OUTER SPACE SALMONELLA

Salmonella strengthened by its outer-space experience

According to the results of a recent experiment, salmonella that has spent a few days in space is far more deadly than plain ol’ earth-bound salmonella. Scientists took samples of salmonella that had been on the space shuttle Atlantis with identical samples that were kept on earth, and fed them to mice. The mice that had the outer-space variety died much more quickly than the others.

The scientists hope their results will help protect astronauts from contracting any diseases while in space. They didn’t say anything about hoping to sell their story to Hollywood.

HAMBURGER MEAT RECALLED

Topps Meat Co. announced that it is recalling over 300,000 pounds of frozen hamburger meat patties and other meat items, according to the New York Times, because it could be contamined with E. coli. Twenty-one illnesses in eight states have been reported so far that can be traced back to the meat. The states are Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The list of recalled products is on the Topps Meat Co. website.

TAINTED BABY MEDICINE

Recalled Baby Medicine

Parents are warned not to give their babies “Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water.” Meant to help with colic and teething pain, the product has been discovered by the FDA to contain a parasite called cryptosporidium, which can lead to diarrhea and intestinal infections.

The product has been recalled.

GROWING SAFER FOOD

New fence protects produce from disease-carrying wildlife

California growers are implementing all kinds of measures to keep their produce free of E. coli and other dangers, according to a recent article in San Jose Mercury News.

From fences to keep disease-carrying wildlife away to more frequent checks of water supplies to high-tech microchips that can easily trace the source of any bin of produce, the industry is stepping up measures to ensure food safety so that the government (always waiting in the wings) doesn’t take over.

OVERSIGHT OR OVERLOOK — Iowa Senator wants to give FDA even more responsibility

Senator Tom Harkin recently introduced a bill to have federal oversight of produce, according to the Salinas Californian.

Maybe he hasn’t gotten the news yet. After all, he is from Iowa. The Senator hasn’t heard the FDA admit that it is too understaffed to effectively do its job as it is. He also missed the memo from the GAO officially staing that the FDA doesn’t work right.

Maybe the Senator just needs another rooster, one that can wake him up to bureaucratic bungling, so that he won’t give even more responsibility to the FDA.

Meanwhile, the growers, processors and other companies associated with the produce industry are employing their own inspectors and implementing their own measures and taking more responsibility for ensuring food safety. If Harkin wants to help save us all from poisonous foods, maybe he can turn his attention to imports.

WE ALL SCREAM FOR RECALLED ICE CREAM

Private Selection Ice Cream has been recalled from Ralphs and Food 4 Less, according to a press release posted on the FDA community-alert site. The “Private Selection Classic Churned Light Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream” (just rolls right off the proverbial tongue, doesn’t it?) in the 1.75 quart size is being recalled because it contains eggs and it doesn’t say “eggs” on the list of ingredients.

Now, one would suppose that people who are allergic to eggs would steer clear of the whole ice-cream aisle, figuring, like most people, that eggs are a primary ingredient in most ice creams. But the ice-cream people, being sweet and cautious as they are, must have had nightmares of egg-allergic consumers parading through Ralphs, checking every ice cream flavor until their hands were numb from the cold, desperately seeking an ice cream that didn’t contain eggs (never mind that cookie dough also contains eggs). “Look, Myrtle! These clever folks at “Private Selection Classic Churned Light Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream” company have found a way to make ice cream without eggs! You’re in luck! Let’s get a case and celebrate! You can eat ice cream without my taking you to the emergency room!”

Yep! Myrtle is saved. The ice cream is gone. There was no indication that Ralphs might just give it away to those of us without allergies. Save them from cleaning up the mess.

GET THE LEAD OUT, KIDS!– China poisons CA lunch boxes

Lead-tainted lunch boxes from the Department of Health

It’s not exactly what you’d call chemical warfare, but the Chinese have once again delivered food items to the U.S. that are poisonous. No, you don’t exactly eat this — they are lunch boxes, after all — you just put your children’s food in them.

The “bitter” irony in all this is that the lunch boxes were from the California Department of Health promoting diets full of fruits and vegetables, according to an article in the L.A. Times, no doubt in an effort to counter obesity in children. Parents are asked to return them to the place where they got them or to a facility that handles toxic waste.

Or, you could always leave them at the door of your friendly neighborhood Chinese embassy.

WHAT’S FRENCH FOR OBESE?

Long proud of their famous dietary anomaly, that they are known both for their thinness and for their rich foods, the French are a little upset over recent reports from their ministry of health that they have gained quite a bit of weight as a nation.

According to a recent article in the L.A. Times, it’s not even due to all of the fast-food restaurants. It’s that they are too busy to prepare the right cuisine and are relying more and more on processed foods. For those many Francophobes out there, you should know that they are still far behind America’s rate of obesity.

Bon appetit!!

FAST-FOOD RESTAURANTS GETTING HEALTHIER?

Nutritionists talk about all of the changes in fast-food menus, in a recent article in Forbes, and it really makes you want to believe that it will make a difference in the obesity rate. Fat chance (so to speak)!!

CHINA PLAYING ME-TOO GAMES

Even though China has admitted that they are sending out poisonous products to the rest of the world, they are now acting like spoiled little children, increasing the inspections of food that they are importing from the U.S., just because we are rightly terrified of food they are exporting.

Those who remember the Cold War recall that Russia used to play the same game. If we expelled a spy, they would expel a spy. Whatever foreign, space or military policy that was made by the U.S. would be echoed by the U.S.S.R. (and often vice versa).

Now, in a futile (feudal?) effort to save face, they are desperately searching for tainted foods in every single shipment they import. And, when they don’t find any, they will no doubt “plant” some. Meanwhile, the U.S. is taking a stand that the lack of reliability of Chinese imports is beyond politics, and they continue with both inspections and demands for recalls.