In the aftermath of 34 people being sickened at an Australian Christmas party – I’d go with the rice or C. perfringens on turkey given the rapid onset – experts are proclaiming how simple food safety is, and that people only have to follow basic steps.

There has been no identification of the causative agent or food, but that hasn’t restrained some from speaking out.

Dr. Thomas Razga, an emergency medicine specialist, sees cases of food poisoning every day at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

“Everyday we would have multiple patients coming in with either infectious gastroenteritis or, particularly around this party season, anything from mild to quite severe cases of food poisoning from poorly prepared and stored food,” he said.

It really is 1978 in parts of Australia.

I’m not sure what consumers are supposed to do about Listeria in candy apples, but that’s another story.