Tag Archives: Egg

Spanish eggs eyed as possible source of UK Salmonella outbreaks; 2 dead, 5 hospitalized, hundreds sick in 14 outbreak clusters since August

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U.K. health types are investigating two deaths linked to a surge in cases of Salmonella Enteritidis phage type (PT) 14b since mid-August.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said a total of 14 clusters in England and Wales have been linked to a number of different catering establishments and one care home.

To date, 443 cases have been reported to the Health Protection Agency this year, compared with 137 in 2008.

It is understood two deaths of people at the care home in Sunderland have been linked to salmonella poisoning.

An FSA spokesman said,

"Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, the clusters may be linked to eggs sourced from outside the UK and used in these establishments. Investigations are ongoing into a possible link to eggs sourced from an approved establishment in Spain, and the UK and Spanish authorities are working in close cooperation to investigate this."

Seven of the recent outbreaks – or clusters – are linked to Chinese or Thai restaurants, three to cafes, one to an Italian restaurant, one to a kebab shop and one to a roadside van.
 

9 outbreaks, 2 dead, 130 ill from same Salmonella across UK

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The Telegraph reports this morning that around 130 people have fallen ill with the same strain of Salmonella linked to poultry and eggs since August across England and Wales

Five outbreaks have been linked to oriental restaurants, three to other restaurants and one was in a care home.

Two people with the infection died in the care home, which has not been named by officials, but post mortem results have proved inconclusive about the cause of death.

Three other people have been treated in hospital, a report from the Health Protection Agency said.
 

Salmonella outbreak in Denmark

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I have an affinity for the Danes. I spent five summers working with two Danish home builders in Ontario, who introduced me to 45% Danish Schnapps, pate and beet snacks, which Amy and I munched on our balcony yesterday, and when I go to meetings in Copenhagen, they offer beer at the 10:30 a.m. coffee break; and noon; and afternoon coffee (beer).

My friend John the carpenter who fought in WW II (last name Kierkegaard, like the philosopher, Soren, baby Sorenne, get it?) would also have his morning, noon and afternoon beers in Ontario, but would at least admit, “The work, after some beers, it’s not so great when looked at the next day.”

This morning, Denmark is admitting it may have some problems with Salmonella.

The National Food Directorate says that 40 people have contracted Salmonella Enteritidis since May, probably as a result of fried eggs or raw eggs that have not been heated properly.

In several cases, the eggs have been traced back to the Møllebjerggård Ægpakkeri egg packaging plant and a producer that delivers eggs to the plant has been put under observation.

The Directorate has ordered eggs from the producer in question to be withdrawn from the market.
 

Waste not, want not: food safety, discarding food, and tough times

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Whenever I think of leftover pizza, I recall my teenage years listening to Rolling Stones on vinyl at George’s apartment, I wonder whatever happened to that stray puppy one of the visitors brought home until the fleas were discovered, and I wonder how long the pizza would be good. I’ve probably eaten pieces of pizza that spent the night on the turntable.

So when Susan Reef, president of US Food Safety Corp., says eating pizza that has spent a few hours at room temperature is a no-no, I sorta scoff (low water activity, no epidemiological history of outbreaks from morning-after pizza consumption, she probably doesn’t like the Stones).

Kim Painter reports in USA Today tomorrow that if Maribel Alonso, a food safety specialist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Meat and Poultry Hotline, brings home a broken egg, she discards it.

Doug Powell, a food safety person at Kansas State University, says he would cook with the egg, probably into a batch of pancakes, adding,

"It’s just messy, but if it’s been kept cold, it should be OK.”

(Messy means, be careful of cross-contamination).
 

Poisoned Deviled Eggs

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Yesterday on Days of Our Lives, Kate tried to poison Daniel and Chloe with an undetectable substance that she put on a tray of deviled eggs. When she caught her son, Lucas, trying to snatch an egg, she freaked out.

As recounted by Prevuze:

Lucas opens his mouth (something he’s very experienced at) and prepares to snack on the delectable poison egg. Kate walks into the kitchen and sees him about to commit eggicide. As predicted by thousands of viewers, Kate dives across the room and slaps the egg away from him. The egg goes one way, the tray goes another and the people in the room dive for cover to avoid the shower of garbage. Lucas has a total conniption, but Kate doesn’t back off. She stomps on the offending egg and grinds it under her shoe. Daniel and Chloe walk in, all properly zipped up.

Lucas explodes, "WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR, HUH? WHAT? WAS IT POISONED OR SOMETHING?"

Finally Kate comes up with an excuse:

"I poisoned the eggs. I did it without thinking. I put mayonnaise in them and they sat under the hot TV lights."
Lucas echoes what all of us are thinking, "This is lame, Mom."

Lame for sure. As Doug has explained, the danger of leaving deviled eggs out in the heat is not from the mayonnaise which, if bought from the supermarket, should have pasteurized ingredients. If you’re making mayonnaise from scratch, however, it does contain raw egg. Whether it’s temperature abused or not, raw egg can contain Salmonella. Somehow I doubt that Kate or Aunt Maggie make their own homemade mayo.
 

Raw egg in hollandaise sickens 20 at upscale retirement home

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Australia has had a number of outbreaks involving raw eggs in a variety of dishes. Why any aged care facility, even a so-called upscale one like RSL Anzac Village at Narrabeen would serve dishes with raw eggs to a vulnerable population like senior citizens speaks to the stellar food safety training underpinning their upscale care. Maybe they were trained by the same folks who think it’s OK to serve cold cuts to old folks in Canada – 20 died from listeria in Maple Leaf deli meats last fall.

The source of the outbreak is believed to be a hollandaise sauce that used raw egg, although the NSW Food Authority is still waiting for conclusive test results.

The suspected food poisoning occurred on Friday, January 23, when the temperature reached nearly 32 degrees at the RSL Anzac Village at Narrabeen. The high-quality village provides 750 independent living units as well as places for 500 people in nursing home or hostel level care.

A statement from the home’s management said, "Village management apologises unreservedly to all people affected by this unfortunate incident and continues to work with the public health unit to trace the source.”

It said the village served more than 200,000 meals a year and this was the first known episode of gastric upset relating to food services "in living memory".

The Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald, issued a warning about the potential health risks from eating food that contained raw or lightly cooked eggs.

He said the Government was launching an education campaign in view of a consumer survey by the Food Authority that showed people did not understand how to safely cook or store eggs.

Which came first, the gecko or the egg?

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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).

Raw eggs sicken 50 Aussies

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A bunch of Australians had their summer-Xmas holidays ruined by barfing after contracting Salmonella from raw eggs.

The New South Wales Food Authority says that a group of 35 people fell ill, probably from salmonella, after eating homemade fried ice cream with a coating made of raw egg batter at a party. There were also 11 cases from another gathering where raw egg was used in caesar salad dressing and chocolate mousse. Three children also became ill after drinking affected egg nog

Is it safe to use raw eggs to make homemade egg nog?

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With snow creating blizzard conditions and the Interstate closed, Manhattanites may be tempted to stay at home and curl up with some festive egg nog.

And every year, the same question comes up: is it safe to use raw eggs to make homemade egg nog?

Sort of?

Egg nog is a festive beverage generally prepared during the holiday season for family and holiday celebrations.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is a drink in which the white and yolk of eggs are stirred up with hot beer, wine, or spirits.  A number of recipes can be found on the Internet, including http://www.eggnogrecipe.net/.

Egg nog is traditionally prepared with raw egg yolks and whites.  In the 1998 Salmonella Enteritidis Risk Assessment for Shell Eggs and Egg Products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that 1-in-20,000 shell eggs is contaminated with Salmonella.

The folks at the Egg Safety Center estimate that the odds of any one person in the US getting sick from SE in eggs is 1 in 2,240 or 0.045% each year. Unless egg nog is your primary, year-round source of eggs, the risk estimate for the seasonal beverage would be smaller.

Many egg nog recipes call for alcohol whether it be beer, wine, or spirits, and many believe that the alcohol in the drink kills harmful bacteria, including salmonella. The Extension Service at the University of Minnesota says there is no scientific data to supports this claim. “Alcohol inhibits bacterial growth but cannot be relied upon to kill bacteria.” Consequently, adding more alcohol to a recipe may increase its potency, but it will not ensure the destruction of all bacteria.

Pasteurized eggs or store-bought egg nog are microbiologically safer alternatives.

Me? Too much fat in egg nog.

Here are three recipes from Sunday’s N.Y. Times.

1958: Eggnog
This recipe appeared in The Times in an article by Craig Claiborne.
As Freeman pointed out, “It’s important to get good farm-fresh eggs, with really orange yolks and really thick cream; these are the main constituents of the drink.” Halve the recipe for a smaller gathering.
12 eggs, separated
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup bourbon
1 cup Cognac
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 pints heavy cream
Grated nutmeg
1 to 2 cups milk (optional)
1. In an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick.
2. Slowly add the bourbon and Cognac while beating at slow speed. Chill for several hours.
3. Add the salt to the egg whites. Beat until almost stiff.
4. Whip the cream until stiff.
5. Fold the whipped cream into the yolk mixture, then fold in the beaten egg whites. Chill 1 hour.
6. When ready to serve, sprinkle the top with freshly grated nutmeg. Serve in punch cups with a spoon.
7. If desired, add 1 to 2 cups of milk to the yolk mixture for a thinner eggnog. Makes about 40 punch-cup servings.
——
2007: Roquefort-and-Pear Eggnog
By Eben Freeman, the head bartender at Tailor in SoHo.
3 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1 1/2+cups heavy cream
4 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup poire William, or other pear brandy
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
1. One to two days before making the eggnog, combine the cheese and cream in a container and refrigerate for 36 to 48 hours.
2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk, combine the egg yolks, sugar and poire William. Beat until pale yellow and emulsified. Chill for 2 hours. Line a sieve with cheesecloth, and strain the cream-and-cheese mixture.
3. Whip the cream to stiff peaks, then fold into the egg-yolk mixture. Beat the egg whites until fluffy, then add the salt and continue beating to stiff peaks. Fold into the cream mixture. Chill for 1 hour. Serve in small cups with a spoon. Serves 10.
——
2007: Cedar-Scented Eggnog
By Eben Freeman, head bartender at Tailor in SoHo.
1 cedar plank or 1 sheet of cedar paper, for wrapping food
1/4 cup bourbon
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Cognac
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Pinch salt.
1. Two days before making the eggnog, infuse the bourbon. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a vegetable peeler, shave strips of cedar from the cedar plank until you have 1/4 cup of shavings (if using cedar paper, break it into pieces). Spread the shavings on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until toasted, about 20 minutes. Let cool, then combine with the bourbon, cover and let sit for 48 hours.
2. Strain the bourbon through a jelly bag or a tea towel. In a mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy, then with the mixer on low, slowly add the bourbon and the Cognac. Chill for 2 hours.
3. Whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold into the yolk mixture. Beat the egg whites and salt to stiff peaks and fold into the same mixture. Chill for 1 hour. Serve in small cups, with a spoon. Serves 10.

Bodybuilding diet: all natural BS protein shake recipe

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Something called Real Muscle Online says that when you are bodybuilding, it’s important to stay healthy while achieving  goals and not buying into a lot of the typical bodybuilding weight loss and mass gain crap.

But they apparently buy into movie crap and don’t care about  barfing from Salmonella.

When getting your daily protein it is important to do it smartly. Too much protein is not good for you. Too much protein from unhealthy sources is not good for you. Lets keep it clean.

Ingredients:

  Banana
  Free range eggs
  Raw milk
  Uncooked honey
  Whey protein if you want

As you can see the ingredients all have a common theme. They are natural. They are uncooked. You see when you cook a food you destroy a lot of the enzymes that make up the proteins and so on. This means they are less effective in your body. What good is a protein if it is unable to do its job?

These natural ingredients are a lot more effective than the dead protein powders you buy on the shelf.

Just because it was in the movie Rocky doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.