Yearly Archives: 2015

Dirty Dining, Vegas style

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Darcy Spears of KTNV Channel 13 writes there is a four-way tie for the dirtiest dining in Las Vegas this week.

dirty.dining.vegasAt Beijing Chinese Cuisine on Eastern and Serene, inspectors found pork blood dripping onto noodles in a loosely covered container, and mold-like growth touching crab rangoons and lettuce in the walk-in.

At El Santaneco on Maryland Parkway across from UNLV, health inspectors found the restaurant falsified time logs used to keep track of proper food temperatures.

Contact 13 discovered they’re misleading the public about their health grade. The A grade card on display is dated Jan. 21. But as of March 5, El Santaneco has a C grade.

An employee said there was no one in charge at the restaurant, but that’s one of the things that got them in trouble with the health district. They’re required to have a qualified food safety manager in charge on premises at all times.

The employee walked away, threw up his hands and gave no answers to our questions.

At DT’s Filipino Food on Rainbow and Warm Springs, inspectors found a food handler didn’t properly wash hands after handling raw meat. Containers of oxtail, cut cabbage, chicken and pork blood were all at unsafe temperatures.

Abyssinia Restaurant on Tropicana and Cameron where inspectors wrote up repeat violations for food improperly cooled and thawed. They also found a dirty cutting board, holes in kitchen walls and rocks used to prop up the freezer.

Also, the person in charge was unable to demonstrate food safety knowledge.

http://ktnv.video.jrn.com/?ndn.trackingGroup=90835&ndn.siteSection=ndn&ndn.videoId=28745030&freewheel=90835&sitesection=ndn&vid=28745030
 

Why not today? Can China up food safety if 2022 Olympics held in Beijing?

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If China wants to up its food safety, white mice as food tasters is not the way to do it.

Mouse eating CheeseBut an article in Shanghai Daily states that as a candidate for 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Beijing is eager to show off a wide variety of cuisines to visitors from all over the world.

But wait before serve. What about the safety of your food?

A recent survey by China Youth Daily showed that food safety has become one of the public worries, as well as one of the government’s major concerns.

As the Chinese government is making more efforts, food safety for the general public, hopefully, can be removed from the list of concerns in the years to come.

And for athletes who have higher standards for food, Beijing already has a lot of experience from hosting the 2008 Olympics to make sure their needs met.

Back in 2008, the Olympic Food Safety Action Plan was in place and Beijing also mapped out a preparedness plan to cope with any possible emergencies in food safety during the Olympic Games.

Food for athletes were produced in compliance with strict standards, delivered in a unified way and carried electronic labels recording the whole process from the producer to the eaters.

Even white mice were said to be used to test food including milk, alcohol, salad, rice, oil, salt and seasonings, 24 hours before they are used in cooking or served to athletes.

Pretty safe: How safe are food courts in Montreal?

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With a team of microbiologists from McGill University, CBC Montreal Investigates/Radio-Canada conducted tests for bacteria on tables, trays and garbage bins at four different shopping centres in the Montreal area: Fairview Pointe-Claire, the Eaton Centre, Complexe Desjardins and Champlain Mall.  

eaton.center.montrealThe team found no evidence of bacteria which could cause serious food-borne illnesses such as E.coli, salmonella or listeria.

Nevertheless, lead microbiologist Lawrence Goodridge said he was surprised at the sheer variety of bacteria present.

His team noted some instances of the same bacteria present on both the flaps of garbage bins and trays.

“[It] suggests to me that when the consumers touch the flaps with the trays, this material’s getting on there,” Goodridge said, adding that malls should get rid of bins with flaps on them.

He also said consumers could also help themselves by using disinfectant wipes to clean the tables and trays prior to use. 

CBC shared the test results with an independent expert who took no part in the study — Montreal Children’s Hospital epidemiologist Caroline Quach.

Quach said she could find no risk to public safety.

61 sickened: Report released in Kansas Meals on Wheels Norovirus outbreak

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The most likely source of a norovirus infection in Jan. in Kansas that sickened at least 61 was the Meals on Wheels kitchen in Chanute, but enough data to pinpoint a more specific source could not be obtained.

meals.on.wheelsThe outbreak was first reported Jan. 7 after several people reported gastrointestinal distress after eating Meals on Wheels in Neosho, Allen or Woodson counties.

The investigation was a joint effort between the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Neosho, Allen and Woodson County health departments.

Those affected by the outbreak received meals from Meals on Wheels centers from distribution centers in Chanute, Erie, Humboldt, Iola, Moran, Neosho Falls, St. Paul, Toronto, Thayer and Yates Center, all of which receive their food from the central kitchen in Chanute.

Individual county health departments carried out interviews with affected individuals in their counties while KDHE interviewed staff and volunteers at Meals on Wheels.

According to the report, 488 clients were served by Meals on Wheels Jan. 5 and 6. Attempts were made to contact all served. A total of 159 were successfully interviewed, with 123 meeting the criteria for analysis. Of those, 61 reported illness.

Food fraud: Iron dust in tea and brick powder in chilli in India

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Frequent warnings and raids seem to have little impact on rampant food adulteration in the district. Over the last six months, food safety officials registered 45 cases against producers and shopkeepers for selling adulterated packed food following complaints and random raids. 

food_fraud_adulterationThe adulteration was mainly reported in tea powder, coconut oil, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, peas dal, chips and many spices sold in the district. 

For colouring grocery, many producers were found to be using non-permissible colours such as coal tar dyes. The most startling find was the presence of powdered iron even in branded tea powder packets. Officials have registered four cases in this regard. 

During inspections, they sub-standard oil mixed with coconut oil, non-permissible starch in coriander and turmeric powder, coal tar dyes in peas dal, yellow colour in chips and sudan dye used for colouring chilli powder. 

Going public: Why did KFC let a TV crew inside its chicken operation?

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BBC television, according to Bloomberg Business, is about to give viewers an in-depth look at how KFC raises, kills, and serves millions of chickens to its British customers every year.

kfc.chickenThe fast-food chain gave BBC journalists access to its operations for a three-part documentary, The Billion Dollar Chicken Shop, which starts airing tonight in prime time on the network’s flagship channel.

Was that smart?

British news outlets are already expressing dismay over a BBC trailer and photos that show thousands of chickens being raised in vast sheds on a poultry farm that supplies KFC. The chickens “walk around in their own excrement” before being slaughtered and chopped up, was the none-too-appetizing summary provided by the Daily Mail newspaper. The Independent quoted an animal-rights activist who called the conditions “wretched.” 

The trailer itself is pretty merry, with KFC staff appearing to enjoy the work and the camaraderie.

“At KFC, we are extremely proud of our culture and how we operate the business in the U.K. and Ireland,” including “robust internal quality standards,” a representative for KFC wrote. “When approached to take part in the documentary, we thought it was a rare opportunity to open our doors and share our behind-the-scenes story with the British public.”

The airing of the documentary dovetails with a push by KFC to update its menu and restaurant décor in Britain. KFC appears to be channeling Chipotle Mexican Grill, as it ditches its signature red-and-white plastic look for a trendy new interior design while introducing burritos this month.

Analysis for Salmonella of all imported beef products sampled for Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC)

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This notice provides instructions for import inspection personnel to follow when collecting samples for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 and other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) that will also be analyzed for Salmonella.

beef.stecRaw beef samples, including import MT08 and MT51 samples, collected for STEC analysis will also be analyzed for Salmonella

Import inspection personnel are not to add a Salmonella type of inspection (TOI) for the analysis

The Salmonella analysis result is non-regulatory, and if positive, the product is not a refused entry

How notify the importer of record when a sample tests positive for Salmonella but is negative for STECs

On June 5, 2014, FSIS announced in the Federal Register (79 FR 32436) that raw beef samples collected for routine and follow-up sampling projects for STEC also will be analyzed for Salmonella. This new approach will allow FSIS to gather baseline data to determine the prevalence of Salmonella in ground beef and trim and to gather data necessary to propose new performance standards for ground beef. FSIS does not consider Salmonella an adulterant in raw meat products. Therefore, a positive test result for Salmonella in imported raw beef product, sampled by FSIS import inspection personnel, does not require a regulatory control action to be taken.

When import inspection personnel receive an E. coli O157:H7 MT08 or E. coli O157:H7 MT51 TOI, under which imported boneless manufacturing trimming are also to be tested for STEC, they are to:

Collect samples following the sampling instructions in FSIS Directive 10,010.1,

Verification Activities for Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Raw Beef Products;

Continue to follow the instructions on notifying establishments about sample collection for STEC analysis that are set out in FSIS Directive 10,010.1; and

Inform official import inspection establishment management that all samples analyzed for STEC will also be analyzed for Salmonella. However, the importer of record (IOR) only has to hold and control the lot until the results for STEC are reported, provided there are no other unreported laboratory samples requiring the lot to continue to be held.

Note: Salmonella results reporting may take 1 – 3 days longer than STEC reporting.

Georgia Waffle House fails second inspection

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There was this one time, it was Sorenne’s birthday and we were driving to Florida, so she got to pick where we ate.

waffle.houseIt was a Waffle house.

It was awful.

A Waffle House in Henry County, Georgia, temporarily closed to take care of health code violations after failing a second routine inspection.

Food contact surfaces, as well as floors and walls throughout the facility, needed cleaning, the inspector said. And the dishwasher needed to be repaired.

Among other repeat violations, raw eggs had been out at room temperature for more than four hours, but were placed back into a cooler. The food handler told the inspector she didn’t know they needed to be discarded.

Some food items were stored inappropriately. Raw meat was stored over milk and ready-to-eat foods in one of the coolers.

An employee was using a hand-sink to rinse off cleaning cloths. The sanitizing solution used to wipe down surfaces was too toxic. Too much chlorine could lead to a chemical hazard, the inspector said.

Macaroni & metal

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Kraft Foods Group is voluntarily recalling approximately 242,000 cases of select code dates and manufacturing codes of the Original flavor of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner – due to the possibility that some boxes may contain small pieces of metal. The recalled product is limited to the 7.25-oz. size of the Original flavor of boxed dinner with the “Best When Used By” dates of September 18, 2015 through October 11, 2015, with the code “C2” directly below the date on each individual box.  The “C2” refers to a specific production line on which the affected product was made.

heavy.metalKraft has received eight consumer contacts about this product from the impacted line within this range of code dates and no injuries have been reported.  We deeply regret this situation and apologize to any consumers we have disappointed.