The Sacramento Bee reports that indeed, the five-second rule is part guilty habit, part old-wives’ tale — a popular conviction that food is still clean if snatched off the ground within five seconds.
Yet, it should come as no surprise that the tale turns out to be exactly that — a not-so-legitimate justification for diving after the last cookie.Continue Reading The five-second rule: Safe or scuzzy?
Undercooked food served to pre-school kids
WLTX News (SC) reports that a Winnsboro daycare warned parents that under-cooked food might have been served to students. The school issued a memo to parents Thursday afternoon.
“It simply states that some of the chicken served Thursday, February 9th was undercooked,” said George Pinckney, a spokesperson for Fairfield County School District.
Parents are encouraged
Is your salad safe?
Springfield News-Leader reports that salad bars can be as dangerous to your diet as fast-food restaurants if you aren’t careful.
“I don’t think people realize that with portion sizes, if you add all the items up, you can add on the calories,” said Jenny Gardner, a registered and licensed dietitian with CoxHealth.
Salad bars have gained enormous popularity in the last few years as the healthiest option for eating out, but as the market grows more competitive, the salads have grown more extravagant — and less healthful. Salad bar consumers may run into something more dangerous than calories: bacteria or viruses that can lead to illness.Continue Reading Is your salad safe?
Florida Food Handlers Finally Get Online Training
When Florida legislators passed a law requiring every food handler be trained in food safety before working with food, food handlers have had few options to gain their food handling license. Only within the last few days has that training been made available online.
“Quite frankly, many of the people who need this training don’t keep normal hours,” said Bill Vear, Vice President of Hospitality with 360training. “They’re all working while we’re getting ready for bed. Classes during the day simply don’t work for many of them.”
But through a unique partnership between Glogerm and Learn2Serve (www.learn2serve.com), Environ Health Associates’ “Food Safety First” training course can be delivered via the internet, effectively eliminating the problem of conflicting work schedules.
“This is the best way to properly train the people who touch our food,” said Vear. “Online training is cost effective, easily accessible and doesn’t put an undue burden on business owners.”Continue Reading Florida Food Handlers Finally Get Online Training
Dozens Sickened at Local Restaurant
Tetiana Anderson of WLNS.com reports that a local restaurant is under investigation by the health department. More then 50 people got sick after eating at a Lansing area restaurant. The outbreak happened at Carraba’s Italian grill on West Saginaw. The health department says the situation seems to be under control now and that there is not a cause for concern, but one woman who got sick after eating there this past weekend tells me the last few days have been agony.
It’s the first day back on the job for Amy Paulis. On Saturday, she says she and 10 of her friends ate dinner at Carraba’s Italian Grill. By Sunday, more than half the group started getting sick.Continue Reading Dozens Sickened at Local Restaurant
Farm Food Safety Becoming a Growing Issue
The Associated Press reports that fruit and vegetable growers are tracking products and training workers to ensure their fresh green beans, tomatoes and peaches are safe to eat, driven by demands from the grocery chains they supply and shoppers at their markets.
Big retailers such as Wal-Mart are encouraging growers to embrace new technology that allows them to more closely track produce with bar codes and scanners. Growers are using bilingual videos and posters to train seasonal workers on proper hygiene. Some small farms are treating the water they use to scrub veggies.Continue Reading Farm Food Safety Becoming a Growing Issue
Cross-Contamination Conundrum: It takes five years to build a quality business and five seconds to destroy it.
Megan Bradley of Food Quality Magazine reports that in today’s fast-paced world, we often don’t stop to think that the meal we’re eating may be our last. It’s not a pleasant thought and it is easier to dismiss the notion as something that happens to other people in a far-off place. However, each year it is a reality for 5,200 Americans and their families.
Even if it doesn’t end in death, foodborne illnesses affect almost all Americans at least once a year, 76 million illnesses annuall, federal agencies estimate. Usually, these illnesses are mild and won’t slow down a healthy adult, but 20 percent of foodborne illnesses are severe enough to require hospitalization. On top of that, 2 to 3 percent of these acute illnesses develop life-long complications such as hemolytic uremic syndrome. One of the leading reasons so many people get sick from food each year is cross-contamination.Continue Reading Cross-Contamination Conundrum: It takes five years to build a quality business and five seconds to destroy it.
Consumer tips
The Smoky Mountain News reports that eating healthy can also mean eating safe. In North Carolina, three food borne diseases are at the top of health inspectors’ list of things to prevent — norovirus, Salmonella and Listeria.
Norovirus, commonly known as the winter vomiting disease, is a short-lived but intestinally violent disease that results in diarrhea and vomiting. It can be mistaken for a stomach bug or flu-like sickness. Development of the disease generally takes 48 hours.
Salmonella is characterized by the sudden onset of nausea, abdominal cramping and diarrhea with mucous. Salmonella is not typically a serious disease. There is no cure, but symptoms may be treated. Dehydration is the primary concern. Onset is usually 6 to 72 hours after ingesting bacteria.Continue Reading Consumer tips
Do you really know what goes into getting your food to the table?
Katharine Kelly reports that Tulsans put a great deal of trust in the restaurants, fast food emporia, and assorted eating establishments they frequent. And that’s all well a good, for the most part. But unless you would just rather not think about what it is that you are being served on that hot, steaming plate of organic matter that the waitress just served, read no further.
If you are just a bit curious, however, about what precautions are being taken by your local food service establishments and the state health department you might g-e this piece a reading.Continue Reading Do you really know what goes into getting your food to the table?
Food-borne illness: First aid
All foods naturally contain small amounts of bacteria. But poor handling of food, improper cooking or inadequate storage can result in bacteria multiplying in large enough numbers to cause illness.
Parasites, viruses, toxins and chemicals also can contaminate food. Food-borne illness from these sources, however, is less common than food-borne illness caused by bacteria.
Signs and symptoms of food poisoning vary with the source of contamination. Generally diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain and, sometimes, vomiting occur within hours after eating contaminated food.
Whether you become ill after eating contaminated food depends on the organism, the amount of exposure, your age and your health.Continue Reading Food-borne illness: First aid