DON'T LET YOUR TOAST KILL YOU

Well, it seems that burnt toast has brought me back to blogging. It was bound to happen eventually, but I sort of wish it had been something more dramatic (another Fukashima?).

Today seems to be “acrylamide” day in the United States. A long list of on-line sites have suddenly discovered this potentially cancer-causing cooking chemical (MSN, CBS, sciencefocus.com, fox13news.com, lifescript.com, wdef.com, news.sky.com, and many, many more). Most have associated it with burnt toast and/or potatoes. It seems that Britain’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) started the ball rolling.

I hate to be doing a Trump and knock the media. But while it may not be fake news, it is very old news. European countries recognized acrylamide as a potential cause of cancer ages ago and have been educating the public well before Britain joined the chorus. And as for the United States…well. It has gone back and forth, but has been afraid to stick its bureaucratic neck out (the potato chip lobby at work?).

Now I am going to boast, which seems to be fashionable these days, at least in political circles. I did a thorough review of the issue about ten years ago. The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food, has a relatively short section on it – much shorter than originally went to the publisher.

And if you read it, you may find some other surprising foods that can contain acrylamide, not just burnt toast and certain kinds of potatoes.

But let me finish on a positive note about toast. One or two slices is not going to do it, so don't worry too much.

TSF (By the way, for those who always wondered, that stands for "The Safe Foodie."

DID BRITISH SPROUT SEEDS CAUSE E.COLI OUTBREAK IN FRANCE?

The UK industry and officials are denying it. But the French say it is true - or probably true. Seeds imported from Britain may have caused the latest (hopefully not E.coli 0104) sprout-linked outbreak in France. Is this going to be a modern-day Sprout Waterloo?

We will know in the next few days or weeks. In the meantime, France has halted the sale of fenugreek, mustard and arugula seeds from a British mail order seed and plant company, Thompson & Morgan. Apparently those sprouts on top of the delicious but deadly gazpacho at the Bordeaux charity dinner (where several of the recent victims ate) were grown with seeds from this company.

Company officials are saying it is more likely to have been something the French grower did or didn't do (since it is such a local outbreak - so far). But British authorities are being cautious anyway in protecting the eating public. Today (Saturday) they warned consumers against eating uncooked sprouts. The statement put out by Britain's Food Safety Agency advised that "sprouted seeds should only be eaten if they have been cooked thoroughly until steaming hot throughout." But it also noted that there haven't been any home-grown cases in the UK so far. This warning was just precautionary.

Even if it turns out to be something else (after all, a gazpacho has a lot of uncooked vegetables in it as well - including cucumbers, and this would not be the first time investigators jumped to a wrong conclusion), it is better to be safe than sorry.

Skip the sprouts in your salad, sandwich or soup. And if you are eating out, make a point of asking the restaurant to omit them.

To your good health,
TSF