Storytelling has structure

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Don’t just say people need to be educated. Figure out how to tell the risk story.

We’ve talked about storytelling a lot on barfblog. Doug and I published a couple of papers a few years ago on using narratives to impact food safety behaviors (here and here). Doug has always stressed the importance of not only being a good storyteller, but that there’s structure to a good story.

I just watched Don Schaffner give a talk on food safety risk assessment at the Dubai International Food Safety Conference and while some might consider it a dry concept, Don told two stories that exemplified how it all works.

A recent podcast name check caused me to check out Community and Rick and Morty creator Dan Harmon and his storytelling circle (right, exactly as shown, from an excellent old Wired article).

And there’s this classic from Kurt Vonnegut.

 

Eating broken glass sucks; Trader Joe’s salad recalled

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Friend of barfblog and mentor Tanya MacLaurin told me a story when I was in grad school that I still use when telling folks about physical hazards.

It goes sorta like this (or this is the version I remember):

Tanya was running food services at Kansas State and had a really big event with donors and university administrators. She came into the kitchen and saw her staff picking something out of a couple of hundred of salads that were prepped and ready to go our for service. Someone had broken a fluorescent light that was situated over the staging area and everyone was scrambling to pick out the glass.

A great risk manager, Tanya shut down the coverup operation.

Glass removal by eyesight isn’t a great critical control point.

In related news, a supplier of Trader Joe’s salads is recalling a whole bunch of prepared salads due to glass contamination.

Green Cuisine, a San Fernando, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 36,854 pounds of chicken and turkey salad products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically hard silica and glass fragments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The ready-to-eat chicken and turkey salads were produced from Nov. 4 – 15, 2017. The following products are subject to recall:

* 10.5-oz. clear plastic individual serving packages containing “TRADER JOE’S White Meat Chicken Salad with celery, carrots and green onions” with a “Use By” date of November 10 – 21, 2017.

* 11.0-oz. clear plastic individual serving packages containing “TRADER JOE’S CURRIED WHITE CHICKEN DELI SALAD with toasted cashews, green onion and a bit of honey” with a “Use By” date of November 10 – 21, 2017.

* 10.25-oz. clear plastic individual serving packages containing “TRADER JOE’S TURKEY CRANBERRY APPLE SALAD TURKEY BREAST MEAT WITH SWEET DRIED CRANBERRIES, TANGY GREEN APPLES, PECANS AND SAGE” with a “Use By” date of November 10 – 21, 2017.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “P-40299” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.

RIP Malcolm Young

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Today it is with deep heartfelt sadness that AC/DC has to announce the passing of Malcolm Young.

Malcolm, along with Angus, was the founder and creator of AC/DC.
With enormous dedication and commitment he was the driving force behind the band.

As a guitarist, songwriter and visionary he was a perfectionist and a unique man.

He always stuck to his guns and did and said exactly what he wanted.

He took great pride in all that he endeavored.

His loyalty to the fans was unsurpassed.

.As his brother it is hard to express in words what he has meant to me during my life, the bond we had was unique and very special.

He leaves behind an enormous legacy that will live on forever.

Malcolm, job well done.

Hire me: Looks like youse could use some editors

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US: FDA takes steps to build a stronger workforce

Scott Gottlieb

https://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2017/11/fda-takes-steps-to-build-a-stronger-workforce/

I’m a Canadian, U.S. and Australian citizen (and maybe UK too), my scientific c.v. doesn’t suck, so I’ll work anywhere (and I’m cute with puppies, 15 years ago).

FDA faces challenges related to building and maintaining a diverse, talented, and dedicated professional workforce. The agency’s responsibilities increasingly demand a staff with specialized skills; and our own process sometimes doesn’t fully support our ability to recruit and retain the people we need. Congress has given FDA new resources and authorities to build and maintain our talented workforce. But the agency still needs to do more to expand on these opportunities and solidify our workforce.

A few months ago, I announced that FDA is taking action to build a stronger workforce by making key process improvements related to hiring and retention. Our people are the agency’s most important asset. We need to invest in our approach to how we hire and retain our staff.

To achieve this goal, we’ve established an FDA Hiring Initiative to reimagine the agency’s hiring practices and procedures with the goal of attracting, recruiting, hiring and retaining professionals who will support FDA’s mission. As part of that initiative, I requested a comprehensive evaluation of our hiring practices and procedures.

Today, FDA is releasing the Initial Assessment of FDA Hiring and Retentionreport. This comprehensive survey identifies the root causes of our current challenges and provides a roadmap for our future.

Building and retaining talented staff is critical to FDA’s ability to meet our public health mission. We’re launching a comprehensive effort to streamline our hiring practices with a focus on recruiting and retaining a world-class workforce. As a first step, FDA will hold a public meeting later this month to share the results of the report, our thinking for overhauling the hiring process, and to solicit public comment.

We’ll also be getting feedback from FDA staff since our people have the best perspective on the challenges they see recruiting the best and brightest people, and keeping them at FDA.

We also intend to conduct a hiring pilot early next year that will leverage the key findings from the initial assessment and that will modernize and streamline hiring practices by using new IT tools and eliminating unnecessary processes. The pilot will focus on the end to end hiring process beginning with the day the need for new staff is identified to the day a candidate is hired. It will directly align our administrative hiring procedures with the scientific objectives of our programs. The new, more efficient approach in the pilot will focus on hiring several critical occupations in the medical product areas to support commitments of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) VI and the Biosimilar User Fee Act (BsUFA) II.

As part of the initiative, we’ve established a Scientific Staffing team that will focus on recruiting scientists and conducting proactive outreach to professional associations and academia. Our scientific recruitment team will develop digital and social media tools, which will provide FDA with modern recruitment and outreach techniques. These efforts, combined with the successes of the hiring pilot, will yield a future state of efficient, consistent, processes that helps us get the right people in the right roles to achieve results.

The soul of FDA and our public health mission is our people. Retaining the people who help us achieve our successes is as important as recruiting new colleagues to help us meet our future challenges. 

 

Campylobacter uses other organisms to multiply and spread

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Campylobacter spp. are extremely sensitive to environmental conditions and do not multiply at temperatures below 30C, however, they can survive temperatures as low as 4C for several months. They remain to be a prevalent pathogen on chicken and identified as a source of many outbreaks associated with unpasteurized milk.

Kingston University researchers have found that Campylobacter jejuni can multiply and spread using another organism’s cells.

Kingston University researchers have shown how a leading cause of bacterial food poisoning can multiply and spread – by using another organism’s cells as a Trojan horse.
Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis in the United States and Europe, often infecting humans through raw or undercooked poultry. The new study revealed how the bacteria can infiltrate micro-organisms called amoebae, multiplying within their cells while protected inside its host from harsh environmental conditions.
As well as leading to a better understanding of how bacteria survive, the research could help efforts to prevent the spread of infection, according to lead author and PhD student Ana Vieira.
“Establishing that Campylobacter can multiply inside its amoebic hosts is important, as they often exist in the same environments – such as in drinking water for chickens on poultry farms – which could increase the risk of infection,” she said. “The amoeba may act as a protective host against some disinfection procedures, so the findings could be used to explore new ways of helping prevent the bacteria’s spread by breaking the chain of infection.”
The relationship between Campylobacter and amoebae has been hotly debated in scientific circles – with conflicting findings in previous studies as to whether the bacteria multiply inside, or only in the beneficial environment around, amoebae cells.
The Kingston University team used a modification of a process that assesses the bacteria’s ability to invade cells – called the gentamycin protection assay – to confirm they can survive and multiply while inside the amoeba’s protective environment.
This allows Campylobacter to thrive, escaping the amoeba cells in larger numbers – shining a light on how it spreads and causes disease, professor of microbiology Andrey Karlyshev, a supervisor on the study, explained.
“Our research gives us a better understanding of bacterial survival,” he said. “Because amoebae are widespread, we have shown how Campylobacter bacteria are able to use them as a Trojan horse for infection of the food chain. Otherwise they wouldn’t survive, as they are very sensitive to the environment.”
As part of the study, the researchers showed how a system used by the bacteria to expel toxins – known as a multidrug efflux pump – plays a key role in its ability to thrive within the amoebae.
The team examined how this system helps the bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, which could lead to new methods of preventing resistance from developing, Professor Karlyshev added.
“Campylobacter is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics because of their wide use on humans and animals,” he said. “Due to its role in antibiotic resistance and bacterial survival in amoebae, the efflux pump could prove to be a good target for the development of antibacterial drugs.
“Targeting the bacterial factors required for survival within amoebae could help to prevent Campylobacter from spreading in the environment and colonising chickens. This is turn could help reduce its ability to enter the food chain and cause disease in humans.”

 

‘Look where some people poo’ Global citizen’s Taylor Swift parody

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Yasmine Gray of Billboard writes  Global Citizen — a social action platform dedicated to solving the world’s biggest problems — released a Taylor Swift parody video for a cause. Bringing attention to one of the most pressing issues in global development, the “Look What You Made Me Do” spoof draws attention to sanitation and toilet access.

Worldwide, 4.5 billion people lack access to safe and working toilets and sanitation, while 892 million people are forced to defecate outside in the open or into bodies of water. Poor sanitation is linked to the transmission of many deadly diseases, including cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio, and 3.4 million people — mostly children — die from water-related diseases each year, with one in nine child deaths caused by diarrhea.

“Look Where Some People Poo” is the latest in a series of musical parodies Global Citizen has created to educate and inspire people around the world to take action. Past videos have included an Adele parody about calling Congress and a Bruno Mars parody concerning women’s rights.

Ahead of World Toilet Day (Nov. 19), the organization is asking supporters to sign a petition calling on the World Bank to commit to prioritizing basic sanitation.

 

 

Blame the kids: 20 sick at Hong Kong kindergarten

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The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is investigating an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) at a kindergarten in Tseung Kwan O, and hence reminded the public and management of institutions to maintain personal and environmental hygiene against AGE.
The outbreak involves 20 students, comprising 13 boys and seven girls aged 2 to 5, as well as two female staff members, who have developed vomiting, diarrhea and fever since November 4. Among them, seven students and one staff member sought medical attention, while one was discharged upon hospitalisation. All affected persons have been in a stable condition.

Officers of the CHP conducted a site visit and provided health advice to the staff of the school concerning proper and thorough disinfection, the disposal of vomit, and personal and environmental hygiene.

Same-sex marriage and thermometers promoted in Australia: Welcome to the naught years

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Australian politicians decided to be good politicians, not leaders – because pioneers get arrows in their back – and threw the issue of same-sex marriage to a public mail-in vote. The yes side won by a 2:1 margin, thereby undermining the foundation of Western society (or so some say).

I say, who cares, let same sex people enjoy the benefits and grief of marriage like the rest of us.

Australian food safety week is Nov. 11-18, 2017.

The organizers have been to my church, and the theme is not hockey, but, “Is it done yet? Use a thermometer for great food, cooked safely every time.”

Stick it in.

The theme last year was“Raw and risky.”

Uh-huh.

These PR thingies are increasingly meaningless.

Chapman is coming over in Jan. or so, once our renovations are done.

Bring another batch of thermometers, buddy.

If a group wants to promote thermometer use, give them away.

According to a self-reported bullshit survey, 70% of Australians don’t know that 75°C is the safe cooking temperature for high-risk foods such as hamburgers, sausages and poultry. 75% of Australians surveyed also reported that there wasn’t a meat thermometer in their household and only 44% of those with a thermometer reported using is over the previous month.

Check out our media release Australians clueless about safe cooking temperatures – Use a thermometer for great food, cooked safely every time.

Power of media, Broadway actor claims he was ill after dining at Chipotle

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Kate Taylor of Business Insider writes:

Chipotle’s shares dropped after a Broadway star blamed the burrito chain for a recent illness.
“I, as you can see, am in the hospital and I have fluids in my arm because the food did not agree with me and I almost died,” People reported that Jeremy Jordan, a Broadway actor and star of “Supergirl,” said in an Instagram story on Thursday.
The story of Jordan’s illness picked up media coverage over the weekend.
On Monday, Chipotle’s stock fell up to 5.9% — the lowest level in almost five years, according to Bloomberg.
Chipotle denied any link between Jordan’s illness and the chain.
“We were sorry to hear Jeremy was sick and were able to get in touch with him directly regarding where and when he ate,” spokesman Chris Arnold said in an email to Business Insider. “There have been no other reported claims of illness at the restaurant where he dined. We take all claims seriously, but we can’t confirm any link to Chipotle given the details he shared with us.”
The reaction shows just how susceptible Chipotle is to concerns about food safety.
In 2016, the company’s stock dropped 3.5% after a single report on Twitter said that someone had gotten sick after eating at a Manhattan Chipotle.
Chipotle is still struggling to build sales following an E. coli outbreak in late 2015 that sickened more than 50 people in 14 states.
In October, Chipotle’s shares fell nearly 12% after missing expectations for its most recent quarter. The company’s revenue reached $1.13 billion in the quarter, falling short of the $1.14 billion estimate.