July 2010

Fresh Express is voluntarily recalling certain Romaine lettuce salad products with expired Use-by Dates of July 8 – 12 and an "S" in the Product Code because they may have the potential to be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. No other Fresh Express salads are included in the recall.

No illnesses have been reported in

Sitting down for breakfast in our last day in Athens, I decided to check my Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) alert.  This popped right out – "The CDC estimates that nearly 3 million eggs sold each year are contaminated with Salmonella bacteria."

There are approximately 192 egg producing companies with flocks of 75,000 hens

After hiking around the Parthenon in the heat of the day (tried to do it early, but there was a four hour strike by workers) and watching the changing of the guards in front of the Parliament Building, we headed back to the hotel and discussed where to eat tonight.  The consensus, after a week

The Parthenon (Ancient Greek: Παρθενœéν) is a temple in the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to of the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their protector. Its construction began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC.

(View from dinner at the Hotel Bretagne)

Nine years.  They built it in nine years

The E. coli outbreak that temporarily closed three Ellensburg day-care operations appears to be winding down, health officials said last Friday. However, press reports a few hours ago indicate that the outbreak strain that has sickened several children and adults is E. coli O26 not the more frequently diagnosed E. coli O157:H7.

The original source

Sitting on my deck in the village of Oia on the Island of Santorini is about the last place I thought I would think about why my job is so important. I then received this email:

Hi Bill,

I hope you, your family and your terrific team in Seattle are doing well! I came across

There must be a good joke about a lawyer who sidles up to a bar and strikes up a conversation with the microbiologist on the next stool. I don’t know the punch line, but rest assured it will have something to do with the microbiologist peering through a microscope, and the lawyer chasing ambulances. The