HOW RADIATION COULD CONTAMINATE JAPAN'S FOOD: LESSONS FROM CHERNOBYL

With the ongoing disaster in Japan on my mind, I spent some time today trying to find out about how radioactivity could affect Japan's agriculture and how long contamination could last. I looked to UN and other research done on the Chernobyl incident for answers, although hopefully, the amounts of radioactive materials released will not be as bad in the case of Japan. At present we simply don't know. Here are some potential lessons from Chernobyl for Japan's food production and consumption that emerge from these studies.

In the early months after the Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine, food contaminated in areas with high radiation exposure was mainly due to radioiodine. It turned up in high levels in plants and grass and plant eating animals and their products (such as milk, including goat and sheep milk) and in fish in certain waters, with special risks for children and pregnant women. But iodine-131 is short lived. After a couple of months, most of it decayed. After that the main hazard for food crops was the uptake by root vegetables of radioisotopes from the soil (where rain had deposited it), especially the dangerous caesium.

What I found interesting in the Chernobyl case was that apparently the levels of radiocaesium in food crops and in animal feed were not just affected by how much of it floated around in an area and landed on the soil, but by factors such as the type of soil and type of agriculture and livestock management practices that area people used.

Problems persisted longer in the extensive type of agriculture system (think "traditional" or "subsistence") where the soil is not ploughed much, there is a lot of organic content, and where animals graze in open "natural" pastures. The Chernobyl case suggests that forest foods and animals grazing in forest and mountainous areas can retain high levels of radiocaesium for decades.

In sum, as I understand the findings (and I hope I have got it right) in the short term (about two months) the main food hazard in agriculture areas after radioactivity is radioiodine in fresh fruits and vegetables (e.g. leafy greens) growing above ground, and in milk and dairy products from area cattle. For the next couple of years or so after that, caesium contamination of root vegetables would be the main risk to avoid, particularly on organic farms and where traditional farming practices are still used. Over the still longer term , caesium contamination in milk, meat and forest products (wild mushrooms, berries and game) could continue to be risks.

TSF

THE TSUNAMI, EARTHQUAKE AND RADIATION IN FOOD

With the ongoing reports of increasing and spreading radioactivity from several of Japan's nuclear reactors, a lot of people are becoming worried about radioactivity in their food. Yes, it's true that radioactive material in the air can not only get into the body directly, but also indirectly, through food and drinking water. Radiation can be washed down by rain into the soil where food grows, into waters where fish live, and onto grass where cows graze.

The experts say that cow's milk, dairy foods and fresh fruits and vegetables will be especially vulnerable in this sort of situation. Those most at risk are young children and unborn babies. Radioactive materials in sufficiently large doses can cause various types of cancer and abnormalities to the fetus.

Right now, people living in Japan are of course most likely to be at risk both from direct exposure and from their food. However, it is likely that the radioactive plume will be carried to other countries as well, though with lower levels of radioactive materials.

But what about countries which import fresh and processed foods from Japan? Reuters reports that Asian nations nearby, such as India, Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore and the Philippines have ordered that imported Japanese foods be tested for radioactivity. It looks like China may start to do the same.

What about nations in Europe and countries such as Russia, Britain, the U.S. and Canada? I haven't seen any reports yet, but it is likely that similar precautions will be taken. If anything is found, such imports will be banned.

In the meantime, I don't see any reason for those of us living outside Japan to worry about imported Japanese foods. We don't need to avoid eating in a Japanese restaurant either. (I have noticed that some in my neighborhood seem to be emptier than usual.) Anything from Japan that they are serving currently would have come before the recent earthquake, Tsunami and related radiation leaks (there are too many logistical problems at present for much export to take place). And as for irradiated food, it has nothing to do with irradiation.

TSF

FINGERS, BITS OF PLASTIC AND OTHER FOREIGN MATERIALS IN YOUR FOOD

Every once in a while, something keeps cropping up in the U.S. food supply called "foreign materials." It probably does in other industrialized nations as well. I haven't been listing the recalls, but maybe I should.

So what is this stuff? Well, it could be anything - bits of plastic, bits of metals, human hair, fabric. Even glass, which is the most common cause of injury. These unexpected things won't give you foodborne illness (which is why I haven't been covering them) but they could harm you in other ways. And no, they are not "foreign" as in "from another country." At least, they need not be. They can come from any food plant anywhere, and sometimes from packaging as well. Where food is partly processed locally - say, at your local meat or fish store, such materials can also enter there.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) these small non-edible items in your food can give you: esophageal laceration, esophageal perforation, fistula formation, laceration or perforation of other parts of the digestive tract (such as the pharynx, stomach, intestine), choking (blockage of the airway, with children under 3 at greatest risk), lacerations of the mouth, tongue, and of course, broken teeth and dentures (if you have them). This isn't even the end of the list. Reportedly, the most common type of complaint received by the government is injury to the mouth or throat.

And of course, there have been all those fingers or bits of fingers that have been found in food: the planted one in Wendy's chili and the apparently actual pieces of finger found in TGI's burger, in a chocolate popsicle and a ham sandwich. Accidents happen, and who knows where that bit of finger went to?

A couple of months ago, I found a piece of hard plastic in the Dungeness crabmeat I bought at my usual retailer's. Once I found (yes, true) a small rusty nail in my dessert at a local French restaurant (it recently caved in to the economy and I can't honestly say I shed any tears although they did not charge us for the meal). And a couple of years ago there was a piece of metal in my bread. The large majority of these types of incidents are not reported.

But some are. Here's a recall from today: bits of hard plastic in "Lean Cuisine Simple Favorites" frozen spaghetti and meatball entrees sold by Nestle Prepared Foods Company, Gaffney, S.C.. They are having to recall about 10,260 pounds of product. Maybe it will be recycled into dog food. Given the rubber toys, cell phones, rugs and eye glass frames that my new puppy has been consuming, it probably won't be any worse.

Another reason for chewing your food better.
TSF

NOROVIRUS FROM CONTAMINATED ICE

The problem is that Norovirus is very infectious. You only need to be exposed to about 100 particles to catch it, whereas in the case of seasonal flu it's around 10,000 - quite a difference. It's also a survivor. Norovirus can live outside the body much better and longer than many other viruses.

Virus-contaminated food is only one of the vehicles for catching it, but an important one. You can also inhale the virus from the air where someone has vomited, or

get sick from touching an infected surface, or a sick person. You can even catch Norovirus from contaminated ice, as occurred a few decades ago at a football game between University of Pennsylvania (where I went to graduate school) and Cornell, or, at a museum fundraiser for that matter.

Here's what happened (my source is the Centers for Disease Control - CDC report on the incidents). Within 48 hours of the University of Pennsylvania-Cornell football game in Philadelphia in 1987, a large number of band members from both universities, Cornell football players, and spectators, including visiting students and university staff and faculty, all started having symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, especially projectile vomiting and nausea. A smaller percentage had diarrhea, headaches, chills and additional symptoms. These were typical of Norovirus. Almost all had bought soda with ice from the stadium vendor.

Oddly, many of the Pennsylvania football team members became ill several days later. Apparently this team had used ice from a different source at the September 19 game, but had used the contaminated ice at practice a few days later.

Just a couple of days later there was an outbreak of gastroenteritis among 750 people who attended a museum fund-raiser in Wilmington, Delaware, not far away. The ice was traced to the same Pennsylvania ice supplier. It turned out that its wells had been flooded by a creek (obviously contaminated) following a torrential downpour of rain. Probably, in all, about 5,000 people became ill from this Norovirus contaminated ice.

There is no reason why this kind of outbreak can't happen again anytime, anywhere. And there's no way to know that ice is contaminated. Opt for a warm soda?

TSF

CONTAMINATED TEA TO BOLOGNA TO PIG EARS

An odd mix, isn't it? But these are the latest recalls of contaminated food (and drink). Here they are.

--Tea? Yes, nice herbal teas - in fact, one I drink regularly myself. Peppermint Organic Herbal Tea, produced by Aromatics Inc., Basin City, WA, is being recalled by RemedyTeas because it may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria (No, this is not the first case of herbal tea recall because of contamination).

--Bologna products are being recalled by Zweigle's Inc., of Rochester, N.Y., because they could be carrying Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin, which can be fatal. The problem is apparently linked to a smokehouse failure. The bologna was recooked once the failure was discovered, but the toxin that built up in between wasn't destroyed. These Staph toxins are very hardy.

And finally - pig ears dog chews, recalled by Jones Natural Chews, because of Salmonella risk. Alright, I hope no one that reads this blog chews on pig ear treats, but we care about our dogs too, right? Particularly in America. And pig ears are about the most dangerous thing you can give to your dog. From nice healthy North American pigs? Oh no...the majority are imported. Maybe I should blog this sometime. Any requests? In the meantime, find another treat.

TSF

THE LATEST GROUND BEEF RECALL

Well, here's another U.S. ground beef recall because of E.coli 0157:H7 contamination. This is the fourth ground beef recall this year, not counting mislabelling or allergen issues, and it won't be the last. A note of sarcasm: the fact that most of the products sold were "natural" did not help at all (If you have read the book, you'll know what I think of the "natural" label the way it is currently used).

These potentially contaminated ground beef products were produced a couple of weeks ago by Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, of Arkansas City, Kansas and sold as cases of large 10lb chubs to firms in Ariz., Calif., Ga., Ind., Iowa, Mo., N.C., Ohio, Pa. and Wash. for further processing and/or distribution. This, of course, makes it worse. It means that the ground beef was most likely repackaged and is being sold to us consumers in smaller packages under who-knows-what label.

The USDA (which regulates meat in the US) says it will let us know once it finds out (Read..when all those firms that received the product get over their panic attacks and put out their own recalls). Great..In the meantime, maybe we should just not eat ground beef of any kind unless we are sure that it was ground on the premises of the store from whole meat.

For the record, here's the list of what is being recalled, although it won't do you much good to look for these huge cases or chubs in your local store:

--Approx. 40-pound cases of "BEEF FINE GRIND 81/19 NATURAL," containing 10-pound chubs. These products have an identifying product code of "80185."
--Approx. 40-pound cases of "BEEF CHUCK FINE GRIND 81/19 NATURAL," containing 10-pound chubs. These products have an identifying product code of "80285."
--Approx. 40-pound cases of "BEEF SIRLOIN FINE GRIND 91/9 NATURAL," containing 10-pound chubs. These products have an identifying product code of "80495."
--Approx. 40-pound cases of "BEEF FINE GRIND 90/10 NATURAL," containing 5-pound chubs. These products have an identifying product code of "85165."
--Approx. 60-pound cases of "BEEF FINE GROUND 93/7," containing 10-pound chubs. These products have an identifying product code of "86191."

The best way to be safe is still to cook your ground meat very well - and be careful when handling it too.

TSF

PEANUT BUTTER RECALL

This seems to be a bad week for anything "nuts." Not only do we have a recall of hazelnuts (nationwide in the US and fairly wide in Canada), but we also have contaminated peanut butter.

Unilever United States, Inc. has announced a limited recall of Skippy® Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread and Skippy® Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread. This time apparently the company itself found the contaminated product during routine sampling. It turned out to be Salmonella. No illnesses that we know of so far.

The affected product, which is packaged in 16.3 oz plastic jars, is as follows:

UPCs: 048001006812 and 048001006782 (located on the side of the jar’s label below the bar code.)
Best-If-Used-By Dates: MAY1612LR1, MAY1712LR1, MAY1812LR1, MAY1912LR1, MAY2012LR1 and MAY2112LR1 (Stamped on the lid of the jar.)

Oh well...maybe not quite as bad as E.coli 0157:H7 (the hazelnut contaminant - see previous posts), but can be very dangerous for children and the elderly.

TSF