates that more than $40,000 have been poured into reconstruction and maintenance to ensure the restaurant is no longer in violation. Additionally, the owner indicated that the exterminators visit every six weeks now to ensure that roaches are completely eradicated from the location.

 

294 sick; Firefly Salmonella creates complications, hard choices for pregnant Las Vegan

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In late April, a couple of days after Konstantino and “Myla,” Lyudmyla Kouris walked over from their All Real Estate investment company office to have lunch with their friend Nikk Zorbas at the Firefly restaurant next door, Myla, got sick.

Paul Harasim of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that ahough doctors first saw the symptoms as a commonplace indication of pregnancy, stool Lyudmyla Radchenkosamples taken after her condition worsened showed –– and continue to show –– she suffers from salmonella, food poisoning that caused the Southern Nevada Health District to shutter the Paradise Road Firefly on April 26.

To their horror, the couple learned that what was generally causing others a few days of distress –– nearly 300 people have now reported food poisoning symptoms –– could lead to severe pregnancy complications.

Radchenko, expecting her child in early June, was too ill to take part in initial interviews with the Review-Journal last week in which Kouris and Zorbas first outlined her situation. Zorbas spent four days in the hospital fighting salmonella symptoms, while Kouris recently stopped taking antibiotics for his bout with salmonella.

“Our lives have been nothing but stress since we found out what Myla had –– nothing is really positive any more,” Kouris, 50, said as the couple sat in their office on Monday. “All we talk about now, all we think about, is what salmonella could do to our baby.”

With stool samples this week showing the salmonella still strong in her system, Radchenko nodded at the talk of stress as she repeatedly caressed her stomach.

“So much stress,” she said in an accent that reflects her Ukrainian homeland. “It is so scary. I’m afraid for our little boy.”

Food safety apology II: Copa sorry for Salmonella outbreak

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The restaurant behind Canberra’s largest salmonella outbreak has made a public apology to affected diners.

The Copa Brazilian Churrasco restaurant in Dickson released the statement on Thursday morning, after 140 people fell ill and 15 were admitted to raw.egg_.mayo_-300x203hospital after eating bad mayonnaise nearly two weeks ago.

“It is with sincere compassion and genuine sorrow that we apologize to all the people and their families affected by the recent tragic sequence of events,” the statement said.

“We have removed all products containing raw eggs from our menu to ensure an outbreak of this kind is never repeated at The Copa.”

The release said the restaurant management had been unable to make an official statement earlier due to the ongoing investigation, but decided to make an apology now given the release date was unknown.

It’s never wrong to say sorry, especially when it was clear that 140 barfing people had one thing in common: they ate at the Copa.

To now remove all raw-egg based dishes is nice, but too little too late. Any restaurant that willingly ignores risks associated with its food gets little sympathy. There have been plenty of raw-egg related outbreaks in Australia — so many that we have our own table — including Canberra in 2011.

A table of raw-egg related outbreaks in Australia is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia.

copa.apology

294 now sick with Salmonella linked to sausage (chorizo ) at Vegas Firefly restaurant

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On April 26, 2013, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), Office of Epidemiology (OOE) received reports of gastrointestinal illness from 8 independent groups of patrons of Firefly on Paradise or the adjacent affiliated restaurant Dragonfly on Paradise (Firefly) located at 3900 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89109. All patrons from these groups ate at the restaurant during April 21-24, 2013. Ill patrons reported symptoms of chorizodiarrhea and/or vomiting after they consumed food from Firefly restaurant, and many sought medical care for their illness. In response to these illness reports, the SNHD initiated an investigation.  

From various surveillance data sources, we have received reports of illness from restaurant patrons who normally reside in 27 states and 2 foreign countries (Canada and United Kingdom) who ate at Firefly during their visits to Las Vegas.

Of the 21 food items that were analyzed, one item, cooked chorizo (a type of sausage), tested positive for Salmonella. Culture and PFGE-pattern results of the Salmonella isolate obtained from the cooked chorizo matched those of the outbreak strain. There are no plans to test the remaining 14 food items that were collected on April 26, 2013.

EH staff contacted Firefly restaurant management to gather more information about the handling of the chorizo product. The chorizo came into the restaurant raw and was subsequently cooked by Firefly restaurant staff.

It is likely that the outbreak was due to local cross-contamination in the restaurant’s kitchen and not from a contaminated commercial food.

John Simmons, the owner of the Firefly restaurants, released a statement firefly.salm.puppet.videothrough a new public relations firm, just hired.

“We appreciate the Southern Nevada Health District’s thorough review and swift conclusion to this matter. From day one, our concern has always been doing everything we could for those affected and doing everything we could to use this time to make Firefly the safest place to eat in southern Nevada.”

And to further prove Vegas is the temple of trash, check out this video from an aspiring ambulance chaser:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z24K6vIkB7M

(maybe Chapman can figure out how to embed it)

 

8 now sick with Salmonella linked to tahini sesame paste

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Following on the initial release by the Minnesota Department of Health last week, a total of eight persons in six states has been infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Montevideo or Salmonella Mbandaka linked to tahini sesame paste distributed by Krinos Foods, LLC of Long Island City, New York.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that  during routine product testing at a retail store, the Michigan Department of Agriculture isolated krinos.tahini.salmonella.13Salmonella Montevideo from Krinos brand tahini sesame paste.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration isolated Salmonella Mbandaka from imported tahini sesame paste collected from shipments arriving in the United States for distribution by Krinos Foods.

On April 28, 2013, Krinos Foods recalled its tahini sesame pastebecause of potential contamination with Salmonella.

On May 9, 2013, the recall was expanded to include additional expiration dates.

The recalled lots have expiration dates from January 1, 2014 to June 8, 2014 and from October 16, 2014 to March 15, 2015.

CDC recommends that consumers do not eat recalled Krinos brand tahini sesame paste and discard any remaining product.

This product has a long shelf-life, and it may still be in people’s homes.

Another unplucked gem: Texas health type says E. coli outbreak was a fluke

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In addition to offending parents and public health types by a taco-eating endorsement of a restaurant faulted for landing two kids in hospital for a month, Dr. Eric Wilke, of the Brazos County Health Department in Texas also said yesterday the outbreak was a “fluke.”

I bet the parents of those kids don’t feel that way.

And how do the cooks at Coco Loco verify the ground beef has reached 165F? Some kind of temperature-measuring device?

When health types choose restaurants over public health; parents of boys sickened from E. coli insulted by news conference

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People are never as funny as they think they are; I especially ingrain that message into public health students and professionals, because when little kids are really sick, humor don’t go over too well.

But Dr. Eric Wilke, with the Brazos County Health Department in Texas, next door to Texas A&M where beef is best, thought it would be appropriate to do his own see-I’m-eating-this-it-must-be-OK routine favored by politicians to endorse the safety meatwad.raw.hamburgerof a food product stigmatized – usually rightly so – by an outbreak.

The County has been investigating the outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that sickened at least 10 people for two weeks, but adamantly refused to release details about the restaurant and supplier link.

Today, Dr. Wilkie began a press conference by taking a bite of a ground beef taco from fingered restaurant, Coco Loco, prior to making that announcement.

“Since everybody, I’m sure, would want to know the name of the restaurant, I went by there right before I came. I got a beef taco, so here it is.”

Wilke paused to chew the taco before continuing with the announcement at the news conference.

“The restaurant is Coco Loco. If you want to meet there tomorrow, we could go eat lunch. I shouldn’t have taken a big bite while I’m on camera.”

Judge for yourselves in the news clip from KHOU 11, below.

The parents of an 18-month-old and a 4-year-old who were sickened from E. coli were disgusted by the failed flair.

Parents Greg and Alissa Melton feel Dr. Wilke should’ve got straight to the facts.

“If his kids were in that situation, in the hospital for a month, it wouldn’t have been such a joking matter,” said Greg Melton.

Last week, Melton’s 4-year-old son Jack was released from Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

On Monday, the same day as the news conference, his 18-month-old son Noah was released.

“They seemed more concerned about saving face for the restaurant than the critical care my kids were in,” said Greg Melton.

Thanks to Marler for forwarding the clip, and thanks to Dr. Wilkie, for providing a textbook example of how not to do food safety risk communication that will be used for years.
                  

70 now sick with Salmonella linked to Fayettville Holiday Inn

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A salmonella outbreak stemming from a Fayetteville hotel has now reached 70 possible cases, 12 of which are out of state.

The Cumberland County Department of Public Health says 70 people have reported signs or symptoms consistent with salmonella infections. Five people Holiday-Inn-FAYETTEVILLE-BORDEAUX-Hotel-Exterior-6have been hospitalized.

WNCN reports all seem to have eaten at the All American Sports Bar and Grill and The Café Bordeaux within the Holiday Inn Fayetteville – Bordeaux on Owen Drive.

The hotel’s General Manager Scooter Deal said the first 14 reported cases were all staff members at the hotel, including himself.

Deal said the health department investigators have asked questions of the restaurant kitchen staff and reviewed how they handled food. They are also checking what foods were shipped to the hotel.

10 sick; Texas E. coli outbreak linked to ground beef from local restaurant

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The source of the E. coli outbreak in Brazos County, Texas, has been linked to ground beef from a local restaurant, according to a press release from the Brazos County Health Department.

Health types won’t release the name of the restaurant but say it fully co-rare.hamburgeroperated during the investigation.

Five cases of E. coli were confirmed in Brazos County. Five other cases were investigated due to the criteria of symptoms, but they have not been confirmed.

“Control measures have been implemented to prevent further cases including mandatory glove use by employees and continuous monitoring by BCHD,” said the Health Department in a press release.