Cooking up kitchen safety
Elena Brown of Denver Business Journal reports on Jill Paradis, who runs Denver-based Culinary Translations, a food and kitchen safety training course for restaurants workers, primarily for those who speak only Spanish.
"I let the staff know their job isn't just about prepping veggies," Paradis said. "It's about keeping people healthy."
The restaurant industry is concerned about food safety, and as the Spanish-speaking work force grows, so does the need to teach them about food safety practices, said Paradis.
Barry Ellsworth of the Belleville Intelligencer interviewed Rebecca Mathers of the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit, who offered some tips to keep bacteria at bay:
Carol-Ann Julson of the Peterborough Examiner reminds us that stuffing turkeys should be done just before roasting, and not in advance, to ensure safety.
The Associated Press reported this morning the recall of about 360 jars of Harry and David's Black and Kalamata Olive Tapenade, manufactured by Harry and David Operations Corp., because they could be contaminated with clostridium botulinum, which causes 
University of Wisconsin-Madison reports that on its journey to your dinner plate, food is vulnerable to contamination along the way. Usually, it arrives at its final destination without picking up dangerous microbial hitchhikers-but not always.
Douglas Powell and Ben Chapman of the Food Safety Network report that on Nov. 4, 2005, Dr. Robert Brackett, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, wrote California lettuce producers, packers and shippers, urging them to re-examine and modify operations from the farm through to distributors to ensure that consumers were provided with a safe product.
Leslie Beck of the Globe and Mail reports that if you're like many health-conscious Canadians, chances are you're trying to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. And for good reason -- hundreds of studies have linked a high intake of fruits and vegetables to protection from heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and cancers. But getting your five to 10 servings per day could also be hazardous to your health.
Via a news release this morning, the USDA is once again reminding consumers to not let the excitement and stress of holiday meal planning take priority over food safety. 
Tom Richardson and Jeremy Roberts of The Australian report that health authorities uncovered more evidence yesterday linking an outbreak of food poisoning to family-owned South Australian smallgoods manufacturer Conroy's, warning that cases could still emerge months from now.
Enquirer staff writer Jane Prendergast reports that health department investigators are still trying to figure out what made as many as 300 people sick after eating at downtown Cincinnati's Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel.
