ORGANIC FOOD AND FOOD SAFETY

Today I took a look at reviews of my book - The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food on Amazon. Maybe not a wise thing to do on a gloomy cold “summer” day in California. The reviews were mixed, as reviews often are. Some were very positive. Others less so. You can’t please everyone.

I noticed that one of the criticisms was that the book did not focus enough on the benefits of eating organic food. Alright, I learned soon after the book’s publication that answering criticisms of the book was a frustrating and useless exercise. One of the first reviews on Amazon was totally vicious. It rather upset me, perhaps partly because I had never encountered this before with my more academic publications. It turned out that the man who had written the very nasty review had never read the book or even skimmed it. So how do you answer something like that? Best to forget it.

However, in reading reviews today, I decided that a couple of reviewers who felt the organic issue should have had major focus were worth answering, because they had read the book and seemed sincere.

First, it is debatable whether the organic issue should even be addressed in a book on food safety. In my opinion – and I may be in the minority – it should be. Not only does eating organic food protect you against getting an overload of pesticides, but it can protect you from many other kinds of food risks as well. The book mentions these, under discussion of the relevant foods and issues. However, the organic issue is only part of the food safety picture. Eating organic food is not a cure-all. It does not protect you against bacteria, molds, parasites and non-pesticide related chemicals and metals. These are frequent problems in our food supply in industrialized countries.

Therefore, in the book, and in this blog, I have tried to look at the “organics” topic objectively – not religiously. The book does not advocate organics, although it often points out that organic foods are a safer choice. Ultimately, whether you eat organic food - most or all of the time – is ultimately a personal decision, depending on many factors, including how vulnerable you are and your budget.

The Organic Consumers Association claims that you only pay 20% more for organic food. That may occasionally be the case. But at least in my area, it is not unusual to have to pay 40-50% more for certain organic foods. That can mean a lot of money.

The book is written for everyone – not just those who are very well off.

To your good health,
TSF

SALMONELLA BACTERIA IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

Salmonella bacteria are one of the best-known and most common causes of food poisoning. How serious a case of Salmonella food poisoning will be, depends largely on your age and health, as well as on which of the different Salmonella you get. If you are healthy, you may just have a few days of diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and fever. Not that that isn’t pretty bad. But for young children, elderly people and those who have a weak immune system because of illness, Salmonella infection can be much more dangerous. It can result in hospitalization and even be fatal.

If you have read The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food, you won’t be surprised at where Salmonella can turn up. No, not just in your bagged salad greens or risky ready-to-eat foods or dairy products or peanut butter, but even in dried spices and herbs and in your pet’s food. It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it, that a bacterium could happily live in products such as dried chili peppers. But yes, it happens. Salmonella bacteria are the ultimate survivors.

A recent five-day period in the United States proves this point. Findings of Salmonella bacteria have triggered large recalls of black peppers, chili peppers, dried basil and cilantro. Swanson Health Products, Frontier Natural Products Co-op, Sprouts Farmers Market, Lisy Corporation of Miami, and Fernandez Chile Company Inc. of Colorado, have all recalled various products around the United States. Grocery chains such as Whole Foods, King Soopers, Safeway, City Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, as well as various independent grocers, have been forced to remove the recalled items from their shelves and alert their customers. And who knows how many restaurants, food preparation facilities and private homes are still using them?

But we normally use just very little of such herbs and spice in our food, right? Is that enough to make us ill? Apparently yes. There have been some confirmed cases, though not yet for the current recalls. But in the large majority of instances, Salmonella illnesses are never connected to contaminated herbs or spices. Let’s face it, they are not the obvious suspect.

To your good health,

TSF

WOULD YOU READ GM FOOD LABELS?

The U.S. debate on genetically modified (GM) foods is continuing. Much of the current discussion focuses on GM labeling of the food on our store shelves . Do consumers want it? Yes, the large majority do. In fact, U.S. consumers have been agitating for it for years. But if we do get it, would we actually read those labels?

Way back in 2008 (which now seems like the dark ages of GM foods), a poll by the New York Times found that 87% of consumers wanted such labels. Another poll in 2010 found that 93% of U.S. consumers were for it. Still another, in 2011, found 96% of consumers favored it. And yes, every poll since - to my knowledge - has come out with the same answer. Consumers want such foods labeled because the majority of us - especially women, older people - and Democrats - believe they are unsafe to eat. We want them, because then we could avoid such foods.

I agree. Consumers deserve the right to know what they are buying and eating. If they feel strongly about GM foods, they deserve the right to know which ones they should avoid, for themselves and for their children. That's what The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food is all about - showing you how you can choose safer food if you want to.

But there's theory, and then there's practice. Even if we had such labels on our food, would most of us read - and trust - them - even if they were in fine print, hidden somewhere in the fold of the package?

The truth is that a large percentage of people never read food labels - how large, I don't know. Estimates vary, and the statistics are not all that reliable. Studies have shown that people tend to overstate their label reading.

And, let's face it: it's not really a yes/no issue. Many consumers who do read the food labels, often just look at calorie content in relation to serving size and maybe sugar, fat or fiber, or, check the "Best By" date for freshness. They don't read the fine print, or read the health claims. How many don't? Maybe half.

Among those who do read labels, a large proportion do not understand them or find them confusing (much the same thing).

In addition, many consumers simply don't trust the labels, even if they do glance at them: they think that labels are a kind of advertising rather than a disclosure of facts.

So, if the U.S. decides to follow several other nations and really require GM labeling on food, who would consistently read them? Would you? And what would happen if we found out that the vast majority of food on our store shelves - including most of our favorites - exceeded the 0.9% (or, whatever) established GM material threshold?

To your good health,

TSF

FOOD SAFETY AUTHOR DIES OF FOOD POISONING

It is very embarrassing when the author of a book (and blog) on food safety comes down with food poisoning - which is what happened to me last week. And no, I did not die. But in the midst of my misery, I kept making up titles for my obituary in the New York Times. Assuming of course, that they would bother running it. "Food Safety Author Dies of Food Poisoning" came out the winner.

So what food was the culprit? Frankly, I don't know. I am pretty careful. But I suspect chives. What happened is that I had a sudden craving for chives, and the only jar (yes, opened) that I could find was in the refrigerator, but had no "best by" date on it. I did look. So I pretended to myself that it would be fine. But in all honesty, those chives might have been years old - and maybe contaminated with Listeria bacteria which can survive in very well in cold conditions and even multiply.

Anyway, let me tell you again, food poisoning is no fun. The only comfort I had was that at least 10 of my friends have come down with food poisoning of one kind or another in the last 12 months, some of them more than once. In many cases it was from restaurant food or deli take-out. Others thought that the cause was fresh fruit or vegetables. Some blamed meat or seafood. But none had real proof, any more than I did. The tendency is to suspect the last food you ate, but that may not be true. Some kinds of food poisoning have a long lead time between ingestion and feeling sick.

Listeria monocytogenes - so common in our food these days, actually has one of the longest lead times. It can take from 3 to 70 days to make you ill; occasionally even longer. The fastest one I can think of is a mold toxin that can take just minutes. Salmonella bacteria, one of the most common causes of food poisoning, usually take 12-72 hours from the time you ingested them. The different E.coli vary in toxicity, but let's think in terms of 1-10 days. In all cases, a lot will depend on how vulnerable you are, and how big a dose you got, and of course, exactly which kind you got.

Off to recover from my food poisoning..(By the way, I tossed out the chives, just in case).

To your good health,

TSF

IS IMPORTED FOOD THREATENING OUR HEALTH?

Well, so much for COSTCO making berries safer (see previous post). This past week it had a rather unpleasant recall of a supposedly very healthy frozen berry mix, sourced from Townsend Farms of Fairview, Oregon. At least 30 serious hepatitis A illnesses in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California have been linked to this Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend. Yes...Here we go with another recall of an organic food.

But let's look closely at this product. It is a true example of our global food supply. Not only did it contain those supposedly contaminated pomegranate seeds from Turkey. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that this berry mix also included products from Argentina and Chile.

Yes, it is indeed wonderful to be able to buy anything we want to eat. But on the downside, such global sourcing of food has also been know to introduce new, or new strains, of bacteria, parasites and viruses into the U.S. from other countries. In this case, the particular strain of hepatitis A is rarely seen in North America, but is found in the North Africa and Middle East regions. It could well be that some sick farm worker in Turkey handled the pomegranate seeds. And there we are.

By the way, The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices About Risky Food, has a section in the introduction which analyzes why our food is not becoming any safer, in spite of all the efforts made and the new technology available. One of the main reasons noted is that "more and more of our food is imported from overseas." Yes, the U.S. does have food safety standards and guidelines for overseas producers, distributors, and processors. But, as the book points out, they are often poorly enforced and easily circumvented, more so in some countries than others. So we pay a price.

As an informed consumer, it is up to you to decide if you want to take the risk.

To your good health,

TSF

COSTCO PUSHES FOR SAFER FRESH PRODUCE

COSTCO has had its fare share of food recalls, and I have blogged many of them on this site. But, it has also occasionally taken the lead in food safety. What it is currently doing to make produce like strawberries safer is a good example.

COSTCO, founded in 1083, is the second largest retailer and the largest membership warehouse club in the in the United States. Nor is it just limited to the U.S.: it is the seventh largest retailer in the world. Such size also carries a great deal of clout with suppliers. If you are a supplier to COSTCO, you certainly want to keep their business.

Recently, COSTCO has used that clout to try to provide its customers with safer strawberries. It is doing this through encouraging suppliers to reduce contamination of fresh produce at the farm level. This has been a major problem for years. The Safe Food Handbook places a great deal of emphasis on this in its chapter on Produce.

Farm workers are part of the problem, but not through their own fault. They do piece work. There are no incentives in place which would encourage them to report problems in the field like animal droppings or dead animals which could contaminate the nearby produce with bacteria like E.coli or Salmonella. The chances are, they would pick the berries or whatever anyway. Nor are they encouraged to make sure that packing areas are safe. Very often, farm workers do not even have water nearby to wash their hands after using the sanitation facilities.

COSTCO is now working with one of its major suppliers - Andrew and Williamson - to train farm workers in food safety, and provide them with certain small but important things (like gloves and water) which will help to reduce bacteria in the produce. The restaurant chain that has so far at least partially joined up is Bon Appetit, which is buying ("Limited Edition") strawberries which have been picked under these improved conditions.

Congratulations COSTCO, Andrew and Williamson, and Bon Appetit! It is one small but important step in the right direction. This kind of initiative makes up for some of those other recalls you often have (see next post on the frozen organic berry mix recall).

To your good health,
TSF

CHICKEN AND RICE - THE ARSENIC LUNCH?

Chicken and rice is one of the world's favorite meals. I have eaten it in more countries than I can remember, all over Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

In the United States, consumption of chicken has increased pretty steadily. Currently, over 80 pounds of chicken is eaten per person per year. In all, some 75 percent of Americans eat it regularly. It is a relatively cheap meat, fairly neutral and adaptable in terms of flavor, and easily prepared. And, it can also contain arsenic. So can rice.

Recently researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, found arsenic in chicken that probably got there from the anti-parasitic drug Roxarsone. This drug was widely used in American industrial poultry production. It kept poultry free of parasites, allowing them to gain weight faster, and gave the flesh a pleasanter color. Roxarsone has now been suspended (though not banned) in the U.S., while the government is deciding what to do. Other similar anti-parasitic drugs, still on the market may also add to arsenic levels in our chicken lunch or dinner.

If you have read The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food, you would have known about this years ago. The box on p.149 in the Meat and Poultry chapter, titled "Arsenic-Laced Poultry" summarizes the issue. And, as for arsenic in rice, the book also looks at that in the chapter on Grains. There are also a couple of earlier posts on arsenic in rice on this blog.

So how serious is all this? After all, the amounts are minute, particularly in the case of chicken, but with considerable variation between chickens. Even organic chicken may contain some - though much less. Chicken livers contain more than the meat itself.

But, even a little more, particularly if combined with arsenic in rice and maybe a bit of arsenic in your water...well...who knows. The Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health, website reminds us of the risks. Quoting: Chronic inorganic arsenic exposure has been shown to cause lung, bladder and skin cancers and has been associated with other conditions, as well, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cognitive deficits, and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

So, should you stop eating chicken, and especially chicken and rice? Probably that would be going overboard. But, you may not want to eat it every day either. And, if you can afford it, organic chicken is safer.

To your good health,

TSF

LOVE THAT CHICKEN - AND, EGG

I had a great conversation about chickens and eggs the other night. I was sitting at her restaurant - The Fat Lady, in Oakland, California (on the waterfront at Jack London Square) waiting for my husband, when the owner came over to chat, as she usually does. We started on gardening and ended on chickens and eggs.

It turns out that in between owning and running a unique and busy restaurant, she also has chickens. This is not uncommon in the San Francisco Bay area, although urban laws do limit the number you are allowed. I grew nostalgic for the ones I used to have, every chicken with a name, and for those incredibly wonderful tasting fresh eggs.

So what about the eggs in the store? They now get there in record time from the farms. Aren't they just as good? They are "Best-by" dated and labeled. You can buy Cage-Free, Free-Range, Hormone-Free or Antibotic-Free, Organic, Natural, Vegetarian, Omega-3 and more kinds of eggs, at least in California. Can't we just choose the best ones?

Well, yes and no. As The Safe Food Handbook (the book, not this blog) argues (it has a whole chapter on eggs, with all the labels defined) you can't always trust the labels. That is also the point made by Food Inc. article of March 29 that I just looked at: "Egg Labels Aren't All they are Cracked Up to Be." To quote: "... how do you choose which type of eggs to purchase? Cage-free, free-range, organic—these labels all evoke images of happy, healthy chickens clucking through grassy fields. But in reality, these terms don’t guarantee the humane treatment of laying hens or the nutrient value of the eggs they’re producing."

Yes, I would like the hens that lay my eggs to be well treated. This is a big issue in California. But, I also want great eggs. In my case, it means best taste as well as best nutrients. Unfortunately it's not that easy. Not unless you have your own chickens.

I guess I am set for another family argument about setting up poultry farming in our urban back yard. Unfortunately, I will have to find a solution to the visiting omnivore raccoons. Even worse,there is our dog to consider, who will most likely assume that free-roaming chickens would be invading monsters and have them for lunch.

Oh and by the way, the latest long-term research results I have looked at argues that you can eat quite a few eggs a week without risking a heart attack.

To your good health,

TSF

SAUSAGES RECALLED - AGAIN AND AGAIN

Recently, sausages have been in the food safety news in the U.S. We've had both "foreign materials," and bacteria. That's enough.

If you have read The Safe Food Handbook (the book, that is, now in second edition and also available on Kindle), you would have checked out the box in the Meat and Poultry section (pp.134-135) entitled "Try Regulating a Sausage." This box illustrates what sausages contain, how they are made, and how difficult it is to inspect them. To tell the truth, I almost stopped eating sausages after doing this research.

The last paragraph of the box says: "Are you surprised that sausages are a commonly contaminated food product? Anything in them could be the culprit ingredient - one of the meats used, other components such as milk powder, and even the spices. Or the source of contamination could be one of those plant workers or pieces of equipment."...

Yesterday, the news focused on a Hot Springs Packing Co., in Arkansas, having to recall 6,120 pounds of chicken polish sausage and chicken breakfast link products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria (beware pregnant women!). On February 27, Schmalz's European Provisions, in Springfield, New Jersey, recalled some 8,424 pounds of chicken and apple sausage that could contain small pieces of plastic. On February 21, Smithfield Packing Company, of Virginia, recalled approximately 38,000 pounds of pork sausage because they could have contained small pieces of plastic, probably from gloves.

So, what else is new? And, how many of those delicious sausages got thought the inspection process with all kinds of nasty things, even though they should have been caught?

(Writing this after a totally delicious dinner of "bangers and mash." Oh...oh....)

To your good health,

TSF

UNSAFE IMPORTED SHELLFISH FROM KOREA

The Safe Food Handbook (now in its second edition) argues that it is best to avoid imported seafood, on which the U.S. and Canada are increasingly dependent.

The reason: it can be unsafe to eat. Sanitation controls in the countries from which most of this seafood now comes from are often weak, and the fish-growing environment is very polluted. Personally, I no longer eat imported shellfish products in any form. When eating out, I ask where the shellfish came from. If the restaurant can't or won't give me an answer, I pass.

Recent events in the U.S. have confirmed my concerns. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has had to remove all Korean certified shippers of molluscan shellfish from the Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List (ICSSL). That is, they are no longer allowed into the U.S. (That goes for fresh, frozen and processed products). Some companies, such as Crown Prince Seafood of South Korea, are conducting huge product recalls.

Why? Without going into the unpleasant details, let's just say that the shellfish has been found to come from areas that are heavily polluted by human waste. Among other things, norovirus has been found in the shellfish, and that is probably not the end of it. And I would bet that Korea is not the only country where this happens (see the book for more..) Is "oysters a la poop" really what you want to eat?

To your good health,
TSF

DANGEROUS BACTERIA IN FRESH PRODUCE

Yes, fruits and vegetables are healthy, and most of us should eat more of them than we do. But, it is not at all unusual for them to carry bacteria (as well as other contaminants) of one kind or another.

Two of the most common in the United States and Canada - as well as other industrialized nations - are Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Although there are exceptions, a common pattern is for Salmonella to turn up in whole fresh fruits and vegetables, and for L. monocytogenes to turn up in "ready-to-eat" fresh produce (cut, shredded, bagged etc.). A couple of current recalls in the U.S. illustrate this pattern.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found the dangerous Listeria bacteria in bagged salad - something that tends to happen several times each year. River Ranch Fresh Foods of Salinas, California is initiating a recall of both retail and foodservice versions of their bagged salads. Caribe Produce LTD Co. of McAllen, Texas, is recalling 286 cases of fresh papayas that they imported from Mexico because Salmonella bacteria turned up in testing. The papayas are sold individually with a label of “3112 CARIBEÑA Papaya MARADOL PRODUCT OF MEXICO."

All this does not mean that you have to stop eating fruits and vegetables. But follow best safety practices, as outlined in The Safe Food Handbook (just published in second edition).

To your good health,
TSF

AVOID THE SPICY TUNA SUSHI WITH SALMONELLA

If you have read The Safe Food Handbook, you'll know that, much as we love it, sushi is not always all that safe. This especially applies to sushi made with raw fish, such as raw tuna. That is reportedly what was eaten by most of the 116 or more people in the U.S who have came down with Salmonella food poisoning, some of them hospitalized. Usually they ate “spicy tuna” sushi or sashimi in restaurants or bought it ready-made from grocery stores.

Here are the latest numbers on confirmed illnesses from this relatively unusual Salmonella Bareilly bacteria(remember - this will be only a small fraction of real numbers): Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (5), District of Columbia (2), Florida (1), Georgia (5), Illinois (10), Louisiana (2), Maryland (11), Massachusetts (8), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), New Jersey (7), New York (24), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (5), Rhode Island (5), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Virginia (5), and Wisconsin (12).

You may think that your ready-to-eat store-bought or restaurant-ordered spicy tuna sushi or sashimi was made from a nice block of chopped up tuna sushimi. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. It is quite likely that it was made with the cheapest tuna, scraped off the bone of the fish ("Nakaochi Scrape" or tuna backmeat). This is basically the fish equivalent of ground meat - the least safe kind.

Nakaochi tuna is the kind responsible for the present outbreak. The responsible company - Moon Marine USA Corporation (also known as MMI) of Cupertino, Calif. is recalling 58,828 lbs of a frozen raw yellowfin tuna product, labeled as Nakaochi Scrape AA or AAA (imported from who knows where). But it's doubtful most of it will ever be found or removed from the food supply. It has gone to other distributors and to restaurants and even to retail outlets in smaller and relabeled packages. That's industrialized food for you.

Just to be safe, you may want to avoid eating tuna sushi or sashimi for a while - both when eating out, or buying it ready-made, especially the "spicy tuna" kind.

To your good health,

TSF

BITS OF CONVEYER BELT IN SCHOOL LUNCH BEEF

Institutional food is the riskiest kind of food to eat. That unfortunately, also applies to school lunches served under the U.S. National Food Program, although they are supposed to be safer than is nursing home food. On a typical school day, close to 12 million children in the U.S. eat lunch (and sometimes breakfast) under this program. Yes, they may be getting nutritionally better food than otherwise, but what else are they getting?

Over the years, there have been some pretty bad outbreaks. Usually, any contamination involves viruses or bacteria - and in one large U.S. case that I know of, probably mold toxins (There's a write-up of this case in The Safe Food Handbook).

And, occasionally school lunches also contain those nasty "foreign materials" like bits of metal, glass, plastic and so on (also see next post).

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a recall of seasoned diced beef products by RSW Distributors, LLC, of Forest City, N.C. Apparently a conveyor belt broke during processing and bits of the belt ended up in the food. USDA/FSIS said they had to set aside the contaminated food (an inspector must have been on the premises, as required). But then, somehow or other, the food was shipped out after all to institutions for further distribution to schools in South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington as part of the USDA's National School Lunch Program.

Well, better bits of rubber than bits of glass or metal, but still..This is really sloppy. Nor is this the first time that this type of mistake with shipping has happened. I hope they caught all the food before it reached the school children. No injuries have been reported. Maybe the kids ate it and just thought the beef was tougher than usual!

To your good health,
TSF

IS IMPORTED FOOD LESS SAFE?

More and more of the food eaten in the United States comes from other countries - about 150 of them. The Food and Drug Administration alone - and it is not the only agency in charge of making sure the imported food is safe - was responsible for some 24 million food shipments in 2010. (I don't have the 2011 statistics yet). Out of these, only about 3,500 shipments were rejected because they were unsafe. So how safe is the rest of the imported food that passes through our more than 320 ports and reaches our stores and out tables?

The recent Brazilian orange juice scare (see previous 2 posts) has U.S. consumers worried. But it actually was just one of a number of recalls of imported food in the last few months due to contamination of one kind or another.

We had several problems with Canadian imports (such as cheeses, deli meats), with seafood from Asia, olives from Italy, celery seeds from Egypt, pinenuts (probably grown in Turkey, but possibly processed elsewhere), various processed foods - such as bean curd - that came from China, and as usual, vegetables and herbs from Mexico. And that's only the tip of the iceberg.

In theory, all U.S. imported food products have to meet the same safety standards as domestically produced food. But this is difficult for a number of reasons (discussed much more in The Safe Food Handbook).

In recent years, more and more of these imported products originate in developing nations and newly industrialized countries. The food growing environment is sometimes - though not always - highly contaminated. In addition, frequently such countries have more risky production, harvesting, transport, storage and processing practices (detailed more in the book). And it is not just practices - the road and power infrastructure is often weak, equipment is old and in poor repair , and farm and plant workers are not just poorly educated but often also carriers of various pathogenic bacteria and parasites.

Yes, food is inspected before it leaves, and even the overseas food plants themselves are supposed to be inspected by the FDA and USDA - but who has the money to do this frequently and properly? As for inspection when the food arrives - after travelling thousands of miles, during which organisms such as bacteria can multiply - well, we know the answer by now. Roughly about 1.5% of imported food is inspected by the FDA at this time. Imports are going up and the inspection rate is unfortunately going down. So don't be surprised if some nasty pesticides, bacteria and other things gets through.

To your good health,

TSF

PARASITE DRUGS IN IMPORTED BEEF

The Safe Food Handbook (the book, that is, not this blog) makes what may seem like an odd statement when discussing parasites in meat: "Nowadays parasites in North American beef and poultry are much lower risk than they used to be, thanks to safety measures being taken by the industry. In fact, we may be as much at risk from getting a dose of an anti-parasitic drug from our steak as we are for catching a tapeworm." Recent events seem to agree.

Northwestern Meat, Inc., a Miami, Fla. firm, has announced a recall of some 6,240 pounds of frozen boneless beef products because the animal drug Ivermectin was found in a sample of it. This drug is a strong de-wormer, used in animals and poultry. Alright, it is also used for humans, but it can be dangerous for children under 5 years of age, and for those who react to it. In other words, it should be used in a selective and controlled way, under a doctor's supervision. We shouldn't be essentially dosing ourselves from our dinner. Particularly if we don't have parasites.

Nor is this the first time that Ivermectin has turned up in our meat. For instance, in 2010, Sampco, Inc., Chicago, recalled over 25 tons of cooked canned and frozen beef products (mainly corned beef) because this drug was found. There have been other instances as well. And you had better believe that many cases are not caught by inspectors - probably most.

The beef in this week's recall was imported from Honduras. The beef in the 2010 recall, came from Brazil. Is this telling us something? Yes, parasites tend to be more common in warm and moist climates such as these, and controls are weaker. This results is more parasitic infections in animals, which in turn leads to heavier use of anti-parasitic drugs such as Ivermectin since animals don't grow and fatten well if they are infected with parasites, which would undermine profits.

In the end, it's all about money. Our health may be a casualty along the way.

To your good health,
TSF

UPDATE ON THE SAFE FOOD HANDBOOK BLOG

A change of topic: this is an update on the blog itself. For those who don't know - the blog carries the name of my book on food safety, published in January 2010: The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food. The book is being sold in bookstores in the U.S. and Canada and on the internet, and is now also available in the e-book version.

This blog now has 204 posts on food safety, of which 161 have been written this year (phew..I've been busy - less than 7 months). It is being read by tens of thousands of people all over the world. Whereas the initial focus was food safety issues in North America, I realized that the audience was increasingly global and so are many of the issues that affect our food.

The blog does not repeat or extract from the published book, although several general topics or themes are also in the book where they are dealt with in more depth. Many posts focus on current issues.

The most popular post of all time has been: "Foods Pregnant Women Should not Eat." Next in popularity have been several posts on the super-toxic E.coli bacteria outbreak in Europe (originating in Germany, and eventually traced to sprouts) and those on radiation in food (and water) in Japan (following the March 11 disastrous earthquake, tsunami and problems at the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant).

My audience statistics show that the blog's main readership is in the U.S., followed (in this order) by UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia, India, Netherlands, France, Malaysia. I have also noticed good audience numbers on and off in such countries as Russia, China, Philippines, Jamaica, South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain -(not a complete list).

And finally - for those of you who want to know what "TSF" stands for, here goes:

To your good health,

The Safe Foodie (TSF)

NUMBERS OF E.COLI ILLNESSES COULD BE TEN TIMES GREATER

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, has said that the actual number of infections resulting from the very toxic E.coli outbreak centered in Germany, could be 10 or more times higher than those officially announced.

So let's say the official numbers are 2,000 illnesses from this very unusual bacteria (that's probably close to what they will be tomorrow). That would mean that it's really closer to 20,000. Is this possible?

Yes, not only possible, but probable. That is what I have been suggesting in previous posts, so I am glad someone agrees. In all outbreaks there are large numbers of affected people who are not included in the reporting system: because they don't go to the doctor, because laboratory tests are not performed, because the tests don't turn up the bacteria (numbers present in the stool will decrease after the first few days), because the cause is not correctly identified, because the doctor or hospital doesn't have time to send in a report.

In addition, there are reporting delays: not just a few days, but sometimes weeks, while the information works its way through the system. This means that the reported statistics are always behind the real ones. And, much lower than the real ones.

Based on a review of the U.S. experience, The Safe Food Handbook suggests that probably as few as 3% of actual cases of food borne illness actually enter the official reporting system. I would guess that it is better in Europe, where the regulatory agencies are not as underfinanced and overworked as they are here. But it is still only a fraction.

To your good health!

TSF

YOU CAN MAKE THOSE CUCUMBERS SAFER TO EAT

I have just enjoyed a delicious cucumber salad, prepared the way I prefer it: with non-fat yogurt and fresh dill. It was left over from a party on the weekend, but still delicious.

Yes, I am continuing to eat raw cucumbers in spite of that outbreak of "cucumber illness" in Europe, mainly centered in Germany. But I live in North America, not in Europe. True, a couple of Americans returning home from travel to Germany have become ill with similar symptoms, but as far as we know at present, none of the suspect cucumbers from Spain are actually being sold in the U.S. or in Canada.

But I do take some precautions, not just to avoid any pathogenic E.coli, but also those common Salmonella bacteria, and parasites.

First, I buy carefully, not just checking to see how the cucumbers were grown (organic/conventional) but also where they came from. This information should be available. Mandatory "Country-of-Origin" (COOL) for fresh produce went into effect in the U.S. in 2008. If it's not actually on the cucumber, I look for information on the crate.

Secondly, I make sure the cucumbers I pick are firm and the skin is undamaged, which would allow easier entry of contaminants.

Thirdly, once in my home and before I let a knife anywhere near them, I wash the cucumbers well. Unless you are buying cucumbers in a farmers' market, these days most are covered with a layer of wax rather than dust or dirt, but I do it anyway.

Thirdly, I peel the cucumbers. Years ago, I used to eat them with the peel on, but now I remove it - pleasanter to eat with any waxed produce, and safer, although I am aware that I am losing some of the nutritional value.

Will this avoid any dangerous bacteria in my cucumbers, including those deadly E.coli 0104 that are popping up in Europe? No, but it is likely to reduce how many are present in what I eat. Realistically, some may be left in the actual flesh of the cucumber, and so may the toxins they produce.

Let's face it, as I stress in The Safe Food Handbook, raw is always riskier than cooked - including in the case of vegetables such as cucumbers. But at least you can reduce your risks a bit by making some smart decisions and actions.

To your good health!
TSF

OVER 100 POSTS

I just realized that since I began this blog, January 2009, I have published 102 posts. There are now roughly 100 views a day, and increasing rapidly.

The blog has also changed during this period. Initially, I focused only on the U.S. and Canadian food supplies. But I began to realize that the readership was global - with quite a large segment of readers in various Asian and European countries. There are less hits from Latin America at present except for Brazil. Because of this wide readership, I have begun increasingly to focus on global issues, and plan to do so more in the future.

Recently, several posts have focused on food contamination by radiation in Japan, and its implications for other countries as well. This will probably be an ongoing topic as the situation develops further.

In the future, I would like to try to respond more to comments and questions, and generally make feedback both a key factor in choosing what to discuss and also a part of the posts.

Please comment!

TSF

AN NPR "SHOT" AT THE SAFE FOOD HANDBOOK

Well, you can't win all the time. Nor can you like every review of your book. The serious reviews of The Safe Food Handbook to date have been gratifyingly positive. The media ones are OK.

I don't really expect much from a reviewer (and I have been one myself) - just three things: 1) read the book; 2) spell my name correctly; and 3) balance the need to be witty and profile yourself with a fair take on what the book actually says.

The review by the National Public Radio (NPR) Health Blog ("Shots") is certainly the shortest to date: (http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/12/28/132402841/5-health-books-you-dont-need-to-read-because-we-did)

Here goes speed dating meets literary criticism.
The Safe Food Handbook by Heli Perrret
Food is scary. "Risky food is everywhere." Deal with it.

By the way, I rather like the ambiguity of the NPR blog title "Shots" as it could mean a "shot of medicine", shooting down (as in a put-down), or "a shot in the dark." I do wonder in this case whether the reviewer actually read the book, or just "speed dated" it for a few minutes, before he indulged in his "literary criticism." In his hurry, he spelt my name incorrectly. I don't mind the "Dr." being left off as I don't use it 99% of the time anyway, but "Perrret" spelt - yes, with 3"r"s and one "t" is sort of cute, but not correct.

Whereas I like the fact that the review is punchy and witty, I wish it had also given a fair view of the book. The review says "food is scary." This is not an alarmist book. As Carole Marks, of the radio program "A Touch of Grey" recently said in introducing me on her program, it is an "empowering book." I was so pleased that she saw it as such. Yes, risks in food are mentioned, food group by food group, but always as a starting point for solutions. The consumer can take charge. And in fact, one of the mains reasons I wrote it is because I felt there was a need for a food safety book that is written by someone who loves food - growing it, cooking it and eating it.

I don't know about the final "deal with it" part of the review. It depends how you read that phrase. If you read it as "you can deal with it," then that's good. As the book says, you will never be able to avoid all the risks that could crop up in your food from time to time, but you will be able to avoid many of them if you are an informed consumer.

But there's the problem of the heading of the whole review "Five Books You Don't Need to Read Because We Did." I am afraid that is not going to help you be an informed consumer who avoids food risks. This review certainly does not give you the answers. And there's more to eating safely on a daily basis than avoiding Salmonella bacteria, and more to safe practices than washing your produce. Read it and you'll find out.

TSF