Read the ” New York Times” if you want.
They get lucky sometimes.


You may remember those words from "Men in Black."  Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) was showing Agent J (Will Smith) that it is always wise to check "the hot sheets" when you want to know what’s really going on out there.

Those "hot sheets" were the supermarket tabloids, and they can be useful.   However, when you are looking for what the government really wants us to know, check out Parade magazine.  It delivers 71 million readers each Sunday through 400 daily newspapers across the United States.  Parade often turns its editorial space over to the government for unedited messages.

This past Sunday, Parade carried "A Special Health Report" from Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  It carried the very headline we’ve used here except for the "Be Happy" part.

Dr. Gerberding named three current public health threats in this order: 1. ) Influenza Pandemic; 2.) Food-borne illness; and 3.) Staph Infections.

In her write up on food-borne illness, Dr. Gerberding says outbreaks of food-borne illness "often cause alarm because they tend to involve common foods like peanut butter or spinach, can affect from dozens to thousands of people, and can have life-threatening outcomes."   

There’s a slight twist in the ending to her little sermon to masses.  She says" But we need to remember that, overall, our country has one of the safest food supplies in the world."  What?

We aren’t No. 1 anymore?   Look for someone at the USDA to slap her up side the head.

Oh, and in the meantime, wash your hands, cook food to hot enough temperatures and store fiddles in cool places.  And don’t cross-contaminate!