35 sick with Salmonella from Australian restaurant (psst, check the eggs)

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Fried ice cream sounds gross. So does the lengthy time for an investigation, but that’s probably related to the Australian legal process, which doesn’t really seem to serve consumers.

The Daily Telegraph reports a suspected outbreak of food poisoning at a Chinese restaurant at Wenty Leagues, New South Wales, west of Sydney, is being investigated by the NSW Food Authority.

Up to 35 patrons – including 10 children – were believed to be struck ill after an evening out in September at the Jasmine Restaurant.

Three of the guests ended up in hospital, including a seven-year-old girl and four-year-old boy, and an adult who tested positive for Salmonella.

Wenty Leagues chief executive Mark Sheridan said the alleged incident on September 23 was being managed through the proper authorities.

“All inspections have been passed to the satisfaction of council and the food authority and the Jasmine Restaurant continues to trade,” Mr Sheridan said.

A group of 59 friends and family had eaten the banquet dinner on a Tuesday evening in honor of a 60th birthday.

They included mother of three Katrina Santos-Monses, who fell violently ill and two of her children, who were also affected.

“The food seemed nice,” Mrs Santos-Monses said. “But I did later suspect the fried ice-cream as it was melted inside and didn’t look like it normally does.”

The next day Mrs Santos-Monses and her children Cassandra, 7, and Sophie, 4, began suffering diarrhea, abdominal pain and high fever. She missed work and the children missed school and were ill the rest of the week.

A few days later, on the Saturday, during her six-month-old son’s christening ceremony, she collapsed. Both she and Cassandra were taken to Fairfield Hospital.

It was at the christening that guests began to realize more people were affected by the outbreak.

“It was like pieces of the puzzle were put together. There were cousins, uncles, so many people affected,” she said.

Mrs Santos-Monses is concerned at the length of time the investigation has taken.

“I’m mad that nobody has contacted me, to apologize or let me know what’s happened,” she said.

In early Jan. 2015, over 100 diners were sickened with Salmonella from fried ice cream at the at the Chin Chin Chinese restaurant in Brisbane.

A table of raw egg-related outbreaks in Australia is available at:

https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia-12-1-15.xlsx

Australia has a raw egg problem and why newspapers (they still exist here because the Internet sucks) would publish such recipes is baffling

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The Courier Mail out of Brisbane published a column by Frances Whiting extoling the virtues of her grandmother’s raw egg nog recipe.

“She would have been rather chuffed to know that her words of hope still resonate with people today, particularly today.”

I have no idea what chuffed means, and no idea what Australians are talking about almost all of the time.

Basic Eggnog Recipe

6 eggs

1 cup sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp nutmeg

¾ cup rum

¾ cup brandy

2 cups milk

2 cups whipping cream

Beat eggs until frothy, add in sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, then stir in rum and brandy. Add milk and cream, stir vigorously. Pour into jug. Makes 1½ litres.

Why ruin perfectly good foods like eggs and rum?

Raw eggs are risky.

A table of Australian egg outbreaks is available at https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia-10-9-15.xlsx

Thanksgiving Australia style, 2015 edition

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Douglas Powell

We’ve tried Thanksgiving a few times in Australia.

We did the Canadian one because it was earlier and not so hot, we did the U.S one. and it’s too hot, so after four years we found a model that may have worked.

Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. No religion, just good food to celebrate the harvest. We have traditionally hosted friends, family and students to share the feast each year.

So this year we adapted to Australian weather, and had about 30 people – that includes a bunch of kids – to a park.

We have fabulous parks.

The kids had a great playground and an area for rollerblading, scooters, whatever, the breezes from the river were good, and we did it picnic style.

I cooked the turkey and duck the night before – to a microbiologically safe temperature as determined by a tip-sensitive digital thermometer — and then refrigerated overnight.

Saturday morning, I carved up the birds – and underestimated the popularity – and made a casserole-based stuffing. Amy made potato salad, our friends brought sides, it was a relaxing four hours.

The hockey parents talked hockey gossip, the neighbors talked town home gossip, I stayed out of the way and tried to make sure everyone was fed.

Safely.

They all said they had never had anything like stuffing, so that was sorta cool.

We took a hockey kid home for 24 hours so his Canadian dad could play baseball.

Cause that’s how we roll.

And look how happy Hubbell is (hard to see).

Then we played hockey Sunday am.

Naked man charged with stealing Hungry Jack’s Whopper from car in Australia

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Hungry Jack’s is to Australia what Burger king is to America. Owned by the same company, but some dude wouldn’t give up the name in Australia.

A naked man was arrested and charged after he allegedly stole a Whopper from a man’s car in Derby, 2400km north of Perth.

Derby police say the local man stole the Hungry Jack’s burger from a tradesman’s car parked in the remote town. The tradesman had organised for a friend to bring him several Whoppers from Darwin (no less than 1800km north-east) in the days prior to the alleged theft.

Police say one of the burgers was left in the car and the local forced his way inside and took it. When he was confronted by the tradesman, the offender removed all his clothes and walked away, police said.

Officers apprehended him in the street a short time later and charged him by summons with stealing and disorderly behavior.

How will this be inspected? Best will market food safety; new food apps could see home cooks takeout takeaways

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Douglas Powell

No one invites me for dinner; they know I’m a food safety asshole (who carries a tip-sensitive digital thermometer in his backpack).

I don’t like charity cooking, I don’t like when I don’t know how the food was prepared, and I don’t like sausage sizzles, apparently part of Australian culture.

I want to celebrate food, I want to eat and share stories, but there are so many tales every day of people messing up the basics.

When we went to a (ice) hockey tournament a couple of months ago, I volunteered to call up the local health types and ensure a sausage sizzle was OK.

Sure, as long as it’s for charity.

I had to take a 16 hour course to coach little kids in hockey in Australia (because my Canadian experience didn’t count) but needed nothing to prepare food that could sicken those same little kids.

So this seems like a bad idea.

We could soon be bidding farewell to the fish and chip shop and saying ta-ta to the takeaway Thai if a plan to transform the way we eat, in the same way Uber has shaken up how we travel, takes off.

And, industry experts have warned that if restaurants don’t find a way to respond to the challenge they will be the losers as Australians turn to their next door neighbours for dinner rather than head out to the local takeaway.

However, there are concerns bureaucratic red tape could halt any moves to create a new future of food in its tracks.

Last week, 100 of Australia’s ‘foodie-prenuers’ gathered in Sydney for HackFood, a meeting place to thrash out the most innovative ideas to transform the food industry.

One of the most promising initiatives to emerge for the gathering, and one that is already in development, could see Australians turning their backs on takeout forever.

“It’s the UberX and Airbnb of home cooked meals,” said Jennifer Callaghan of the HomeCooked app she has created with partner Josh MacNamara.

Ms Callaghan said there were currently three options for people to eat: prepare at home, eat at a restaurant or order takeout. The new app added a fourth choice — local people cooking dinner for you.

“A home cook could say I’m going to make 10 servings of Thai green curry on a certain date and the person wanting to eat could flick through and see what’s cooking in their local area.

“You could request and pick it up then or order ahead for another day,” said Ms Callaghan who envisaged busy professionals stopping by their neighbours for takeaway containers of Indian goat curry or mac and cheese on the way home from work.

While similar apps, such as MyTable, are available in countries such as the US and India, she said no such technology existed in Australia.

According to IBISWorld the Australian takeaway food industry has annual revenues of $4bn and employs around 15,000 people with Eagle Boys and Domino’s some of the biggest players.

The business partners had done research that showed 80 per cent of people in inner city neighbourhoods would be open to buying a home cooked meal from a neighbour as an alternative to a takeaway.

Students and stay-at-home mums might jump at the idea of cooking for other local people, said Ms Callaghan who hope to launch HomeCooked in early 2016.

However, the challenges to this new way of eating are significant with established players unlikely to welcome a digital newcomer disrupting the status quo and food safety regulations designed around traditional food outlets.

Last year, Bunbury schoolgirl Chelsea-lee Downes found her roadside stall selling lemonade and cupcakes shut down by the local council because the food was produced in a domestic rather than commercial kitchen.

All cooks would have to take out insurance and there would be a “verification process” similar to that used by Airbnb, said Ms Callaghan. But she admitted the legality of selling food cooked up in a standard kitchen was unclear. “It’s a grey area and we’re talking to people in the industry around the ways of overcoming those areas but there has been a paradigm shift in how we access transport, lifestyle, and now food and things are changing no matter what,” she said.

Managing principal of food compliance specialists FoodLegal, Joe Lederman, told news.com.au regulations covering food preparation varied from place to place. “It’s a question of attitude, some regulators are in the business of encouraging new business and some are hostile to anyone who’s not commercial.

“It’s a similar experience with taxis, in some places they are more open and others take the approach it’s not the way forward and should not be done.”

Mark McAfee and raw milk: Suck at home, go to Australia to make a few bucks

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Douglas Powell

At least AC/DC can say they made their name in Australia (what’s left played in Brisbane the other night) but to this ex-pat, I see too many bands and brands coming here for an easy buck.

Guess it’s no different for raw milk spokesthingies.

We’re all on a highway to hell.

Mark McAfee, who runs runs Organic Pastures Dairy in California, milking 550 cows with his family and supplying 700 stores with products including milk, cream, cheese and butter, and sometimes sickening customers with Campylobacter or E. coli.

It is legal to sell raw milk products for human consumption in California.

Mr McAfee was in Australia last month and during that time he spoke at a pro-raw milk event in Melbourne hosted by the Australian Raw Milk Movement. He also met with dairy industry and regulatory organisations.

Following that meeting he told The Weekly Times he believed there was political will now in Australia to have the debate about the production and consumption of milk and milk products that have not been pasteurised.

It is illegal in Australia to sell unpasteurised milk for human consumption. Earlier this year Food Standards Australia and New Zealand lifted the ban on the sale of some raw milk cheeses in Australia.

Mr McAfee said the move in Victoria from January 1 that required a bittering agent to be added to raw milk if it was sold without pasteurisation wasn’t good for the consumer. The Government introduced the requirement following the death of a toddler who drank raw milk. The coroner’s report into the death is yet to be released.

Mr McAfee said the bittering agent was “ continuing the charade that bath milk is not consumed and people are taking a bath in it”.

“It is upsetting people and pissing them off. I can guarantee you there is unlabelled milk (from farms) getting around at the moment.”

‘It looks like a staple but is as thick as a nail’: Australia mother says she found a piece of metal in ALDI chicken nugget

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Douglas Powell

A mother who claims to have found a large piece of metal embedded in a store-bought chicken nugget has taken to social media to ‘warn’ others.

The woman shared two photos of the uncooked, frozen chicken nugget that she said had a large piece of metal, shaped like a staple but ‘as thick as a nail’, sticking out.

She said she bought the chicken nuggets from ALDI and had contacted the store about the incident.

An ALDI spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were investigating the matter.

Any mummy’s that have bought chicken nuggets from Aldi please be careful,’ she wrote.

‘This is what I found in one tonight.

‘I have contacted Aldi but just want to warn people.’

Many people said it was not ALDI’s ‘fault’, but the suppliers.

Except ALDI chooses their suppliers.

An ALDI spokesthingy said: “ALDI Australia is committed to providing our customers with safe products of the highest quality.

“We take any concerns with our products seriously, logging and monitoring all reports to ensure we track any potential trends.

“ALDI places high expectations on our suppliers to ensure they provide products that are manufactured to the highest possible food safety standards. Only after they meet our stringent criteria are they added to our range of exclusive brands.

“All production facilities of ALDI food and beverage products and pet food products are required to be certified to a Global Food Safety Initiative recognised standard.

assessments of all products.

“We also conduct regular audits to ensure supplier compliance with our high standards.”

Thank you for your service

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Sorenne and I wore poppies to school today, as did Amy, after having a long chat about WW1 and what it meant.

My grandfather was too young to serve in WWI and too old for WWII, but he served in Wales, on local watch. My father was just a babe when Newport got bombed to hell in WWII and I still remember a pic of him in an astronaut’s helmet in a bomb shelter.

He was about 1-year-old.

On the way back from school, I had conversations with three different veterans, and thanked them for their service.

They were all headed to the local park, for a memorial service.

An Australian friend tells me, every little town and suburb in this country has parks and memorials like that, and it’s quite remarkable.

I agree, and have visited enough to know it’s true.

I’m sorta like Tony Soprano, who had a penchant for WWII documentaries, in that there’s an underlying feeing of inadequacy when compared to what our forebears did.

I’m grateful.

Sorenne is too.

Doggy hardware: Friendly policy questioned after dog bites girl at Australian outlet

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Bunnings is the Home Depot of Australia.

I’ve always been a fan of doggy dining, where canines can accompany folks to a restaurant, but only with a bunch of caveats:

only outside;
management can decide whenever they want to evict a dog; and,
the adults involved aren’t entitled douchebags.

Just days after the popular home improvement chain confirmed that customers were now allowed to take their pooches inside stores, a Melbourne child has allegedly been bitten on the leg.

Five-year-old Madeline Hungerford is recovering at home after an incident at the Bunnings store in Melton yesterday.

“We just don’t think dogs should be there,” Ms Hungerford told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell this morning.

“Bunnings on a Sunday is really busy … It’s just not a good environment for a dog.”

She said the family had been walking through the store when their little girl was set upon.

“We were walking past two little dogs, one was being patted at the time and Madeline tried to pat the other one,” Ms Hungerford said.

But before her little girl could get within patting range, she said, the dog — believed to be a Jack Russell terrier — allegedly bit her on the leg.

“It’s broken the skin just below her knee,” she said.

“She’s got two bite marks that broke the skin, a couple of bite marks around the side and bruising and swelling.”

In a cruel twist of fate, Madeline had only just become comfortable around dogs when the incident occurred.

News.com.au revealed on Thursday Bunnings had unveiled a new policy of welcoming pets into stores.

Bunnings operations director Michael Schneider then said that while customers weren’t being encouraged to bring pets inside, “as long as pets are under appropriate control, are not aggressive and do not compromise the safety of our team or customers they are welcome”.

“Our team members have full discretion to deny any pet entry to the store,” he said, adding that assistance animals “have always been and will always be allowed entry into our stores”.

While a majority of readers supported the move in an online poll, some expressed concern.

Blame consumers Australian egg edition: SA Health advises don’t wash eggs as Salmonella cases soar

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Australia still has an egg problem.

And the best South Australia Health can come up with is, don’t wash your dirty eggs. as Salmonella hits a five-year high and is on track to double the number of cases recorded in 2010.

The natural inclination to wash the dirt off may actually be pushing harmful bacteria through the porous shell, creating a food poisoning trap.

Health authorities say it is difficult to pinpoint a single cause for the spike in Salmonella but have issued a public safety alert urging care when preparing, cooking and storing food.

As of October 24 there had been 1056 confirmed cases for the year, compared to 668 for all of 2010.

Last year a total of 1210 cases were recorded but there had been 215 fewer cases at this time of the year.

SA Health Director of Public Health Services Dr Kevin Buckett said “food myths” could cause people to fall sick.

“For whole cuts of meat, bacteria may be present on the outer surfaces and that is why you need to sear the outside of the meat but can still eat it rare.

(Unless it’s needle tenderized).

“However, for whole animals such as spit roast chicken, lamb or pork, it is important to cook the meat all the way through and to make sure the juices run clear before serving.”

Dr Buckett said mincemeat should be thoroughly cooked until all pink colouring has gone and that chicken also must be cooked all the way through.

Dr. Buckett is perpetuating some myths. Color is a lousy indicatior, and considering his six-figure salary and the flunkies that write such palp, it’s just embarrassing.

“Always make raw egg dishes fresh on the day, keep foods refrigerated until you are ready to eat them and do not leave food with raw egg out of the fridge for any longer than two hours.”

SA Health will stage a display at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Thursday and Friday as part of Food Safety Week.

Taxpayers dollars at work: promoting scientifically invalid information, whle back-slapping that hey, we have a display.

No hospital should be serving a raw-egg based dish to any patients.

Just don’t eat raw eggs.

Rocky was an OK movie of an underdog, but he could barely put a sentence together.

Raw eggs? There’s a safer alternative. Cook ‘em, or use pasteurized eggs.

Penn and Teller, come and do a raw egg bit like you did on vaccines (NSFV).