Tag Archives: Kansas State University

Bill Murray charms them in Manhattan (Kansas)

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A gentleman  (and a lady) is someone who never makes someone else feel uncomfortable. That’s what cool is. Not what music you listen too, not what clothes you wear, Not who’s the most popular. … But the person who looks you in the eye, who’s always there, that’s the person you’ll remember from high school.

That was the message actor Bill Murray delivered to Manhattan High School students, alumni and hangers-on like me and Amy in between the girls and boys basketball games tonight.

Murray was in town to pay homage to former Manhattan High School attendee Del Close, who was inducted along with three others to the MHS wall of fame tonight. Close was regarded as a founder of improvisational comedy favored by Chicago’s Second City, where he mentored a long list of Saturday Night Live alumni, including Bill Murray. The night before Close died in 1999, he held a live wake in his hospital room and declared he was tired of being the funniest person in the room. He bequeathed his skull to the Goodman theatre for a performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Alas, poor Yorick, I hardly knew thee).

Murray was charming, heartfelt and funny as he paid homage to his late friend, and to the town of Manhattan (Kansas). His brother, Brian Doyle-Murray apparently lives in Manhattan (Kansas), although he’s in California working on a film, and there are stories of annual Murray brother sightings around town. Ask Kyle.

Afterwards, while Bill graciously talked to the locals, I got a chance to give him a barfblog and French Don’t Eat Poop T-shirt. He seemed amused (left).

Anyone who’s been here knows Manhattan (Kansas) really is in the middle of nowhere and really is in the middle of the contiguous 48 states. It’s not easy to get here. So yeah to Bill Murray.

Bill Murray coming to Manhattan (Kansas)

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But the real news is that his brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, lives here, and his wife is a student in veterinary medicine at Kansas State.

Who knew.

He not only played Lou Loomis in Caddyshack, which made his brother Bill famous, he co-wrote the script with Harold Ramis and Douglas Kenney. What about that turn in Wayne’s World? And the numerous characters on the Canadian television version of Second City TV.

Anyway, the Manhattan Mercury reports that Bill  Murray is expected to be in Manhattan Friday to attend the induction of Del Close into the Manhattan High School Hall of Fame.

The story says that his fame began at the Second City comedy theater in Chicago, which is where he came under the guidance of Close. Close is regarded as the comic godfather of many Second City talents, including John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Chris Farley and others. Close was in the Manhattan High School class of 1952.

Doyle-Murray was cited as telling the Mercury today that he wouldn’t be able to attend the induction ceremony because of a movie commitment in California, but that Bill would be here.

The ceremony is scheduled to take place between the boys’ and girls’ games — about 7:15 p.m. — at Manhattan High, in the north gym.

Raw milk sickens the unsuspecting — again

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In May, 1943, Edsel Bryant Ford, son of auto magnate Henry Ford, died at the age of 49 in Detroit, of what some claimed was a broken heart.

Medical authorities, however, decreed that Ford died of undulant fever, apparently brought on by drinking unpasteurized milk from the Ford dairy herd, at the behest of his father’s mistaken belief that all things natural must be good.

It seems like every week in the U.S. there is a report of unpasteurized milk testing positive for listeria or salmonella or E. coli or campylobacter or some other dangerous bug; every month there is a report of people, largely children, sickened after consuming unpasteurized milk.

This month it’s Kansas, where at least 87 people have been poisoned with campylobacter in two separate outbreaks — one linked to consumption of raw milk, and the other to cheese made from raw milk.

Raw milk drinkers believe the pasteurized milk found on grocery store shelves lack the essential enzymes and nutrients necessary to absorb calcium — yet research shows this is simply not the case. The only things lacking in pasteurized milk are the bacteria that make people — especially kids — seriously ill.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that in 1938, before widespread adoption of milk pasteurization, an estimated 25 per cent of all foodborne and waterborne outbreaks of disease were associated with milk.

By 2001, the percentage of such outbreaks associated with milk was estimated at less than 1 per cent. From 1998 to 2005, a total of 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness were reported to CDC in which unpasteurized milk (or cheese suspected to have been made from unpasteurized milk) was implicated. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths.

Because not all cases of foodborne illness are recognized and reported, the actual number of illnesses associated with unpasteurized milk likely is greater.

A table of the outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/articles/384/RawMilkOutbreakTable.pdf

Yes, lots of foods make people sick. And people should be free to choose what they ingest.

The 19th century English utilitarian philosopher, John Stuart Mill, noted that choice has limits, stating, "if it [in this case the consumption of raw unpasteurized milk] only directly affects the person undertaking the action, then society has no right to intervene, even if it feels the actor is harming himself."

Excused from Mill’s libertarian principle are those people who are incapable of self-government – children.

Science can be used to enhance what nature provided. Further, society has a responsibility to the many — philosopher Mill also articulated how the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one — to use knowledge to minimize harm.

Adults, do whatever you think works to ensure a natural and healthy lifestyle, but please, don’t impose your dietary regimes on those incapable of protecting themselves: your kids.

Dr. Douglas Powell is scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University

Raw milk sickens the unsuspecting — again

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Every week in the U.S. there is a report of unpasteurized milk testing positive for listeria or salmonella or E. coli or campylobacter; every month there is a report of people, largely children, sickened after consuming unpasteurized milk in the misguided belief that all things natural are good.

A table of the outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/articles/384/RawMilkOutbreakTable.pdf

49 News reports tonight that two separate outbreaks of campylobacteriosis made at least 87 people sick in Kansas.

Kansas allows raw milk to be sold within the state, but health officials want you to be aware of the health risks that come with consuming raw milk.

In the first outbreak in southwest Kansas, 68 people became ill after eating cheese made from raw (unpasteurized) milk donated by a local dairy for a community celebration. Nineteen people were ill enough to seek medical attention, and two people were hospitalized. Four of these persons tested positive for Campylobacter jejuni; no other food items served at the event were associated with illness.

The second outbreak is linked to a dairy in south central Kansas that sells raw milk directly to consumers. As of November 30, 2007, 19 cases of campylobacteriosis had been reported. Each person reported drinking raw milk purchased from the dairy.

These are rather large numbers of sick people; why is it only public now?

Food science cafe

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We had our first, monthly, Food Science Café, last night, and while numbers were small, I still believe that, if you build it, they will come.

As long as it’s useful.

Adrianna Deweese of the Kansas State Collegian wrote that Douglas Powell, scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at K-State, said the purpose of the monthly discussions is to talk about food safety and science in a different setting than a classroom.

Powell showed his meat thermometer to those in attendance, and said it is important to get a digital, instant-read, tip-sensitive meat thermometer, which costs about $12.

"Lots of people use it for whole birds or roasts, but I think it’s more important actually for the burgers and the ground beef," Powell said. "Ten years ago I would have never used one, but now I feel naked when I don’t – I feel vulnerable."

When he is asked at a restaurant how he would like his hamburger cooked, Powell said he responds he would like it "160," meaning he would like it cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Food color often is a poor indicator of when it is properly cooked, Powell said. K-State food-safety research has found about 25 percent of tested hamburgers turned brown before they reached a safe temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, he said.

"We’re always just trying to find one way to put information out and take information in," he said. "We’re just always trying to find new ways to get it out there so we have fewer sick people."

The network also has several blogs at www.donteatpoop.k-state.edu and
barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu. Powell also wore a T-shirt Monday night that said "ne mangez pas de caca," which is French for "Don’t eat poop."

"It’s had more effect than anything else," Powell said of the message.

Angela Dodd, senior in food science, was quoted as saying Food Science Café discussions are

"a great way for students to become aware of what’s going on in the media about food safety. Food pertains to everybody, and it’s a part of everybody’s life."

I didn’t really like the long table set-up. Next month, we’re probably going to do it in the on-campus bowling alley. Only place to get a beer at K-State.

Proper handwashing requires proper tools

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The Manhattan — Kansas, that is — Mercury today looked into ongoing problems at local schools and the continuing spread of staph infections.

The Riley County Health Department found that a couple of schools, including MHS West, lacked soap and paper towels.

So I wrote this to the local paper:

Proper handwashing is the most effective way to control the spread of infectious diseases, including avian influenza, norovirus, and the staphylococcus apparently running through Manhattan High School’s west campus (Taking the temperature of problems in the West Campus building, Oct. 14/07

But proper handwashing requires access to the proper tools.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that up to 25 per cent of the 76 million annual cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. could be eliminated with proper handwashing.

Based on the available evidence, proper handwashing consists of:
• wet hands with water;
• use soap;
• lather all over hands by scrubbing vigorously, creating friction, reaching all areas of the hands, wrists and between fingers;
• rinse hands; and,
• dry hands, preferably with paper towel.

Studies have concluded that dangerous bacteria could survive handwashing with soap and water if hands were not dried thoroughly with paper towels. The friction created when drying hands with paper towel removes additional microorganisms.

Last month, the Western Mail in Wales stated that the conditions in some Welsh schools, outlined in the final report of an E. coli O157 outbreak in 2005 that left a five-year-old dead and over 100 sick, would shame the Third World, adding, "It’s time to ensure children are not placed in environments which are breeding grounds for disease … to tolerate a situation where schools do not have toilet rolls, soap or hot water is reprehensible."

Similarly, lack of soap and paper towels exacerbated the effects of a norovirus outbreak that sickened over 150 students at a university residence in Ontario in 2006.

Age and the demands of modern education are no excuse for providing the basic tools for sanitation.

Proper handwashing begins with access to proper tools. That is why soap and paper towels are a necessary requirement for any public bathroom.

Kansas football and food safety II

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As Kansas State (24) prepares to host University of Kansas Saturday morning in college football action, here’s hoping the locals are better hosts than the women at KU’s Pi Beta Phi sorority.

Apparently, the fathers of the gals will soon be receiving “I survived Pi Phi Dad’s Day 2007” T-shirts.

The Lawrence Journal-World  reports that some of the dads and many of the women of Pi Beta Phi came down with an unknown illness during the Sept, 22 event at KU.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is investigating and, as yet, hasn’t found a source of the illness. The probe has included Vermont Street Barbecue, Abe & Jake’s Landing and the sorority’s kitchen, but it could expand further.

KDHE spokesman Joe Blubaugh said the number of people who were potentially exposed — up to 240 — complicates the investigation.

Meg Stewart, Pi Beta Phi president, said the sorority was grateful the illness wasn’t worse. She said a few members were sent to a hospital.

It’s delicious… It’s tailgating!

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In college football, the Kansas State Wildcats opened at home tonight in Manhattan with a somewhat boring 34-14 victory over San Jose State. The Cats are full of surprises, and not always good ones. When you think they have the other team in check, they give up touchdowns, like in the 4th quarter tonight.

The same is true of K-State tailgating. We tailgated tonight in Cat Town with some of Doug’s lab members. First we ate brauts at the Veterinary Medicine tent, and then we found burgers at Animal Science. Angela asked me where the meat thermometers were, and I replied, “I’m sure they’re in that box with their cooking equipment.” We didn’t see one, so I proposed that maybe they had a standardized cooking procedure with pre-frozen patties and a clear cooking time charted out. Doug said that when they saw him arrive, the cooks called out, “Don’t worry. They’re done!” (We found out later that they use pre-cooked burgers; so indeed, they were done.)

We then went to a private tailgate party where the pregnant hostess, when introduced to Doug the Food Safety Professor, said, “We always try to keep things really safe here!” I didn’t look for thermometers there. By then my stomach was too full to even think about a cookie.

We’ve been thinking about tailgate publicity and reality research possibilities, like meat thermometers with Willie the Wildcat on them and final cooking temperature charts on stickers. Or tonight I thought it would be cool to have backpack coolers with cooking temps printed on them. We like slogans like, “Get‘r done,” and “Stick it in.” I also liked Andrew’s blogpost with the “Heat ‘em up, eat ‘em up” battle cry. But since we have a blog with, hopefully, a few readers, I thought I would put the question out to you. What would compel you to practice safe food handling at a tailgate? There are so many distractions, limited facilities, no running water in the parking lot, and plenty of people coming by and dipping into food unexpectedly. It’s delicious, and not just from the microorganisms’ point of view.  Please share your comments, questions, and ideas on tailgating safely.

Post a comment below.

[pictured is a KSU branding iron (not a thermometer) with this description: "Your sizzling hot Original Barbeque Brand Tailgate Tool can sear the pride of the K-State WIld Cats into most any food item. It’s for more than just meat! Buns, tortillas, potatoes, pie crusts, let your pride run wild!"]