Tag Archives: bug

Nosestretcher alert: CNN don’t know crap about food safety

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CNN was at least bearable in the morning when newscaster J.D. ‘John’ Roberts was picking tunes to accompany stories, building on his early VJ years at Toronto’s MuchMusic.

Today, Atlanta’s Cable News Network has descended into a ridicule-worthy target, no better than Fox.

In a piece about the stomach flu, Kate Rope of Parenting magazine, who is apparently stuck in the 1950s, says that food poisoning “usually hits pretty quickly after eating the food in question (did Chloe have potato salad at that afternoon’s picnic? Did Ben scarf down the rest of the tuna sandwich that had been sitting on the counter for a few hours?). Though it may come with fever, it often doesn’t, and it usually goes away pretty quickly.”

Tell that to the 26 dead folks who wanted some cantaloupe and got listeria – which can take weeks to develop.

‘Be the bug’ and beware cross-contamination

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I routinely appropriate lines from popular movies.

When trying to explain the risks of cross-contamination and dangerous microorganisms moving around, I invoke the scene from Caddyshack where Chevy Chase explains to Danny how the universe works and “to be the ball.”

Be the bug.

Produce, pet food, pizza and pot pies — the bugs that make humans barf are showing up in wild and wacky places. And they move around. A lot.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control updated the ongoing outbreak of Salmonella infection, serotype I 4,[5],12:i:- linked to frozen mice fed to reptiles. As of July 29, 2010, 34 were sick from 17 states. Hundreds were sick in the U.K. last year from the same bug from the same supplier.

Pet owners, be the bug, and consider all the opportunities that bug has to move from dead, frozen mouse to counters, dishes, hands, and the environment. CDC says,

* Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after handling frozen rodents used as food for reptiles, or anything in the area where they are stored, thawed, prepared, and fed to reptiles.

* Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after handling live rodents and reptiles, or anything in the area where they live and roam.

* Keep frozen rodents away from areas where food and drink are stored, prepared, served, or consumed.

* Avoid using microwave ovens or kitchen utensils used for human food to thaw frozen rodents used for reptile feed. Any kitchen surfaces that come in contact with frozen rodents should be disinfected afterwards.

* Do not let children younger than 5 years of age or people with weakened immune systems handle frozen rodents.

Be the bug.