December 2005

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.Continue Reading Cooking up kitchen safety

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:
Thaw the turkey overnight in the refrigerator so it will remain cold, not on the counter top or in water in the sink where it will be susceptible to bacteria at room temperature.
Cook stuffing (to an internal temperature of 74 C or 165 F) separately from turkey. Mathers said that is the recommended way of preparing the bird and stuffing, but if you buy a turkey already stuffed, be sure to cook it from frozen and “definitely be using a food thermometer.”
Never leave hazardous foods such as meats in the danger zone (4 C to 74 C or 40 F to 140 F) for more than two hours.
Clean and sanitize all work surfaces before and after food preparation to eliminate the chance of cross contamination from one food to another.Continue Reading Holiday treats can bring foodborne illness

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 botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning. The tapenade was distributed to Harry and David…

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.
According to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food-borne pathogens account for 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. As the food industry continues to globalize, food safety is expected to remain a significant public health issue.Continue Reading UW scientists use technology to tackle food-borne illnesses

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.
The letter followed a nationwide warning to consumers in early October 2005 against eating certain pre-packaged Dole salad products because the lettuce had been associated with an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in Minnesota; to date, 18 people have fallen ill in Minnesota and Oregon.Continue Reading Stop blaming consumers

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.
The reason: Fresh fruits and vegetables are being fingered in a growing number of food poisoning outbreaks. Last month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency advised people in Ontario to avoid eating mung bean sprouts when at least 636 people became ill from eating sprouts contaminated with salmonella. Salmonella food poisoning, or salmonellosis, causes headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, it can be deadly.Continue Reading Fresh produce can 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.
“From office parties to traditional get-togethers at home, many kinds of foods will be present throughout the month,” said USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond. “People should remember food that has been sitting out for more than two hours invites bacterial growth which can lead to foodborne illness.”Continue Reading USDA offers food safety recommendations for holiday gatherings

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.
But the state’s Industry Minister, Rory McEwen, described the company as a “good corporate citizen” that had adhered to national food safety standards, suggesting those standards might need to be toughened.Continue Reading Fears of more food poisoning

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.
Of about 1,500 people who ate at the hotel between Nov. 29 and Dec.
3, an estimated 200 to 300 were hit with vomiting, diarrhea and other stomach problems, Dr. Larry Holditch, medical director for the Cincinnati Health Department, said today.Continue Reading Health officials chasing hotel illness cause