Author Archives: Casey Jacob

UWO is finished with Salmonella

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A few hours ago, I did an adorable "finals-are-finished" jig outside the library, as I finished up my final exams for the semester. As much as I love HACCP and handwashing, it’s always nice to have another semester of my Food Science education completed.

Students at the University of Western Ontario are also joyfully celebrating… the end of the Salmonella outbreak that originated in the university’s food court and sickened over 90 students

London Topic in Ontario reported today that, "Cross-contamination of surfaces or equipment is felt to be the likely cause of the outbreak." And notes that "extensive cleaning and disinfection of the University Community Centre’s (UCC) food preparation area…has been successful in controlling the outbreak."

Always wash your hands, utensils and workspace after finishing with one food product and before moving onto the next; especially when working with raw meat and poultry. Keeping hands and equipment clean helps keep bacteria and viruses off of ready-to-eat foods, and keeps Salmonella out of the dining halls.

Kids should be allowed hand sanitizer

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"We have been wanting to put hand sanitizers in schools," said Lorri Pilkington, coordinator for health and nursing services for Leon County schools, "but we want to do it safely and with the blessings of all the agencies that are involved with the school system."

The "agencies of concern" are the Florida Department of Health, the Department of Education and the state Fire Marshal’s Office, who are afraid that the high alcohol content of the sanitizers may be a hazard for starting fires or poisoning the children.

Considering the horrible E. coli poisoning of the children Galena Elementary School last month, I’d prefer they let the teachers have had sanitizer. And just keep them away from open flames.

Moths on the barbie

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Millions of bogong moths have been blown off-course during there yearly migration and ended up in Sydney and Canberra, Australia.  Reuters reports that years ago, Aborigines took advantage of the abundant source of fat and protein, and Australian restaurants have decided to do the same today.

"They are lovely," French-born chef Jean-Paul Bruneteauhe (pictured at right) told the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this week. "They have a nutty, crisp, popcorn flavour, like buttered hazelnut." Mr. Bruneteau recommended pulling off the furry wings then roasting the bodies for three minutes in a dash of canola oil.

Australian Museum naturalist Martyn Robinson supports their consumption as well, but warns against the possibility of pesticide residue. "I’d probably recommend only 10 a day," said Mr. Robinson, "But 10 is plenty."

Plenty, indeed.

A purpose for your appendix

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I always wondered what that little guy was for…

Many people have their appendix removed after a horrid bout with appendicitis. And they function just fine without it. So in all my human anatomy classes (one in high school and one here at K-State), I had been told that its function was unknown, and it might even be worthless altogether. (It’s that little white thing pictured at the right that sort of looks like a worm.)

But scientists at Duke University Medical School think they’ve figured it out.

Your gut harbors entire populations of good bacteria that help to digest your food and outnumber bad bacteria. Sometimes these populations can get wiped out by diseases like cholera or amoebic dysentery, which are more common in less developed countries. Iraq, right now, is having a huge problem with cholera because of their poor water supplies.

The appendix, then, is responsible for restoring your population of good bacteria.

Back in the day, when people didn’t live so close together, they couldn’t get back their populations of gut flora. Nowadays, germs are all over the place, so its not quite as necessary, but still… it has a purpose! And I for one, am happy for it.

NYU is proud of their safe ground beef

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New York University’s student newspaper, Washington Square News, assured students this morning that meat served in their dining hall has not been part of the recent recall of Topp’s brand frozen ground beef patties linked to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7.

The students didn’t seem too concerned, however. As one freshman revealed to the student reporter, "I don’t think it’s likely that an outbreak of E. coli would happen here because NYU is pretty health conscious."

While I’m glad they have confidence in their dining hall, I don’t believe that being health conscious will keep deadly pathogens out of their food.

Good hygiene practices and proper heating will, though. And another freshman at the university found peace of mind  in those  characteristics of the dining hall: "I know that NYU has strict requirements about heating the meat at a high enough temperature to kill bacteria," he said, "And NYU always claims how clean and healthy their kitchens are…"

Students should know that using a food thermometer to cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160F is the only way to ensure its safety. So, stick it in! And wash your hands: Don’t eat poop.

Saving the world one sucker at a time

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    The Rhode Island Oyster Gardening for Restoration and Enhancement program at Roger Williams University is putting oysters in the state’s waterways to filter out pollution and rev up the ecosystem.

     Each little sucker takes in up to 50 gallons of water in a day, clearing out pollutants, plankton, and silt so that the water is nice and clean for the aquatic plants below.  These plants, along with tiny fish that like to live in the oyster beds, attract winter flounder and lobster can be harvested for us to eat. The area’s aquaculture producers are happy about that one.

    The oysters also clean up after crop fertilizers.  Nitrogen from agricultural runoff is sucked up and oxygen abounds for our newfound aquaculture. 

    Clean water, more food, and a pick-up system for ag chemicals. I, for one, am impressed. All hail the mighty oyster: saving the world one sucker at a time.

That bloody E. coli is popping up everywhere

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School board members and parents listened to the painful screams of a little girl in their school district diagnosed with an E. coli infection.

Six-year-old Sydney fell ill last Wednesday, and though she was diagnosed quickly, has not found relief from the painful cramps and bloody diarrhea the infection has caused.  In fact, she may soon be put on dialysis and her platelet count is still low.

Sydney’s mother, Marcia Jacobi, sent a letter with a neighbor to the New Albany/Floyd County School Board meeting on Monday describing her heart-wrenching experience as she continued to sit by Sydney’s bedside at Kosair Children’s Hospital.

The infection is thought to be caused by a meal at Galena Elementary School, where five other children have fallen ill from the same deadly bacteria.

The Assistant Superintendent, Bill Briscoe, is wary to admit that the bacteria was contracted at the school, or if all six students (and another suspected two) may have gotten the bug from another source.

Sydney’s mother, of course, is not at all satisfied with the school district’s reaction. "She is sincerely  appalled by the way this has been handled," reads her neighbor on Jacobi’s behalf, "Parents of both healthy and ill children feel this has been dramatically downplayed."

Don’t eat your make-up

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Just in case you had any ideas about it, Dairy Foods Safety Victoria took the time to point out that cosmetic products should not be used for human consumption.

The advisory is for several cosmetic dairy products on the market in Australia that customers may be tempted to consume as food. 

In the article, Anne Astin, CEO of DFSV, mentioned that these cosmetic products were not pasteurized. The sale of these products as food, therefore, would violate Australian law.

“Pasteurisation is important as it involves heating the dairy product to a high temperature for a short time which kills or inactivates all pathogens such as E.coli, Salmonella and Listeria," said Astin, also including that, "Pasteurisation has little effect on the flavour or nutritional value of the milk.” Way to sneak it in there, Astin.

iFSN believes that pasteurized milk is safer milk. And while we say you should consume your dairy products in whatever manner you’d like (provided you’re not giving a dangerous product to your children), we ask that you not ingest your make-up. It just seems wrong.