The show opens with a brief tutorial on Wi-Fi signals and how to block them. The show quickly turns to hockey, and Don’s recent appearance on another podcast, before getting in to food safety quickly with a report from Deep Albany, and effective ways to prevent cross-contamination in sandwich shops. The guys reflect on some of the food safety greats they’ve met in the past, before Ben provides his regular segment on Canadian cuisine. Don talks a little bit about a great idea for a food safety tool he was once given. In a different twist on food safety, the guys talk about copper toxicity, and the dangers of making foods with ingredients sourced from the Internet. The show wraps with some listener feedback on a variety of topics. In the After Dark the guys talk about books they are reading, Ben’s new favorite band and Don’s selection for the alphabetically listed 50 most quoted Rutgers experts in the news.
Andréas Göransson of Food Supply writes (something may be lost in translation) that last week, an extensive false mark of imported honey has been discovered. Bluffen was revealed when buyer Lars Pettersson on LP’s beekeeping in Säffle made a so-called pollen analysis that showed that the party was from Asia and not as stated from Sweden. Several buyers have been fooled and among the beekeepers in Sweden, it is unclear that the fake will affect customers’ confidence in their products.
Paul Davenport of the Star Tribune reports a man was arrested and accused of food tampering after he allegedly poured liquids into a freezer case at a Target store, authorities said Wednesday.
Police said David Clare Lohr Jr., 48, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of adding a harmful substance to food and that investigators believed he was involved in previous potential tampering incidents at five other Target stores in Phoenix and three suburbs.
John Murphy of MD Linx writes that vultures are nature’s cleanup crew, but their carrion-based meals would cause food poisoning or even death in humans and other animals. Because vultures feed on decomposing carcasses, they encounter a variety of dangerous pathogens, including those that cause anthrax, tuberculosis, brucellosis, and others. They also end up ingesting nasty stuff that goes along with carrion, such as soil-dwelling bacteria, nematodes, fungi, and insects. Yet, vultures don’t get sick from eating this kind of “junk food.”
What’s in a vulture’s digestive system that enables it to eat dead meat without getting sick?
How do vultures survive on this rotten diet? More importantly, what can we learn about their eating habits and hardy digestion that could help us prevent food poisoning and other gastrointestinal problems in humans? Investigators are now trying to find out.
Scientists have a number of hypotheses about how these scavengers avoid sickness with this diet. Researchers led by Daniel T. Blumstein, PhD, professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, performed a systematic review to investigate some of the proposed behavioral and physiologic defenses.
One of these hypothesized defenses argues the vulture’s bald head is more hygienic than a feathered head. But there’s no evidence to support this idea. Other hypotheses are that vultures prefer to eat fresh carcasses over older ones, and that vultures’ highly acidic stomachs eliminate the majority of pathogens before the most harmful microbes reach the gut.
But perhaps the most convincing hypothesis is that the vulture’s microbiome not only manages digestion, but also helps combat, prevent, and balance the plethora of potential pathogens—some of which may even provide helpful nutrients through digestion.
It’s this hypothesis that has captured the interest of scientists. In 2014, researchers reported findings from the first deep metagenomic analysis of the vulture microbiome. They found, on average, 76 types of microorganisms in the gut. But they found nearly 7 times that many—an average of 528 different types of microorganisms—on the facial skin of vultures.
“Our results show there has been strong adaptation in vultures when it comes to dealing with the toxic bacteria they digest,” said first author Michael Roggenbuck, PhD, then a postdoctoral microbiology researcher, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. “On one hand, vultures have developed an extremely tough digestive system, which simply acts to destroy the majority of the dangerous bacteria they ingest. On the other hand, vultures also appear to have developed a tolerance towards some of the deadly bacteria—species that would kill other animals actively seem to flourish in the vulture lower intestine.”
(Anyone who is quoted saying ‘on the one hand’ and ‘on the other hand’ has no role trying to communicate about science.)
Vultures need this combination—a robust digestive system plus a high bacterial tolerance—to withstand some of the food challenges they face. For instance, because of the tough hides of some large animals, vultures often take an easier back-door route—through the anus—to get at their meal. This increases the likelihood of ingesting anaerobic fecal bacteria such as clostridia and fusobacteria, noted Dr. Roggenbuck and coauthors.
“These observations raise the question as to whether the clostridia and fusobacteria in the [vulture’s] gut simply outcompete the other bacteria but don’t confer any benefit to the vulture, or in contrast, if their presence actually confers dietary advantages for the vultures,” Dr. Roggenbuck said. “The team’s results suggest that it’s probably a bit of both—while other microorganisms are likely outcompeted by the surviving bacteria, the vultures also receive a steady stream of important nutrients when the bacteria break down the carrion.”
The New Orleans Advocate reports that former longtime Mandan Republican state Rep. Rae Ann Kelsch has died.
Alex Kelsch says his mother died early Tuesday morning at a New Orleans hospital from a bacterial infection caused by eating raw oysters at a restaurant there. She was 58.
The food safety efforts are hidden behind layers of bafflegab that consumers don’t care about, with their crying kids at the grocery store, and their partners who don’t understand the stress they are under and all sorts of modern angst.
Tom Karst of The Packer writes that a new survey from food and marketing agency Charleston Orwig found that more than a quarter of consumers said they do not trust the vigilance of the food industry’s safety efforts.
In a blog post called “Food Safety in America – Time to Bolster Consumer Confidence,” the agency reported a survey of 500 consumers found:
When asked if they trusted the food industry for safe food, 48% said they do trust the food industry and 27% said they did not;
More than 77% of consumers say that cooking a meal in their own kitchens is the best way to ensure it is safe to eat;
Restaurants were deemed the second safest, with more than 59% of consumers considering this to be a reliable option;
Just 29% of respondents consider food trucks or public vendors safe and almost 42% considering this option potentially unsafe;
Asked to compare food safety now versus a decade ago, about 35% of consumer said food is safer and 32% said it was less safe;
The survey said 59% of consumers said they assume food from individual farmers, food manufacturers or restaurants is safe if they have not heard about a specific problem;
The survey said that having had a food-borne illness did not make a person think food was less safe than participants overall;
49% of consumers said grains, beans and pasta are the safest foods, followed by fresh fruits and vegetables at 42%;
Leafy greens and lettuce were tied with processed food as the next category of highest concern with 45% of consumers rating them risky, according to the survey; and
55% say meat and poultry are the riskiest to eat; the blog post speculated the divide could be tied to people’s overall perception of what makes up a healthy diet.
I had David Bowie’s Modern Love linked to this post, but just couldn’t do it, because I don’t like David Bowie. Instead you get Pete.
The company says the male employee has since been suspended pending an investigation.
Surveillance video on the incident, which happened over the weekend, was posted online by dwavy.com. The worker, who is dressed in a hair cap, face mask, white jacket and gloves, can be seen moving product along the conveyer belt. He then pauses to take off his gloves, appears to unzip his pants and leans forward as he seemingly relieves himself. He then puts his gloves back on and returns to work a few seconds later.
The company released a statement on the matter, saying they are investigating the “isolated incident” at the processing facility in Smithfield, Virginia.
After consuming the 210 grams of Glycoprep-C dissolved in 3 litres of water, I can confidently say the stuff works.
It felt like there was a powerwash hose at the top of my colon and every five minutes for about six hours, it turned on and emptied out my ass.
The other thing at the top of my colon was a 3 cm polyp which was removed and sent off for diagnostics (right, that’s not my ass; and it’s called barfblog.com for a reason).
Doc said it would have turned cancerous, if it hasn’t already.
At least my prostate is fine.
We have great medical care in Australia.
I should have been dead years ago.
Much thanks to Amy for being in my messed up life.
When a common ingredient used in a bunch of ready-to-eat foods is recalled things snowball. One recall announcement turns quickly into multiple and leads to larger questions about overall systems.
Or as Don told Consumer Reports last week, ‘It’s the nature of our complex food system today. If a potentially contaminated bit of onion gets used in a burrito,’ he explains, ‘you have to recall the whole burrito.’
Since Oct. 16, there have been at least 13 recalls of ready-made foods, such as salads, sandwiches, wraps, pizza, and burritos, due to potential salmonella and listeriacontamination. All of these foods have been traced back to a single plant owned by McCain Foods, in Colton, Calif., which processes, cooks, and freezes vegetables for distribution to other food producers.
To date, almost 4 million pounds of food sold under many different brand names have been recalled, and the Food and Drug Administration says more recalled products may still be announced.
All of the products involved are now past their expiration dates, so they shouldn’t be on store shelves. In addition, according to a spokesperson from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS): “FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks … to verify [that] recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.” (In this case, “customers” refers to food companies that purchase vegetables from McCain.)
The FDA notes that some of the recalled products require cooking, which could potentially kill dangerous pathogens. However, many of the recalled items are considered “ready-to-eat” or RTE.
And that makes them risky, says James E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports. Even if the product was intended for cooking at home, different food items need to be heated to different temperatures to guarantee bacteria will be killed. Consumers may not always know to heat the product thoroughly.
Additionally, Rogers notes that handling products that contain foodborne pathogens—even if heated thoroughly—could contaminate anything they come into contact with, like your hands. The safest bet is to throw them out.
And zoonoses risks comes with the territory. There are lots and lots of petting zoo, fair, animal exhibit illnesses and outbreaks. Here’s a spreadsheet with some highlights.
Public health folks in Utah are investigating a bunch of illnesses that look like they are linked to visiting these interaction exhibits:
Utah public health officials are investigating an increase in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections across the state. While the source of these infections has not been identified, several ill individuals reported visiting petting zoos, corn mazes, and farms.
Since October 1, 2018, 20 cases of STEC have been reported along the Wasatch Front and in the Central and Southwestern regions of Utah. Cases range in age from 10 months to 71 years old. Eleven cases are younger than 18. Six people were hospitalized and no deaths have been reported. “For the past five years, Utah has averaged about 13 cases of STEC during the month of October,” said Kenneth Davis, epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health (UDOH). “An average of 113 STEC cases and 25 hospitalizations are reported each year in Utah. This increase in October is higher than normally expected,” said Davis. UDOH is working with Utah’s local health departments to investigate the illnesses and determine the source of infection.
A 2015 MMWR article showed a lot of the disease risk stuff needs to be taken care of before with good planning and procedures. Yeah, hand washing matters, but so does not letting kids bring lunch/snacks into a contaminated environment.
Or serving food directly in the barn to a 1,000 kids.
According to Curren et al.,
During April 20–June 1, 2015, 60 cases (25 confirmed and 35 probable) were identified (Figure). Eleven (18%) patients were hospitalized, and six (10%) developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. No deaths occurred. Forty primary cases were identified in 35 first-graders, three high school students, one parent, and one teacher who attended the event. Twenty secondary cases were identified in 14 siblings, four caretakers, and two cousins of attendees. Food was served inside the barn to adolescents who set up and broke down the event on April 20 and April 24. During April 21–23 approximately 1,000 first-grade students attended the event, which included various activities related to farming. Animals, including cattle, had been exhibited in the barn during previous events. Before the dairy education event, tractors, scrapers, and leaf blowers were used to move manure to a bunker at the north end of the barn. Environmental samples collected in this area yielded E. coli O157:H7 PFGE patterns indistinguishable from the outbreak strains. Although it might not be possible to completely disinfect barns and areas where animals have been kept, standard procedures for cleaning, disinfection, and facility design should be adopted to minimize the risk for exposure to pathogens (1). These environments should be considered contaminated and should not be located in areas where food and beverages are served. Hands should always be washed with soap and clean running water, and dried with clean towels immediately upon exiting areas containing animals or where animals have been kept previously, after removing soiled clothing or shoes, and before eating or drinking. Event organizers can refer to published recommendations for preventing disease associated with animals in public settings.
Don talks a little bit about a great idea for a food safety tool he was once given. In a different twist on food safety, the guys talk about copper toxicity, and the dangers of making foods with ingredients sourced from the Internet. The show wraps with some listener feedback on a variety of topics. In the After Dark the guys talk about books they are reading, Ben’s new favorite band and Don’s selection for the alphabetically listed 50 most quoted Rutgers experts in the news.
