November 2006

Doug PowellCommentary from the Food Safety Network, Douglas Powell

If Canadian cattle or chickens get sick, the public is told all about it. If Canadian people get sick, not so much.

The silence surrounding salmonella in Hershey’s chocolate made in Smiths Falls, Ont., this month is just another episode in the arrogant and dysfunctional father-knows-best approach to providing health advice practiced by various Canadian authorities. Dr. Phil would say the relationship between officials at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Canadian public is like a couple headed for divorce: they don’t speak unless forced to, and when asked, it’s denial, deceit and deception.

The American-based Hershey Co. finally relented to media pressure and identified the mystery ingredient thought to contain salmonella (soy lecithin). At one point, a spokesthingy for CFIA said that since the contamination had been contained, and the tainted products recalled, there was no longer a public safety interest in divulging the source of the salmonella.

Poop happens — literally on the product, and metaphorically out of the mouths of bureaucrats.Continue Reading Sorry, bureaucrats just aren’t that into you

Hoss's Steak and Sea HouseAllegheny County officials might know by week’s end whether bacteria sickened 20 people attending a Nov. 18 birthday party at the Hoss’s Steak and Sea House in Pleasant Hills.

The health department is testing a cake taken to the restaurant for the party, as well as vegetables — such as broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes and green

ServSafe CertificationGo ahead and order that rare steak, just don’t say your menu didn’t warn you.

As the now-familiar small print warns, consuming raw or undercooked meat increases the risk of contracting food-borne illness.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the food supply in the United States is one of the safest in

turkeyCome Friday, it’s likely that some people won’t be giving thanks. Because if not handled properly, the turkeys that adorn Thanksgiving tables can host more than stuffing.

There’s the norovirus that can produce "acute-onset vomiting, watery non-bloody diarrhea with abdominal cramps, and nausea" according to the Center for Disease Control.

And that’s not all. Bacteria

Knoxville News Sentinel reports that more than 50,000 people got sick or died from something they ate in a hidden epidemic that went undiagnosed by the nation’s public health departments over a five-year period.

Americans play a sort of food-poisoning Russian roulette depending on where they live, an investigation by Scripps Howard News Service found.

Birds Eye squashWETM News reports that some Birds Eye foods frozen squash has been recalled. The squash could be tainted with ammonia from packaging at a midwestern plant that could cause headaches, vomiting and throat irritation. Keep in mind, the frozen, cooked winter squash is also packaged under store brands including Wegmans, and Tops. All products should