Love guru Mike Myers dreading diarrhea on Aussie red carpet

Starpulse.com reports that Mike Myers realized he was ill on his way to his Love Guru premiere in Australia earlier this month and had to stop at a number of restaurants to use restrooms before he actually got to the premiere.

"In Australia, when you go into a drug store you actually have to talk to the pharmacist…I was looking around and I was, like, ‘Hi!’ ‘Hello, you’re Mike Myers, how are you? What can I do for you?’ (I said) ‘I’d like Pepto-Bismol please.’ ‘We don’t know what that is…What is it exactly, Mike?’ I was like, ‘It’s for tummy trouble.’"

But the confused Aussie staffmember at the pharmacy needed him to be more specific, prompting a desperate Myers to reveal he was suffering from diarrhea.

He adds, "(They said) ‘How very interesting, you’re a superstar with diarrhea.’ I’m like, ‘Hmmm, don’t feel like a superstar right now.’"

No indication if the cause was food or water related, but hey, Mike, we’ve all been there. Not messing around on a bed with Madonna or cavorting with Beyonce, but we’ve all had the runs.

Best Mike Myers role? So many good lines and characters from the Toronto-area funny man, but the best is the Don Cherry-inspired hockey announcer on the vastly underrated Russell Crowe vehicle, Mystery, Alaska.

And that’s Dr. Evil to you. I didn’t spend all those years at Evil University to be Mr. Evil.

2 dead, 20 ill in Salmonella outbreak in Australian nursing home

AdelaideNow reports that a 77-year-old male and a 71-year-old female have died and at least 20 other residents of Hahndorf Residential Care Services have become ill due to a Salmonella outbreak.

A spokeswoman last night said preliminary investigations indicated contaminated food may have entered the nursing home, with test results expected early this week.

Sleeps with the fishes – Australian style

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that organized crime in Australia is targeting mud crabs, prawns and barramundi to fuel an illicit domestic seafood market.

A study by the Australian Institute of Criminology warns that thieves – including bikie gangs – are exploiting  national parks in New South Wales by using illegal divers and families using the guise of indigenous hunting.

Oyster theft is so well organised that thieves use lifting equipment on vehicles to steal whole racks from farms, the report says.

The report says that while the main market for abalone and shark fin is Hong Kong, there is "an extensive illicit Australian market for these other species. The market includes clubs, restaurants, hotels, fish and chip shops."

The study was prompted by research showing there had been growth in organised crime involving abalone and rock lobster, and an increase in criminals using the industry to launder money and make drugs at aquaculture farms.

Legionnaire’s linked to Australian car wash

Car washes have emerged as a new Legionnaire’s disease threat after seven people were admitted to hospital in the world’s first reported outbreak at a car wash.

The Grand Car Wash in Hoppers Crossing has been closed for disinfecting and plumbing works while an investigation into the outbreak continues.

Legionella bacteria experts warned that commercial hand-held car washes springing up across Victoria may provide perfect conditions for outbreaks because they used recycled water, warm storage tanks and spray vapour.

All seven people struck down by the latest outbreak went to hospital between April 14 and May 15 after visiting the Old Geelong Rd car wash.

Which came first, the gecko or the egg?

Australia’s ABC News Online reports that Dr Peter Beaumont, the Northern Territory president of the Australian Medical Association, says he may have accidentally discovered how the potentially deadly salmonella bacteria gets inside chicken eggs when he discovered a dead gecko between the inner shell and the membrane of a chicken egg he cracked open while cooking.

He believes the discovery is a world first and has handed the egg shell over to health authorities who will look for the presence of bacteria in the yolk and try to work out how the gecko got into the egg.

Dr Beaumont says he suspects the gecko entered the chicken before it entered the egg, stating,

"Eggs are made inside chooks up this tube from their bottom. Now obviously this tube is in contact with the whole outside world. It has to be that the gecko climbed up inside the chook and died up there while the egg was being formed before the shell was put on it."

He says the discovery could have wide reaching implications for the egg farming industry, as it may explain how the potentially deadly salmonella bacteria gets into eggs.

Look at the cell phone on that gecko (gordon, below).

Top five food safety myths

The Australian version of the top-5 food safety myths is as follows:

• The three-second rule
If you drop food on the floor, pick it up within three seconds or so and it will be fine to eat. Wrong.

• Seafood is dodgy
Seafood is no more likely to cause food poisoning than other meats, and in Australia, strict regulations apply to its handling and storage.

• It’s OK to leave cooked rice/pasta out of the fridge
When these foods enter the temperature "danger zone" of 5-60 degrees, Bacillus cereus can form heat-resistant spores and a heat-resistant toxin.

• Dairy products cause phlegm
Dairy Australia and the National Asthma Council Australia say that this myth is not supported by scientific evidence, citing a comprehensive review in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

• Mould on cheese and jam is not dangerous
Moulds can penetrate more deeply than the eye can see, so what looks like a small patch on your chunky raspberry jam or vintage tasty cheese might be a lot larger.

I didn’t know phlegm was a food safety issue, but Australia is a large exporter of dairy products so I guess they care (what would formally be called an example of value judgments in risk assessment).

What’s your top-5 food safety myths?

Mine would be (brought to you by top-10 records):

• Meat is cooked when the juices run clear
Color is a lousy indicator of doneness. Use a thermometer.

• It’s local/organic/natural/domestic so it’s safe
Can be, but need to provide evidence of microbiological safety of any food, from around the corner or around the globe.

• The last meal eaten, especially if it was at a fast-food joint, caused my foodborne illness
Nope, incubation times for most microorganisms — except some toxins and viruses — are at lot longer than a few hours.

• Washing fresh produce will make it safe
It may be frustrating for consumers and retailers, but there’s not much to be done once produce leaves the farm and packing shed. The risk has to be reduced on the farm.
• The bathrooms are clean so the food is safe
I’m not sure how big this is, but Ben says he hears it all the time, and I can’t think up a fifth, so going with it.
How about, certified/verified/HACCPified/inspected/audited don’t means that much unless there is a culture of food safety present farm-to-fork, 24/7.

Even fancy restaurants need to refrigerate sauces — cause toxins can kill

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that 81-year-old retiree William Hodgins died just 12 hours after dining with his wife, Audrey, at the upmarket Tables restaurant in Pymble on Friday, January 12 last year (right, pic from Sydney Morning Herald).

Inspector Dean Lindley of Hornsby police told Westmead Coroners Court yesterday that an investigation by the NSW Food Authority discovered Bacillus cereus in an asparagus cream sauce served to Hodgins and 14 other customers that night who had ordered the fish of the day, snapper.

It is alleged the sauce was up to 48 hours old when it was served to him.

Inspector Lindley said he was contacted by food inspector, Bryan Biffin, who said he had taken a sample of cream asparagus sauce he had found in the restaurant after police left. It had been served with the fish of the day.

"The sauce had subsequently been analysed by the Division of Analytical Laboratories and had been found to contain the pathogen Bacillus cereus at a level of 9.8 million parts … Mr Biffin informed me that the toxic level of this pathogen is 1 million parts … Biffin further stated that in his experience this pathogen thrives in an environment where the food is heated and cooled over a period of time. During the course of the investigation I came to the opinion that the deceased William Hodgins had eaten the asparagus sauce. The sauce at the time of consumption was contaminated by the pathogen Bacillus cereus after having been repeatedly subjected to temperature abuse in that it was heated and cooled a number of times over 48 hours by restaurant staff."

The restaurant co-owner and principal chef Kim de Laive told the court he had been holidaying on the South Coast that day and that his fellow chef, Douglas Gunn, had prepared the sauce dishes, including the cream asparagus, the night before for use that Friday.

He said it was the restaurant’s practice to dispose of asparagus sauce if it was exposed to room temperature for more than four hours, and was unaware that the Australian food standards required it to be disposed after two hours. Mr de Laive said he could only assume that one of the apprentices had put the sauce back into the fridge after its use earlier in the day and it had been taken out again that night but he had not asked any of the apprentices about it.

Way to blame the underlings, chef, especially since you apparently didn’t know the basics.

When the restaurant’s co-owner, Daniel Brukark, entered the witness box counsel for the Food Authority counsel, Patrick Saidi, revealed the authority was prosecuting Mr Brukark’s company, Dan Brook Investments, for failing to place labels with dates on its sauce containers, an offence which carries a two-year prison term if a director or chef is convicted.

Australian eggs strike Spielberg series with Salmonella?

Public health authorities are investigating after cast and crew on Steven Spielberg’s The Pacific mini-series were struck down by salmonella poisoning while filming in Victoria.

Five people were taken to hospital and one had to be admitted after becoming violently ill at the You Yangs site.

A further 25 people are believed to have suffered severe gastro symptoms after enjoying a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs.

Restaurant inspection results in Australia? Not happening

Matthew Moore writes in Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald that food poisoning is an issue all over the world. To keep levels as low as possible, developed countries do three things: employ food inspectors, educate workers about food safety and, increasingly, they tell people the truth.

When Britain got freedom of information laws three years ago, one of the first decisions by the information commissioner was to rule that results of restaurant inspections carried out by public servants were public information. He said what’s obvious to most people: it is in the public interest for people to know what inspectors found.

His decision was in line with what’s been happening for decades in America, where restaurant inspection results are as common as restaurant reviews. And for good reason.

The New South Wales state minister responsible justified his decision to ignore what Britain and US are doing this way. "I am not saying any country is wrong, but this is Australia."

Meanwhile in Melbourne, the Victorian Government has rejected a plan to set up a website to publicly name and shame dodgy restaurants convicted for food safety breaches.

"The Government is not inclined at present to support the establishment of a central website."

The Age reports that a review by the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission has concluded that the Government could save about $34 million a year by paring back red tape for food standards, particularly for charities, schools and community groups.

The City of Melbourne has reported that approximately 40% of the 3000 food premises in its municipality were found to have breached food safety standards in the past four years.

I got my views published in Sydney last May. Restaurant inspection results should be public — although research is needed to figure out the most effective way to provide that information — and anyone who handles food should have some basic training.

Don’t eat poop.

Tasmania Salmonella outbreak: Just say sorry, says victim

A 66-year-old Hobart man who has been hospitalised for almost a fortnight — and remains in hospital — with salmonella has told of his horror and called for a public apology from the Venus cafe at Rosny Park that served him infected food.

The Tasmania Mercury reports that the man said there had been at least nine other patients suffering from salmonella in recent days and many blamed food from Venus.

They are among 75 Tasmanians who have reported having gastro symptoms after eating contaminated food last month. Most of those were infected after eating at funerals at Millingtons in Mornington, which has food supplied by a local catering company.

The man had lunch at Venus with his wife where he ate a prawn and asparagus baguette with aioli dressing before being sick.

The man said he wanted Venus to be held accountable.

"Their business was reopened within a couple of days and everything was forgotten, but we’re all still sick. It makes me really angry. I just want an open apology."

Director of Public Health Roscoe Taylor said tartare sauce containing raw egg had been confirmed as one cause but would not confirm if Venus was responsible, saying the department did not name businesses in outbreaks, adding,

"I can understand that people would want to seek retribution but our business is not the blame game, our interest is to protect the public."

But if food service is knowingly serving raw egg-based dishes to lots of people, including those at funerals in Hobart, where is the public protection?