UNSAFE VALENTINE'S DAY CHOCOLATES

How is this for unsafe Valentine's Day food? It looks cute - but the sunny-side up eggs aren't considered safe to eat (I still can't convince my husband of that!)

Or, you could give your Valentine some bacteria-contaminated chocolates. No..seriously. There have been several recalls of chocolates over the years, and not just because of undeclared allergens, or bits of plastic or metal or high levels of lead. Bacteria too.

In recent years, Cadbury has recalled millions of chocolate bars across the UK and Ireland because of suspected Salmonella bacteria in them. In the U.S. Artisan Confections Company recalled its Dagoba Organic Chocolate new moon Rich Dark Chocolate (sold at Whole Foods Market) because they may contain Salmonella. These are just two examples.

Worst of all - and, most appropriate for this day - in 2009 Godiva Chocolatier recalled its G Collection' Mother's Day and Valentine's Day gift boxes because they had been made with a dry non-fat milk product which had been found to contain Salmonella bacteria.

Yummmm...The delicious lethal weapon?

To your good health,

TSF

A VALENTINE FOR MY DOG

This is your first Valentine's Day with us, Gunesh - our latest "rescue" dog. We love having you as part of our family. And you have really made great strides in adjusting to living here. A big plus is that you are no longer eating the rugs, my prescription glasses, cellphone, my favorite clothes, your leash, the roasted chicken off the kitchen counter, and whatever else happened to be within reach.

But on my side, I feel I have let you down. Because you are such a young wildly energetic dog, with much of your earlier life spent scavenging on the street, and have survived eating some things that should have finished you off, I have rationalized that I didn't have to be so careful about what I fed you. Your predecessor was given healthy home-cooked food. But most of the time you've eaten commercial "store-bought" food out of bags and cans.

What you are getting is basically our human food leftovers or rejects plus a bunch of additives to make it taste better, look nicer (for us, not you) and last longer. A lot of this food is made up of grains - even in those more expensive brands that claim to be so healthy. And, as the last few months have shown, they carry safety as well as nutritional risks. One of the main ones is aflatoxin. This mycotoxin (occasionally produced by some molds) is particularly common in grains such as corn, especially in the lower quality corn products that go into making your food.

And yes, now commercial dog food has established limits for these toxins, as also exist in our food, though they are not as well enforced. Nevertheless, sometimes high levels are caught through testing. This happened at the end of last year, with several types and brands of dog food. Cargill Animal Health, Procter and Gamble, Advanced Animal Nutrition, O’Neal’s Feeders Supply and Petrus Feed and Seed Stores each recalled several lots of dry dog food during a six-day span. Others followed.

And that hasn't been the only time. The worst case I know of before that was in 2006 when at least a hundred dogs died and countless others became seriously ill over a period of months as a result of high levels of aflatoxin in 19 brands of Diamond Pet Foods. Even if there isn't enough aflatoxin in your food to be fatal - and it doesn't take much - it can leave you with serious liver problems along with unpleasant symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy and jaundice.

No, Gunesh, you are not getting a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day (chocolate is high on the "don't eat list" for dogs) but I do promise to give you safer and healthier food. In fact, I think I'll start by cooking you one of your favorites for Valentine's Day: a turkey burger, with a fried egg on top. We want you to stay healthy and happy and be around for many more years.

TSF

A VALENTINE'S DAY THOUGHT

My house is loaded with beautiful flowers and Valentine's Day messages, but, the men in my life are far away, and my female friends are occupied with their "significant others" tonight. So here I am sort-of reading and deleting my 600+ unread new mails (I find deleting mail, like cleaning house, very therapeutic).

In the process, I got sidetracked into reading the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Facebook page (talk of unromantic!). I scrolled down, until I found an FDA posting on food safety. Here it is: "The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) gives FDA a mandate to pursue a system that is based on science and addresses hazards from farm to table, putting greater emphasis on preventing food-borne illness."

This is a very general statement and says nothing new or surprising or controversial. The comments were more interesting. Clearly, no one loves the FDA. I did not find a single positive or supportive comment. Poor unappreciated and underfinanced FDA: the only time it's efforts seem to be appreciated is when it regulates pet food.

What I found instead were emotionally violent reactions, basically saying "Stay out of my kitchen." "Raw (including raw dairy) is healthier." "The FDA has no right to tell me what I can or cannot eat." (I am summarizing of course). The poor FDA was accused of being simultaneously - fascist, socialist, a plot by the Democrats, and a front for the corrupt food industry (I was surprised to find it wasn't accused of being linked to Al-Qaeda or the Muslim Brotherhood!).

Two of the dominant themes: "The government has no right to tell me what to eat" and, "raw is healthier and raw is safe." Neither is true.

What you eat, is ultimately your business. You can eat nothing but alfalfa sprouts or candy, or tuck into your dog's kibble. The government may tell you it's not a good idea, but it can not stop you. In all countries, and more so in developed nations, governments make some effort (not always terribly effective) to protect public health. For one thing, illness costs too much. That includes food borne illness. We simply can't afford to allow totally hazardous food into the food supply. Particularly these days, when one food company or food distributor can be distributing masses of food nationwide and food outbreaks can affect thousands of people.

Yes, the government also tries to keep raw and minimally processed foods as safe as it can, including fresh fruits and vegetables, raw meat and poultry, raw nuts and so on, not just processed foods. And yes, state level regulators have taken a fairly firm stand on raw dairy - which seems to be the main gripe with a couple of the lead commentators. Only about 10 US states allow open direct sale of raw milk and the FDA does advise us not to drink it or to eat cheeses or other dairy foods made of raw milk. The reason is that raw milk is likely to contain bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Campylobacter, and Brucella, which can cause serious illness and even death. Pasteurization kills those bacteria.

But, if you absolutely insist on ignoring the research arguments against this practice, have convinced yourself that pasteurization destroys the nutritional value of milk (which is not true), and want to drink raw milk, go ahead. There are plenty of ways in every US state for getting around regulations limiting sale of raw milk (buying it as pet food, "cow-sharing" and many other ways) and it is doubtful that anyone will put you in jail for it. But when you go to emergency with a bad case of food poisoning, I just hope you have the medical insurance to pay for the care, and I won't have to ultimately foot the bill.

To your good health,

TSF