Fw: [BITES-L] bites July 19/10

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From: Doug Powell <dpowell@KSU.EDU>

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Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:40:21 -0500

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Subject: [BITES-L] bites July 19/10

bites July 19/10

Don't cook when you're crook

Hamburgers: fresh is not the same as safe

The fawning media coverage of organic food

Can you tell me how to sneeze on Sesame Street?

UK: Norovirus inquiry into Glasgow Hilton hotel bug

MISSOURI: Jolley: Oh, Katie. Were you ever really a journalist? Or always just a wannabe?

US: Antibiotics in food animals

US: Meat with antibiotics off the menu at some hospitals

Consumer preferences for safety characteristics in pork

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Don't cook when you're crook
18.jul.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143162/10/07/18/dont-cook-when-youre-crook
Does the headline mean, if you're a convict, don't cook? Lots of convicts cook. So I checked the dictionary where I found an Australian/New Zealand definition for crook: a situation that is bad, unpleasant, or unsatisfactory, or (of a person or a part of the body) unwell or injured : a crook knee.
It means if you're sick, don't work.
With the chill of winter well and truly upon us, the risk of viral gastro contamination heats up, (New South Wales, that's in Australia, includes Sydney, and it's what they would call winter right now) Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan warned today as he urged chefs and cooks to take care in the kitchen during the peak viral gastro season.
"This warning applies particularly to those food industry professionals who come into contact with the preparation and service of food for hundreds, if not thousands of people," Minister Whan said.
"If you're crook don't cook is a good basic rule to apply in the workplace."
"Under the Food Standards Code it is illegal for food handlers to handle food when they have gastric illness. It is also illegal for food businesses to knowingly have staff working if they have gastric illness.
"The NSW Food Authority is aware of cases where staff have been asked to work when they were sick, or have not told their supervisor they were sick, putting many people at risk."
www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au
http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/media-releases/mr-18-Jul-10-dont-cook-when-youre-crook/

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Hamburgers: fresh is not the same as safe
19.jul.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143171/10/07/19/hamburgers-fresh-not-same-safe
'Our restaurant's burgers are safe to eat undercooked: The meat is fresh and ground in-house.'
This is wrong, dangerous, and nothing more than food porn, the wishful thinking that bacteria will avoid certain products if prepared with enough manual labor and love.
Bacteria don't care about love.
Shamona Harnett of the Winnipeg Free Press reported the all-too-common chat with the server as she tried to order a burger – she went with well-done. And she urged cooks to use a food thermometer to ensure the burger has reached 160 F, which is also an effective way to ensure the cook doesn't overcook the burger. Thermometers make people better cooks.
Harnett then goes on to say that "experts say consumers should wash lettuce -- even if it's labelled pre-washed."
No they don't. An expert panel concluded,
Lleafy green salad in sealed bags labeled 'washed' or 'ready-to-eat' that are produced in a facility inspected by a regulatory authority and operated under cGMPs, does not need additional washing at the time of use unless specifically directed on the label. The panel also advised that additional washing of ready-to-eat green salads is not likely to enhance safety. The risk of cross contamination from food handlers and food contact surfaces used during washing may outweigh any safety benefit that further washing may confer."
Food safety is not simple.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/137895/07/11/04/should-bagged-salads-be-washed-again
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/life/food-for-thought-98729179.html
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The fawning media coverage of organic food
19.jul.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143172/10/07/19/fawning-media-coverage-organic-food
In the early part of the 2000s, media outlets seemed to be co-opted by the fantastical claims of the organic food sector. Organic was portrayed as safer, healthier and better for the environment.
There wasn't a lot of data.
There was a lot of food porn.
I had a student review and code 618 newspaper stories – it seems so quaint now, there were newspapers back then -- reporting on or referencing organic food and organic agriculture from five North American media outlets from 1999-2004.
The paper was published in the British Food Journal yesterday.
Stacey found that of the 618 stories, 41.1 per cent were coded as being neutral, 36.9 per cent positive, 15.5 per cent mixed and 6.1 per cent negative.
From the discussion:
"It was determined that organic agriculture was often portrayed in the media as an alternative to allegedly unsafe and environmentally damaging modern agriculture practices -- organic was defined by what it isn't, rather than what it is. The National Post, for instance, published an article in 2002 about a report by Environmental Defence Canada, which had interpreted food safety data from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and found that many products such as maple syrup and eggs did not meet safety standards. The article stated that, "to avoid health problems, Mary McGrath, the group's director of research, suggested consumers consider purchasing organic or ecologically grown produce" (Sokoloff, 2002). Such unsubstantiated comments have become endemic in media coverage of all things organic.
"The stories examined in this analysis frequently suggested organic production was void of many of the challenges faced by large-scale, modern agriculture, including pesticide residue, mad cow disease and genetic engineering.
Of the themes health, safety and environment, food safety was the least important in the discussion of organic agriculture in the media. … The finding that 50 per cent of food safety-themed statements in news articles were positive with respect to organic agriculture, while 81 per cent of health-themed statements and 90 per cent of environment-themed statements were positive towards organic food, indicates an uncritical press. USDA has repeatedly stated that the organic standard is a verification of production methods and not a food safety claim: 'National standards for organic food will be released soon, and they will make clear that such products aren't safer or more nutritious than conventional products, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman says' (Brasher, 2000)."
The abstract is below.
Coverage of organic agriculture in North American newspapers: Media: linking food safety, the environment, human health and organic agriculture19.jul.10
British Food Journal, Vol. 112 Iss: 7, pp.710 – 722
Stacey Cahill, Katija Morley, Douglas A. Powell
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1871116&show=abstract
Abstract
Purpose – The project explored the ways in which the topics of organic food and agriculture are discussed in representative North American media outlets in reference to food safety, environmental concerns, and human health.
Design/methodology/approach – Articles from five newspapers were collected and coded using the content analysis technique and analyzed for topic, tone, and theme.
Findings – For a six-year time period, 618 articles on organic food and organic agriculture are analyzed and the prominent topics are found to be genetic engineering, pesticides, and organic farming. Articles with a neutral tone with respect to organic agriculture and food accounted for 41.4 percent of the articles, while positively toned articles garnered 36.9 percent. The themes human health, food safety, and environmental concerns were discussed with positive reference to organic food and agriculture in 81, 50, and 90 percent, respectively, of comments pulled from the articles.
Practical implications – Analysis of these articles over time, between media outlets and by topic allows for understanding of media reporting on the subject and provides insight into the way the public is influenced by news coverage of organic food and agriculture.
Originality/value – Research that analyzes media coverage for how it portrays the topic of organic food and organic agriculture with respect to health, food safety, and environmental concern, and concludes that articles about organic production in the selected time period are seldom negative.

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Can you tell me how to sneeze on Sesame Street?
18.jul.10
barfblog
Michéle Samarya-Timm
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143161/10/07/18/can-you-tell-me-how-sneeze-sesame-street
Michéle Samarya-Timm, a registered environmental health specialist with the Somerset County Department of Health in New Jersey (represent) writes:
The recent New Zealand study that most people are not properly containing their coughs and sneezes comes as no surprise, as I still see air sneezes wherever I go.
Look around. Children have been taught – and are following -- proper respiratory etiquette by covering their coughs and sneezes. It's the adults we need to reach for disease prevention behavioral change. As we talk about doing the "Dracula sneeze" maybe its time to reach adults by tapping into our inner children and bring those of my generation back to what we learned when our role models had googley eyes, and skin of orange, purple or blue felt.
Close your eyes, and hum Sunny Day- Sweepin' the clouds away…
And there we are with Count von Count – who should be the poster child for the "Dracula Sneeze." Early on (circa 1971) we see him counting flowers – because flowers make one sneeze. Then we can count the sneezes (Ah-ha-ha-ha!). Unfortunately, Count doesn't use his hands. Or his cape. Or anything to catch his sneezes. But he could be useful counting 20 seconds of handwashing… (20 *Wonderful* seconds!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQC82okzTXI
And sneezes can be contagious. Especially in groups. The Sneeze Song illustrated that – with cows, chickens and swine. Not a good prospect to think that the shopping mall, the train station or the barnyard could have a plethora of airborne diseases from indiscriminate sneezing. With an end message of "cover your coughs and sneezes" this clip could be a generation-catching public service announcement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgD27p9uJ0k
At least Ernie and Bert recognize sneezing etiquette. Ernie has been known to offer his handkerchief to Bert. It's what friends do. (That, and put their noses back on.) And remember, Ernie knows about personal cleanliness. After all, when we first met him in 1969 Ernie was scrubbing to get clean. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6rWY-aGVe0 Ernie's penchant for cleanliness brought us some great handwashing songs. Forget the ABC's …singing "everybody wash" encourages all around you to join in with good, clean and considerate handwashing fun.
Still not convinced that the Children's Television Workshop has the makings to remind us old timers to cough and sneeze into the crook of our arms? Enlist Kermit the Frog – who really (really!) loves his elbows:
I love my elbows!
They really top my list
I love my elbows,
Even more than my wrists
We teach people to sing when handwashing…maybe we'd make some progress if we ask them to hum like Kermit while sneezing?
And if you don't know what a sneeze is, just ask Guy Smiley and the panel on What's My Part? The nose knows (but still could use a partnering elbow.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XfFJVkcNdg
Obviously, I'm a child of the Sesame Street generation. The Muppets taught us lifetime lessons – sharing, counting (in Spanish, too!), the people in our neighborhood, how to handle a Grouch, and that sometimes things are not like the others.
Maybe we should consider using bits from our youth – like the Sesame Street format and characters -- to bring healthy messages to an older audience.
Rebranding some scenes from our youth can use our nostalgia to encourage a grown-up culture of cough-etiquette antics. I love my elbows. Everybody wash. And if you sneeze incorrectly, you don't get your nose back.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/143081/10/07/13/most-don't-do-dracula-when-sneezing-or-coughing

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UK: Norovirus inquiry into Glasgow Hilton hotel bug
19.jul.10
BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-10679806
Nearly 40 people fell ill after a suspected outbreak of the norovirus bug at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow.
Twenty-four guests and 14 staff members suffered vomiting and diarrhoea, thought to have been caused by the bug, said NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC).
Two guests were admitted to Gartnavel General Hospital on Sunday. They are expected to make a full recovery.
NHSGGC has begun an investigation into the outbreak at the five-star hotel.
A Hilton Worldwide spokesperson said: "In response to the suspected viral infection Hilton Glasgow is following its own strict health and safety procedures, as well as working closely with the local health officials, and is providing all possible assistance to the hotel's guests and team members."

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MISSOURI: Jolley: Oh, Katie. Were you ever really a journalist? Or always just a wannabe?
19.jul.10
Cattle Network
Chuck Jolley
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Jolley--Oh--Katie--Were-You-Ever-Really-A-Journalist---Or-Always-Just-A-Wannabe/2010-07-19/Article_Latest_News.aspx?oid=1165782&fid=CN-LATEST_NEWS_
An open letter to Katie Couric: You do know what a journalist is, don't you? It's someone who doesn't take one side of any story as the absolute truth. SHE always looks for balance by talking to people with a variety of opinions on a subject.
You reported on the evils of antibiotic use in agriculture a few months ago. I say "evils" because your report only quoted folks who seemed to be against the concept of healthy farm animals. Where were the experts who could explain why antibiotics are used? You did an excellent job of sniffing out the few cases of possible overuse and using them as a broad brush condemnation of the entire industry.
There are, of course, plenty of people who can speak about the usually necessary and judicious use of antibiotics and other medicines in modern agriculture. Dr. Scott Hurd, DVM, Ph.D, is one of the best known experts in the use of antibiotics in agriculture. He's an Associate Professor in Veterinary Diagnostic and Animal Medicine at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. On the off chance that the CBS research team couldn't locate him or any of his colleagues, here's a link to my interview with him a few weeks ago: http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Jolley--Five-Minutes-With-Dr--Scott-Hurd---Agriculture-s-Drug-Problem/2010-07-02/Article.aspx?oid=1140403&fid=VN-CONTRIBUTORS-CHUCK_JOLLEY.
Katie, feel free to read the interview and borrow any of Dr. Hurd's comments for any future follow up stories. I'll be glad to supply his phone number and email address, too, or you can go directly to the Iowa State web site and find his contact information there.
Maybe you could revive Paul Harvey's famous line, "And now…the rest of the story!" and talk about how the vast majority of the meds used in agriculture are used to keep animals healthy. They're used out of necessity, not convenience. In fact, administering medication to thousands of animals on a ranch or feedlot is really inconvenient for the poor cowboy who has to finish the chore as well as the animals who might not be too crazy about getting an injection first thing in the morning.
The careful use of antibiotics is an important part of a well-planned animal welfare program and the decisions about what medicines to use and when to use them is best left to the rancher or feed lot operator and his veterinarian.
A note to the Ag industry: The CBS talking head recently revisited the antibiotics issue and she was still standing on the same side of the aisle. Here's a clip from the CBS news website:
"An update now on a story we're been following closely about a health risk most people don't know about - farmers feeding antibiotics to healthy animals - just to spur their growth. Congress urged them this week to stop doing that because overuse of antibiotics in animals is creating new, drug-resistant strains of bacteria that can spread to humans.
CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric reports.
Dave Kronlage of Dyersville, Iowa told us he feeds antibiotics to his hogs before they get sick in order to accelerate growth and fend off diseases that can spread when livestock are raised in crowded conditions.
"You give it to them because you want them to be healthy," Kronlage said.
But this week on Capitol Hill critics worried giving antibiotics to livestock, unless medically necessary, may be creating dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria that can be passed on to humans."
Here is a link to the CBS story: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/16/eveningnews/main6685734.shtml?tag=stack.
Bottom line: No witch hunts on this issue, please. Ms. Couric and the folks in Washington need to talk with the Scott Hurds of animal agriculture and respect their opinions at least as much as those of people who've never been on the front lines.
Chuck Jolley is a free lance writer, based in Kansas City, who covers a wide range of ag industry topics for Cattlenetwork.com and Agnetwork.com.

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US: Antibiotics in food animals
19.jul.10
Meatingplace
Richard Raymond
http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/blog/BlogDetail.aspx?topicID=6852&BlogID=10
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a serious problem.
But determining why some bacteria develop resistance to some antibiotics, and why some don't, is also a problem.
And until research helps solve the riddles surrounding antibiotic resistance in bacteria that cause human illnesses, policy makers need to take measured steps in determining how best to protect food animals' health and the health of the consumers of those food animals (and vegetarians also, of course).
A draft guidance was issued by the Food and Drug Administration last week that is now available for public comment. The draft is titled "The Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals, #209".
The responses so far have not been surprising. There are some associations that represent industry that emphatically claim there is no link between antibiotic use as tools to stimulate growth or improve feed efficiency and antibiotic resistant bacteria that can (and do) kill humans. They need to soften their stance just a bit, and maybe explain that a lot of antibiotics that are used for production purposes have never been used in human medicine and therefore we know the judicious use of these antibiotics pose no risk to us humans. They also need to acknowledge the fear that is present, and find ways to address legitimate concerns and to dispel non-legitimate issues.
And maybe they should also clearly state that there is an unknown factor concerning the use of antibiotics in food animals that are also used in human medicine, and that they encourage and support further research until it is crystal clear whether there is a link or not. This is not an issue to draw a line in the sand on, or worse yet, stick one's head in the sand and ignore the concerns.
And then there are others who want all antibiotic use in food animals to cease unless to treat an infection, and then only under the direction of a veterinarian. Those others include Representative Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) who stated that the " FDA is acknowledging the devastating public health implications of antibiotic overuse in agriculture…but they have not gone far enough or moved fast enough."
So she authors a bill that is based on "political science", not "biological science", to paraphrase Ron DeHaven, DVM and CEO of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
As a medical doctor and sometimes as a patient, antibiotic resistant bacteria scare the heck out of me, but the Federal regulators and politicians should not overreact until research tells us whether antibiotic resistance in bacteria transference occurs from animals to humans or not.
And while the two extreme opposite attitudes are already being clearly demonstrated, I will close with the caveat that at this time, there is no scientific evidence that an antibiotic free environment in food animals creates a safer or more wholesome product. And that is a long way from "acknowledging the devastating public health implications" as stated by Rep. Slaughter.
Don't you just love her name?

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US: Meat with antibiotics off the menu at some hospitals
18.jul.10
Chicago Tribune
Monica Eng
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-hospital-meat-20100718,0,1214271,full.story
The evening's menu featured grass-fed, antibiotic-free beef over pasta, fresh seasonal vegetables and fresh organic peaches — items right at home in the city's finest restaurants.
Instead, the dishes were prepared for visitors, staff and bed-bound patients at Swedish Covenant Hospital.
The Northwest Side hospital is one of 300 across the nation that have pledged to improve the quality and sustainability of the food they serve, not just for the health of their patients but, they say, the health of the environment and the U.S. population.
For many of these institutions, the initiative includes buying antibiotic-free meats. Administrators say they hope increased demand for those products will reduce the use of antibiotics to treat cattle and other animals, which scientists believe helps pathogens become more resistant to drugs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that antibiotic-resistant infections kill 60,000 Americans a year.

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Consumer preferences for safety characteristics in pork
19.jul.10
British Food Journal, Vol. 112 Iss: 7, pp.775 – 791
Morten Raun Mørkbak, Tove Christensen, Dorte Gyrd-Hansen
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1871121&show=abstract
Abstract
Purpose – The objective of this paper is to provide information that can guide governmental intervention strategies to increase demand-driven supply of food safety. The secondary aim is to rank safety attributes relative to other quality characteristics that consumers associate with pork.
Design/methodology/approach – Consumers' preferences for safety as a quality characteristic in pork are investigated using choice experiments. An internet-based survey was carried out with 1,322 Danish consumers.
Findings – There is a clear ranking of characteristics: domestic produce and low fat are valued as the most important attributes associated with minced pork, followed by reduced Salmonella risks, reduced use of antimicrobial agents, and increased animal welfare. In addition, it is found that consumers stated a clear willingness-to-pay for all the assessed product attributes – including the safety attributes.
Practical implications – The positive price premiums for safer food suggest that demand-driven market-based solutions might indeed be used to increase the supply of safer food – provided that adequate labelling allows consumers to distinguish between products that differ from each other only with respect to non-visible safety characteristics. However, it is not suggested that food safety can be left entirely to be determined by market forces due to market failures, consumer preferences and large uncertainties.
Originality/value – Earlier studies have not identified a unique ranking of the importance of safety relative to other quality characteristics in meat products. The main concern is that the value of food safety may be overestimated when it is not valued relative to a full set or as close to a full set as possible of other quality characteristics, which has been attempted in the present survey.

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