More than 45 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving Day, with a never-ending list of side dishes and desserts. The Thanksgiving meal is by far the largest and most stressful meal many consumers prepare all year, leaving room for mistakes that can make guests sick. But never fear, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food
CDC: 5 Points for a Safer Thanksgiving
Safely Thaw Your Turkey
Thaw turkeys in the refrigerator, in a sink of cold water that is changed every 30 minutes, or in the microwave. Never thaw your turkey by leaving it out on the counter. A frozen turkey is safe indefinitely, but a thawing turkey must defrost at a safe temperature. When the turkey
Arrest Made in Human Feces Tampering Incident
Live 5 News reports that Investigators say a laboratory test has confirmed that a substance a man sprayed on produce at a West Ashley Harris Teeter contained human feces and E. Coli contaminates.
On Friday, law enforcement charged Pau Hang with tampering food products, and was given a $100,000 bond. This comes after he was
Rats found under the Golden Arches
The Kitsap Sun reports that the Kitsap Public Health District ordered the McDonald’s restaurant at 6755 Highway 303 to shut down this week after an inspector discovered a rat infestation.
Health officials Tuesday suspended the operating permit of the restaurant, located near the Walmart in East Bremerton, because of an “imminent health hazard” caused by
Office of Inspector General: FDA – Needs to Inspect US Food Facilities More
What OIG Found
FDA is on track to meet the domestic food facility inspection timeframes for the initial cycles mandated by FSMA; however, challenges remain as FSMA requires FDA to conduct future inspections in timeframes that are 2 years shorter than the timeframes for the initial cycles. Also, inaccuracies in FDA’s domestic food facility data
What do we say after the Terrorists leave the Grocery Aisle?
Islamic State leaders are reportedly asking its followers to carry out terror attacks by poisoning food in Western supermarkets. It is not like poisoning our food has not happened before and we certainly have been warned. In 2011 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of infectious disease outbreaks caused by pathogens falling into the wrong
Hurricane Harvey – what to be careful of
Thanks to Blythe Bernhard and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for recalling all the risk of past floods that will certainly be at play during and after Harvey
- After the cleanup, wash hands with soap and warm water that has been previously boiled. Clothes should be washed in hot water and detergent, separately from clothes that
Why the US imports tainted food that can kill you
I dropped an Op-ed on the Hill this morning. Here is an excerpt:
This week the CDC reported that at least 47 people were stricken with Salmonella, with one death, likely linked to papayas imported from Mexico. In the summer of 2016 came reports of hepatitis A tainted scallops sickening 292 in Hawaii.
Haggis and Puddings Recalled in Scotland
The Food Standards Agency of Scotland (FSAS) has announced that Macsween of Edinburgh Ltd has recalled a number of its products, including products manufactured for Lidl and Marks & Spencer, as a precautionary measure, because of concerns over the company’s procedures in place to control Clostridium botulinum.
FSAS reports that manufacturing controls that could potentially
Hey, Put Down that Raw Walrus
From my friends at the CDC who publish Morbidity, Mortality Weekly Review:
During 1975–2012, CDC surveillance identified 1,680 trichinellosis cases in the United States with implicated food items; among these cases, 1,219 were attributed to consumption of raw or pork products, and 461 were attributed to nonpork products. Although trichinellosis in the United States has