ARE FUKUSHIMA CUCUMBERS SAFE?

I just checked my blog statistics for search keywords, and found this exact phrase: "Are Fukushima cucumbers safe?" I have been thinking about cucumbers lately anyway, so this prompted me to address the issue.

A few days ago, while involved in my daily reading of The New York Times, and as always, checking on the situation in Japan, I came across an interview with a Fukushima Prefecture farmer. He was not farming inside the evacuation zone, but nearby. (In the Nakadori area which is the agricultural center of the prefecture). He was saying that he had to throw out his entire crop of cucumbers because no one would buy them. How sad. Having worked with small farmers much of my professional career, I know how devastating the loss of an entire crop can be. And growing some vegetables myself, I know what hard work it is, with so many climatic and wildlife risks involved. And on top of all this, who needs radiation?

But could his cucumbers have been contaminated with radiation, even tens of kilometers from the evacuation area? Yes, they could have been. The radiation waste is spreading much further than the evacutation area, though at lower levels, and any growing vegetables absorb and concentrate such toxic substances.

Back on April 28, I blogged "The Biggest Threat in the U.S. Food Supply." Wait - you are asking what this has to do with Fukushima cucumbers. Well, it does. Radiation in Fukushima cucumbers would be one of those longer term type of hazards in Japan's supply, especially relevant to people who are younger - and particularly children, who will have several decades of life ahead of them. But even then, someone would have to eat radiation-contaminated cucumbers regularly for a while before they were affected. How long it would take, would depend on how badly contaminated they were, and the eater's own age and health.

But take Salmonella bacteria in cucumbers (as occurred in the U.S. food supply - see Post of May 3). If cucumbers in Japan were carrying Salmonella, eating just half a contaminated cucumber could be enough to cause a case of food poisoning.

So particularly if you are older, I would not worry about eating a few Fukushima cucumbers. But wash it well and peel it, and don't eat a cucumber a day for several months.

To your good health,
TSF

LISTERIA IN SALADS - A GLOBAL TREAT

Listeria monocytogenes bacteria commonly crop up in ready-to-eat (RTE) salads as well as other RTE foods. This bacterium can be present in the soil, in improperly treated organic fertilizer and in irrigation water. Animals who carry it may show no symptoms of illness.

The bacteria could also enter from packaging or plant equipment - and, in my opinion, one of the biggest risk factors - is that it is commonly carried by food industry workers. How often this happens, is difficult to say as estimates vary - let's say, somewhere between 5-20% of food workers may be carriers (that is of course, a broad range, but I bet it varies in different parts of the US.

And don't assume that this is just a US problem. It is not. For the readers of this blog in Canada, Australia, New Zealand (and my stats tell me there are quite a few of you in those countries) you have also had quite a few similar outbreaks and recalls - Listeria monocytogenes in RTE salads (as well as other foods). In fact, several occurred in 2010 in all these countries. At least one was reported in New Zealand about a week ago (Pams Fresh Express, and Living Foods Brands were involved).

And unfortunately, you can't assume organic produce is any safer. For one thing, it is handled just as much. For another, it is just as subject to environmental, animal and plant contamination. Take today's recall by State Garden, Inc. (see previous blog). One of the salad products on its recall list is Olivia's Organics. In fact, some 20 of the 90 (currently) recalled salad products bear this label. This organic line was launched with all kinds of great publicity by State Garden in March, 2006. I am quoting from the company's website at that time: "The mission of OLIVIA’S ORGANICS™ is three-fold: to encourage healthy eating by offering all-natural, organic products; to aide the local community though the work of its Foundation; and to protect the environment by endorsing earth-friendly, organic farming techniques." This sounds like a wonderful initiative - for a profit oriented company. But, unfortunately, bacteria don't discriminate - they are an equal-opportunity threat.

Listeria monocytogenes is not only a global food safety risk, but it can turn up just as much in organic as well as in conventional produce and other kinds of foods. Pregnant women - take special care (see my next blog).

TSF

MISLEADING STATISTICS ON FOODBORNE ILLNESS

One of the many Mark Twain sayings that I like is: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." True - statistics are often misleading. You can interpret and use them in a variety of ways to make a point. That also applies to statistics about foodborne illness. A call-in question during my KQED Forum radio interview on Friday, made me very aware of this. But it is difficult to explain complicated issues well in a 10-20 second response on air (particularly if the show is live, and the question catches you "cold.") So I am doing it here.

The number of reported illnesses caused by one or other food or food group (such as produce, dairy, seafood, meat, grains) depends on several factors. They include:

• The contaminants that it carries
• Whether these contaminants are or are not checked for by the industry and government inspectors
• The food's popularity (how widely it is distributed, eaten or used as an ingredient in other food products)
• The point of contamination (farm, factory, distributor, transporter, retailer, restaurant, and so on).

The questioner was particularly concerned because I said that raw vegetables and fruits cause a large number of illnesses every year. They do - because most Americans and Canadians eat them, most of the contaminants enter at an early point (the farm), several bacteria are now tested for on raw produce, and some of the huge fresh produce companies distribute their products nationwide.

Yes, your lettuce or spinach salad may not be as deadly - strictly speaking as say, as raw oysters or sprouted seeds. But these foods cause a far smaller number of illnesses in the U.S. and Canada, simply because only a small percentage of people eat them. Raw produce causes many times more. But for the stated reasons.

TSF

GROWING YOUR OWN ORGANIC VEGETABLES

I decided it was time to tell the truth about my success as an urban organic farmer - particularly when it comes to those super-organic vegetables. Unfortunately, things are not nearly as good as I would like them to be.

For one thing, not everything I plant actually grows well. Those "baby" veggies seem to be attacked by anything and everything - molds, insects, snails, squirrels, deer, and who knows what else. I suppose it is the same as with infant humans - they are simply more vulnerable - and delicious. Here is photographic evidence of what those cabbages that you see in my Facebook profile photo taken a couple of months ago look like today. Pathetic!

Was I neglectful? Probably. I never did get around to putting up that copper barrier around them, that I meant to. Somehow the holidays (and the book) just took all my time. Besides, who feels like doing gardening in icy rain?

The second truth is that when they do grow to an edible stage, those organic vegetables often do not look anything like those perfect mass produced ones that you can buy in the supermarket. But believe me, they taste a lot better - and are more healthy. And although I always believe in having food look visually appealing, I am telling myself that perfection is boring. They are simply an artistic interpretation -like those freshly picked carrots below, or the smaller broccoli, zuccini and herbs, or the last of those imperfect Heirloom tomatoes that date back a couple of months.

TSF

EATING SAFE LOCAL PRODUCE?

Living in California, you would think it was easy to eat local produce - particularly fresh local vegetables, like lettuce, spinach, green onions, tomatoes. So much of it is grown right here. So what's the problem?

Remember those green onions that were recalled recently because they were found to be contaminated with salmonella bacteria ? Well, we thought they were grown in Salinas, right, because they were distributed by Steinbeck Country Produce, based in Salinas, California. Well, that's not quite the case. It turns out that they were actually grown in Mexicali, Mexico - NEAR the California border, shipped to Salinas (unless I am wrong, some 449 miles away), packaged and then passed off as California grown produce. Nice....

This is rather disillusioning, particularly if you read the company's website - all that emphasis on food safety, 'California,' family owned business, and so on.

These onions were distributed in California, Massachusetts, Texas, Indiana, New York, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Arizona. By the way, the same Mexican onion grower also probably sold them to several other distributors.

The CEO of Steinbeck Country Produce made it all sound as though the company was bending over backwards to protect consumers. Quoting: "This recall is voluntary, based on a strong sense of caution for consumer well-being. Food safety is our primary concern at Steinbeck Country Produce, and this recall shows that our procedures are efficient, effective and immediate." Thanks a lot. Excuse me if I don't quite believe you. I suspect your grandfather may have felt that way, but now you have got too big and successful to really care.

To make matters worse, he added the usual meaningless statement: "Fortunately, there are not any reported illnesses at this time, and we will continue to respond quickly and efficient[ly?] to ensure consumer well being." How does he know there aren't any illnesses? Most cases are not diagnosed or reported. And it is very difficult to do a trace-back in a couple of weeks.

While he is at it, he could also pay attention to his grammar - or was that the FDA?

Bon appetit! (But don't trust the labels)

TSF

PEANUT REDUX

As I expected, this peanut related contamination of our food supply is growing and growing, expanding every way: more confirmed cases of illness, more deaths, a wider time frame for risky foods, and many, many more possible suspect products. Yesterday there were some 32 new alerts in my mailbox. It's Sunday today, but I bet there will be another bunch today. It's no longer just peanut paste and bulk shipments of peanut butter to institutions, but also peanuts themselves and wonderful things like trail mixes.

Now that it has got to the peanuts, I am beginning to wonder if the source of the contamination (or, sources) is not limited to the Peanut Corporation of America facilities. I would not be the least surprised if it also pops up elsewhere. Maybe even at the peanut grower level. Jimmy Carter - are you involved?

As for recalling hundreds of peanut products going all the way back to January 1, 2007 - let's face it, that is a bit unrealistic. I bet we have already eaten most of it.

Just to be safe I am throwing out any item I have bought that contains peanuts. What is considered safe today, will probably be unsafe tomorrow. By the way, I found that my favorite pecan oatmeal bars also contain peanut paste. So much for the label.

I wonder if they have peanut futures on the commodities exchange? Maybe it isn't too late to sell some calls or buy some puts, so I could make some money for a change.

Bon appetit!
TSF

Is Organic Safer? (The Dental View)

I had a chat with my dentist today. That is, as much as anyone can say anything, while that sadist has a drill in your mouth and goes on ad infinitum on issues to which you can't reply. He asked me what I had been doing lately (probably the kind of safe conversational question they teach you to ask in dental school when you can't remember a thing about your current patient). I answered that I was writing a book on Food Safety, surprised that I actually managed to get out a total of 8 words before he jammed more cotton and drills in my mouth.

'Oh,' he said. 'Great...very interesting. Of course, I just eat organic fruit and vegetables so I don't need to worry about that. No need to wash off chemicals or anything like that. Perfectly safe. Wonderful....Apple a day to keep your gums healthy and all that'....etc. etc. There was about 10 minutes more along the same lines. I kept having drill-powered dreams of him clutching his stomach in agony with a bad case of food poisoning.

'Arfff..Ugh...no...fruff'...I said. Or something that sounded like that. He paid no attention. When he eventually gave me a breather, and after he had expressed his views on about 5 other topics, 4 of which I strongly disagreed with, but had to suffer in silence, I asked: 'Back to organic produce - you mean you never ever wash any organic fruit or vegetables?'

'No, he answered. 'No need to. No pesticides. Good clean stuff.'

I was amazed...horrified. But afterwards I found that a couple of my friends shared his view. But of course, they're wrong. While research has shown that organic produce that is grown and processed according to the standards of the USDA’s National Organic Programme has less chemical residues than nonorganic produce, it can carry some - roughly about a fifth as much. This may be from previous land use, contaminated irrigation water, pesticides in rain or groundwater, chemical sprays drifting from neighboring non-organic farms or mixing or mis-labelling of the produce. Disillusioning, yes, but unfortunately true.

And what about bacteria and other microorganisms? A few years ago a TV programme created an uproar because it argued that organic produce may actually be more dangerous than traditionally grown fruit and vegetables. Some food scientists also argue that Organics’ heavy use of animal manure and other organic waste can pose health risks. On the other side of the fence, organic advocates say that is not true because of the very ridid safety measures organic producers use.

Whatever the case, if you don't want to risk it, wash it, organic or not organic. Organic may be safer in terms of chemicals, but can be just as dangerous in terms of microorganisms. And who wants those.

Keep eating...

TSF