A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here.
Dr. Douglas Powell
editor, barfblog.com
retired professor, food safety
3/289 Annerley Rd
Annerley, Queensland
4103
dpowell29@gmail.com
61478222221
I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time
There was this one time, my first wife, the veterinarian, was working as a student in an anatomy lab at the vet college. She gave me a call one evening and said, get here quick, you have to see this.
Off i went and unknowingly strolled into the receiving area at the vet college and there was a newborn Holstein with two heads, and it was alive.
It later died.
A few years later I started a MSc in Philosophy of science. We were talking about Empedocles, and his descriptions of various mutant animals, and I told the class about the two-headed cow.
I argued it was biology and was reporting what he observed, and Iabeled him Empedocles the Empiricist.
The rest of the class snickered and went on with their elaborate, probably drug-induced crazy metaphor-based analysis.
I finished the class but dropped out. Talking shit all day and night is sorta boring.
Channel 7 Toowomba reports a three-week old calf has left some Queensland (that’s the state in Australia where we live) cattle farmers dumbfounded. It was born with not four but six legs, and today it defied the odds and survived surgery to remove the extra limbs.
Tim McGovern of People reported in September a Massachusetts construction worker’s love of candy cost him his life.
The 54-year-old, who has not been named, died in a fast-food restaurant while having lunch after consuming a bag and half of black licorice for a few weeks, a study by The New England Journal of Medicine.
“He had a poor diet, consisting primarily of several packages of candy daily,” the study claimed, before noting that three “weeks earlier, he had switched the type of candy he was eating” to black licorice, the study found according to the Associated Press.
The study also said that licorice’s glycyrrhizic acid (usually found in the candy’s extract) can cause the “unimpeded presence of cortisol,” which in turn “can cause hypertension, hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, fatal arrhythmias, and renal failure — the constellation of signs and symptoms seen in this patient.”
The Journal’s findings listed the following as the diagnosis of Dr. Elazer R. Edelman, a doctor cited in the study: “Metabolic, renal, vascular, and cardiac toxic effects from apparent mineralocorticoid excess due to licorice consumption.”
The man, who suffered experienced “full-body shaking and loss of consciousness” before his death, also smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 36 years and had a medical history that “included previous heroin use disorder and untreated hepatitis C virus infection.”
In 2018, a 73-year-old New Yorker filed a lawsuit against the Hershey Company, alleging that their Twizzlers black licorice candy contributed to his heart condition.
The New York Post first reported that David Goldberg, a Manhattan resident, has been “consuming at least one standard size bag per week” for “years,” according to Manhattan Supreme Court documents.
The lawsuit claimed that Goldberg is a “healthy individual who is not obese” and “has never had any heart conditions,” according to the Post, but had recently been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat.)
In February, the case was settled after it had been sent to arbitration in October 2019, according to Law 360.
In 2017, the FDA issued a warning against glycyrrhizin, a sweetening compound that is found in black licorice. The federal agency claims this ingredient can lower potassium levels which can lead to heart problems, and warns adults over 40 that “eating 2 ounces of black licorice a day for at least two weeks could land you in the hospital with an irregular heart rhythm or arrhythmia.”
Chicks and ducklings kept in backyards are the likely source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 1,000 people and killed one person, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in late July. The outbreak nearly doubled in size since the CDC’s last report on June 24. Sick people range in age from 1 to 94-years-old, and more than 150 people have been hospitalized.
“Don’t kiss backyard poultry or snuggle them and then touch your face or mouth,” the CDC says. “Don’t let backyard poultry inside the house, especially in areas where food or drink is prepared, served, or stored.”
11-year-old daughter Sorenne is training our pup, George. She knows how to use bits of dog treats as an incentive, and she knows to wash her hands after handing any dog or cat treat or food.
Why?
Because the heat treatment in many cases has not been scientifically verified to remove all pathogens. Cross-contamination with something else is also a possibility.
As of September 29, 2020, there were, according to Outbreak News Today and the Public Health Agency of Canada, eight confirmed cases of Salmonella Typhimurium illness in the following provinces: British Columbia (5), Alberta (2), and Yukon (1). Individuals became sick between late February and early August 2020. Three individuals have been hospitalized. In addition, one individual has died.
Based on the investigation findings to date, exposure to pig ear dog treats has been identified as a likely source of the outbreak. Some of the individuals who became sick reported feeding their dog Paws Up! and Western Family brands of pig ear dog treats before their illnesses occurred. These brands are sold at Canadian Tire and Save-On-Foods. The outbreak investigation is on-going and it is possible that additional products may be identified.
On September 29, 2020, the supplying company, Masters Best Friend, voluntarily issued a Notice of Stop Sale for Paws Up! and Western Family brands of pig ear dog treats. These products were sold nationally.
Although products are no longer available for purchase in stores, they may still be in consumer homes. Given this, do not feed your dog any Paws Up! or Western Family brand pig ear dog treats. Always wash your hands right after handling dog treats, and ensure that all areas the treats have come in contact with are properly cleaned and sanitized.
(There is nothing simple about handwashing when almost all public restrooms contain blow-dryers instead of paper towels and have controlled water flow rates that would dislodge nothing. It is the friction that helps reduce microbial loads on hands, which is why hospitals are over-flowing with paper towel dispensers.)
Soap counts too.
There’s too much self-aggrandizing in the PR piece, below, but it has pretty pictures.
“With the threat of the second wave upon us, simple hygiene is something everyone can do to prevent the spread of the virus,” UNSW Science’s Professor Pall Thordarson said.
“Soap can destroy the virus on your skin.”
The simulation uses a cinematic approach and evocative animation to deliver a message that’s accessible to adults and children.
“One of the very few pieces of good news about this virus is that it’s actually very fragile — if you wash your hands with soap, the whole virus basically collapses like a house of cards,” Professor Thordarson said.
The simulation was created by UNSW’s 3D Visualisation Aesthetics Lab, which explores arts- and design-led visualisations of complex scientific and biomedical data. The Lab creates immersive platforms that play out scientific phenomena, such as drug interactions with cancerous cells or interactive personalised scans of strokes to help patients understand their treatment.
“3D visualisations make complex science comprehensible. The creative industries are in a unique position to be able to offer these kinds of innovative educational simulations,” said Associate Professor John McGhee who created the simulation with UNSW 3D Visualisation Aesthetics Lab post-doctoral researcher Dr Andrew Lilja.
It’s a phrase that is bandied about whenever there is an outbreak of foodborne or other microbiological thingies: We didn’t just clean, we did a deep clean.
Sexual connotations aside, what does a deep clean actually mean?
Andrew Brown of The Canberra Times had a go at the subject of deep clean.
While cleaning normally focuses on removing visible signs of mess through vacuuming, dusting and wiping things down, deep cleaning goes one step further.
Deep cleaning involves the use of disinfectant and other chemicals to remove any traces of germs and viruses, including coronavirus.
Part of deep cleaning also involves wiping down every surface in a venue, regardless of whether it has come into direct contact with an infected person or not.
A particular focus is high-frequency touch points, such as light switches, door handles, taps and areas like computer terminals or communal kitchens in office spaces. While high-grade disinfectants are used as part of deep cleaning, other chemicals can also help to remove traces of the virus.
Anthony Bailey, ACT Education Directorate senior director of school cleaning services, said a fine-mist spray was also used as part of deep cleaning efforts in Canberra schools.
“With the fine-mist spray, the chemical settles in areas you can’t normally reach,” Mr Bailey said.
“It’s unlikely people are touching those surfaces, but it’s all about elimination.
One of the ACT’s schools, Lyneham High School, required deep cleaning in March after a student attended the campus while potentially contagious with coronavirus.
Mr Bailey said swab tests of surfaces for traces of coronavirus were also carried out before students and staff members could re-enter the school.
One of the main ways coronavirus has been able to spread is through being picked up by humans after they come into contact with the virus on surfaces. Research is being carried out in a number of places on how long exactly the virus can linger on surfaces and lead to further infections.
Early findings have determined strains of COVID-19 can stay alive for several hours or even days, depending on the type of surface it lands on.
According to a recent study from the New England Journal of Medicine, the virus can last for four hours on copper surfaces, while it can stay on cardboard or paper for 24 hours and up to three days on plastic and stainless steel.
A similar study published in The Lancet had slightly different findings, with the virus lasting for three hours on tissue paper, while traces were still detected on cloth and wooden materials for two days.
Associate professor at the Australian National University medical school, Sanjaya Senanayake, said the Lancet study also found the virus could stay on surfaces such as surgical masks for up to one week after they were worn.
“The two studies were slightly different in the types of materials that were used, but clearly the virus can survive on surfaces for some time,” associate professor Senanayake said.
“Maybe after half an hour on a surface, there’s a lot more virus on it, and therefore people are more likely to be infected if they come into contact.
“By the seventh day, the virus might still be around on surfaces, but may not be enough to cause an infection.”
At its core, deep cleaning is about attacking the virus at every possible location it could be in a building.
However, for a virus that’s devastated nations around the world and locked down cities across Australia, associate professor Senanayake said COVID-19 was remarkably easy to kill.
“It’s an enveloped virus, meaning it’s got an outer covering and it’s very susceptible to things,” he said.
“Despite it being this terrible thing that’s caused a pandemic, it’s easy to kill with things like standard detergents as well as soap and water.”
Using things like detergents might be enough to kill off the virus, but associate professor Senanayake said using just disinfectant or chemicals on their own might not have the desired effect.
“If you put just disinfectant on those areas, some of the virus particles might be able to hide,” he said.
“Surfaces should be cleaned with detergent first and then disinfected after that with something like 70 per cent alcohol or bleach.”
It should also be noted that any cleaning of surfaces suspected of having traces of coronavirus should be done with personal protection, such as a mask.
Seven people were arrested in relation to the second mass food poisoning incident in Ain al-Basha.
The owner of the restaurant and six of his employees were charged with four offences — causing harm, handling food in unsuitable conditions that made it harmful to human health, handling food that is not safe for human consumption and practicing a craft that causes harm.
The seven individuals will be detained for one week at Al-Balqa Reform and Rehabilitation Center (nice name — dp).
The death of a forty-year-old man, two days after the death of a child, after more than 800 people were exposed to food poisoning for eating contaminatedShawarma meals from a restaurant in the Al-Baqa’a area, northwest of Amman.
The official “Kingdom” television quoted the Minister of Health, Saad Jaber, as announcing the ministry’s registration, “a second death from the mass poisoning incident in al-Baq’a.”
The Ministry of Health announced in a statement last Wednesday that a 5-year-old child had died in hospital due to food poisoning.
“The laboratory tests … showed the presence of bacterial contamination in meat and chicken with the ‘Intercoxis Vials’ and’ Campylobacter” bacterium, “the ministry said.
And the official “Kingdom” television quoted the assistant secretary general for primary health care in the ministry, Adnan Ishaq, as saying that “the failure to cool poultry has spoiled the food and caused poisoning.”
A Dunkin’ Donuts worker has been arrested after an Illinois State Police officer discovered a “large, thick piece of mucus which was later confirmed to be saliva” in his coffee, authorities said.
The incident took place at 10:20 p.m. on July 30 when an Illinois State Police (ISP) District Chicago trooper purchased a large black coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts on Archer Avenue in Chicago, ABC News reported.
“Due to the coffee being extremely hot, the Trooper removed the lid from the top of the cup to cool it down,” the Illinois State Police said in a statement.
It was at that moment when the officer discovered the saliva floating in his cup.
The ISP immediately opened an investigation into the incident, which concluded with the arrest of Vincent J. Sessler, a 25-year-old Dunkin’ Donuts employee.
“But have you undercooked chicken sausage (unintentionally) and then served it to your bf and then he got superrrrr sick and you thought it was covid and you got tested twice but nah you just fed him salmonella? He should break up with me. I would,” he tweeted.
When told that Austin needs to take his phone away, Kevin then added: “He’s asleep because I poisoned him!”
He then tweeted “Omg” when he realized that Austin hilariously changed his profile bio to: “I left Twitter many years ago. I’m back on now to monitor my thirsty boyfriend, Kevin Mchale, who ‘accidentally’ gave me salmonella 5 days ago.”
Use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. Any fans of McHale should mail him one (if the U.S. Postal Service still exists).
Subsequently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced they were investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Newport illnesses that had a similar genetic fingerprint to illnesses reported in this outbreak.
In Canada, as of August 2, 2020, there have been 120 confirmed cases of Salmonella Newport illness linked to this outbreak in the following provinces: British Columbia (43), Alberta (56), Saskatchewan (4), Manitoba (13), Ontario (2), Quebec (1) and Prince Edward Island (1).
Individuals became sick between mid-June and mid-July 2020. Seventeen individuals have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Individuals who became ill are between 3 and 100 years of age. The majority of cases (56%) are female.
CFIA’s advice is do not eat, use, sell or serve any red, white, yellow, and sweet yellow onions from Thomson International Inc., Bakersfield, California, USA, or any products made with these onions. This advice applies to all individuals across Canada, as well as retailers, distributors, manufacturers and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes.
Onions grown in Canada are not affected by this advice.
On August 1, 2020, in the U.S., Thomson International, Inc. recalled all varieties of onions that could have come in contact with potentially contaminated red onions, due to the risk of cross-contamination. Recalled products include red, yellow, white, and sweet yellow onions shipped from May 1, 2020 to present.
Onions were distributed to wholesalers, restaurants, and retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.
As of Aug. 3, FDA reported 396 illnesses in the U.S.
The onions were distributed in 5 lbs. carton. 10 lbs. carton. 25 lbs. carton. 40 lbs. carton, 50 lbs. carton. bulk, 2 lb. mesh sacks, and 3 lb. mesh sacks, 5 lb. mesh sacks, 10 lb. mesh sacks 25 lbs. mesh sacks, 50 lbs. mesh sacks under the brand names Thomson Premium, TLC Thomson International, Tender Loving Care, El Competitor, Hartley’s Best, Onions 52, Majestic, Imperial Fresh, Kroger, Utah Onions and Food Lion.
The investigation is ongoing to determine the source of contamination and if additional products are linked to illness. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
Off i went and unknowingly strolled into the receiving area at the vet college and there was a newborn Holstein with two heads, and it was alive.
