Fw: [BITES-L] bites Sep. 15/10

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From: Doug Powell <dpowell@KSU.EDU>

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Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:27:16 -0500

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Subject: [BITES-L] bites Sep. 15/10

bites Sep. 15/10

Salmonella positives on egg farm for past 2 years; why are mortals only finding out now

US: Salmonella at egg farm traced to 2008

US: New FSIS chief's priorities include pre-harvest food safety

Doctors, nurses don't want patients to bug them about handwashing

Doctors work while sick: study

Bathroom instructions for men and women

ARGENTINA sells DNA as world demands more beef

CANADA: Fish could feed 20 million more

US: PCRM TV ad takes aim at McDonald's

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Salmonella positives on egg farm for past 2 years; why are mortals only finding out now
14.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/144115/10/09/14/salmonella-positives-egg-farm-past-2-years-why-are-mortals-only-finding-out-now
Salmonella test results for any egg farm should be publicly available to whoever wants them – on the label, at point-of-sale, on a web site, whatever – if that egg producer wants to gain public trust and confidence. I get the whole good-egg-project concept I watch incessantly on Sesame Street but I'd rather my kid didn't barf from salmonella-contaminated eggs. I'll do my part, but I want producers to do their part, and advertize the results so I can vote with my money.
A bunch of media outlets are reporting this afternoon that congressional investigators revealed today lab tests found hundreds of cases of salmonella contamination at an Iowa farm in a nearly two-year period before the outbreak that prompted a massive recall of eggs this summer.
Wright County Egg is one of two farms at the center of the massive recall. In a letter to its owner, Austin "Jack" DeCoster, leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee said tests confirmed 426 cases of salmonella contamination between September 2008 and the past July, and 73 were "potentially" positive for the strain of the disease involved in this year's outbreak.
The committee's Democratic leaders asked DeCoster to explain those findings when he appears at a September 21 hearing. They also called on him to explain why those test reports weren't included in material the company has provided to Congress so far, and demanded that the company produce "all documents relating to your response to the test results" by Wednesday.
Iowa State University expert Darrell Trampel told the DesMoines Register that is "quite a high level of contamination." Ideally, farms would have no positive test results for the bacteria, but it would be typical to have half a dozen to a dozen over that period at the most. The test results are from tests of areas around the hen houses rather than of the eggs themselves.
Why does it take over 1,500 illnesses for such data to be publicly released? And what would a day of raw-egg revelations be without another food porn recipe in, this time, the N.Y. Times, for food-processor mayonnaise, using raw eggs.
I expect continued silence from the egg types.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/14/egg.recall.congress/?hpt=Sbin
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/09/14/panel-decoster-farms-had-numerous-salmonella-positives/
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/food-processor-mayonnaise/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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US: Salmonella at egg farm traced to 2008
14.sep.10
The New York Times
Gardiner Harris and William Neuman
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/business/15egg.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
WASHINGTON -- A major egg producer linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has sickened more than 1,500 people conducted tests as far back as 2008 that indicated the possible presence of the dangerous bacteria in its henhouses, according to records released on Tuesday by Congressional investigators.
The records show that there were 73 instances over about two years in which sponges swabbed on egg conveyor belts and other areas in Wright County Egg's barns showed the presence of salmonella bacteria, including the strain that infects eggs and causes human illness. In at least one case, further tests showed that the toxic form, Salmonella enteritidis, was present.
Records the company provided to Congress, however, "did not show whether Wright County Egg took appropriate steps to protect the public after receiving the positive test results," Representative Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, wrote in a letter this week to Austin J. DeCoster, the owner of the company.
Mr. Stupak has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday at which Mr. DeCoster, known as Jack, is expected to testify. Mr. Stupak and Representative Henry A. Waxman, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, asked Mr. DeCoster to be prepared to explain what actions his company took in response to the positive test results and "whether you shared these results with F.D.A. or other federal or state food safety officials."
Gregory P. Martin, a poultry specialist at Pennsylvania State University, said that for many years, thousands of salmonella tests had been done annually on egg farms in Pennsylvania as part of a voluntary program that had been highly successful in combating salmonella. Mr. Martin said that it was rare for those tests to yield a positive result for Group D salmonella, the group identified in the 73 tests at Wright County Egg farms and which includes Salmonella enteritidis.
"If it shows up in the environment, it's a red flag that we need to look further to help eliminate it off the farm," Mr. Martin said.
The records released by Congress showed hundreds of instances in which salmonella of some type was found at Wright County Egg farms.
But Mr. Martin said the presence of generic salmonella on a farm meant little, since there were many types of harmless salmonella in the environment. But any samples that show the presence of Group D salmonella should be sent for further testing for the toxic form, he said.
The test reports released by Congressional investigators showed that in many cases, the samples were sent for further testing, but it was generally unclear what the additional testing found.

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US: New FSIS chief's priorities include pre-harvest food safety
14.sep.10
Meatingplace
Rita Jane Gabett
http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=18481
USDA's new Under Secretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen recently outlined her four priorities in a meeting with industry association leaders, according to North American Meat Processors Association Executive Director Phil Kimball.
In a newsletter to NAMP members, Kimball said Hagen's major priorities include:
1. Working with other agencies and stakeholders to develop ideas on how to move forward on pre-harvest food safety.
2. Communicating with stakeholders, including the industry, consumers, FSIS employees, and other partners.
3. Working with inspectors and other FSIS employees to look at the FSIS workforce and the best way to move forward to protect public health.
4. Reviewing FSIS regulations, as well as legislation that impacts FSIS.
On pre-harvest interventions, Kimball said Hagen indicated she wants FSIS to support the Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) and other USDA agencies that have responsibility for this.
On non-O157:H7 STEC's, Hagen said FSIS will focus on the top six identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) and will make the testing methodology it develops public.
Kimball said industry leaders at the meeting encouraged Hagen to also focus on food safety inspection processes for imports, "because trading partners think they do not get the respect from FSIS on issues important to them."

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Doctors, nurses don't want patients to bug them about handwashing
15.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/144116/10/09/15/doctors-nurses-dont-want-patients-bug-them-about-handwashing
Consumers are increasingly viewed as the critical control point (CCP) for food and hygiene safety, and are increasingly required to tell others exactly what they think, such as, Dude, wash your hands, Dude, use a thermometer to make sure my burger is done, and Dude, get that finger out of your ear, you don't know where that finger's been (or where it's going).
Dr. Yves Longtin of the Geneva University Hospital presented results of an online survey at the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Boston. The 277 respondents -- all randomly selected doctors and nurses -- believed that patient collaboration could help prevent medical errors, two-thirds had "negative feelings" about such participation programs.
Forty-three percent said that they would "feel humiliated" if they had to admit poor hand hygiene habits. Another 30 percent of workers said they simply would not appreciate patient reminders. Some respondents (16 percent) felt that if patients were to get involved, accountability then would shift partially from the caregivers to those patients.
What's more, more than one-third of respondents said they would refuse to wear badges encouraging patients to ask about hand washing habits.
"Respondents had a pretty high impression of their own perceived levels of hand hygiene," Longtin said. "However, most believed they could improve."
http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/doctors-nurses-dont-want-patient-reminders-about-hand-washing/2010-09-14

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Doctors work while sick: study
15.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/144118/10/09/15/doctors-work-while-sick-study
People shouldn't work preparing or serving food when they are sick because they may spread the illness. That's become a food safety mantra, and yet outbreaks are repeatedly traced back to sick food workers – like the 300 who got sick with norovirus at the Haaaaarvard faculty club earlier this year after 14 food service employees were discovered to be working while sick. Or the 529 who got sick with norovirus at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant last year, where again, the presence of sick food workers was cited as a contributing factor to the outbreak.
There's a difference between saying what should be done – sick workers stay at home – and actually doing it – food service workers may get fired, whether they work with divas or in dives.
Medical doctors are the same.
The Associated Press reports more than half of doctors in training said in a survey that they'd shown up sick to work, and almost one-third said they'd done it more than once.
Dr. Anupam Jena, a medical resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, developed food poisoning symptoms halfway through an overnight shift last year, but said he didn't think he was contagious or that his illness hampered his ability to take care of patients.
Jena, a study co-author, said getting someone else to take over his shift on short notice "was not worth the cost of working while a bit sick." He was not among the survey participants.
The researchers analyzed an anonymous survey of 537 medical residents at 12 hospitals around the country conducted last year by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The response rate was high; the hospitals were not identified.
The results appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Nearly 58 percent of the respondents said they'd worked at least once while sick and 31 percent said they'd worked more than once while sick in the previous year.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/142101/10/05/15/14-employees-worked-sick-leading-norovirus-outbreak-harvard-faculty-club-restau
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/138998/09/11/27/heston-blumenthal-fat-duck-continues-blame-others-over-500-getting-sick-his-res
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gJUuo40Pb8BNGzw-JF_CcKWwqfGQD9I7T8RO2

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Bathroom instructions for men and women
15.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/144117/10/09/15/bathroom-instructions-men-and-women
How to properly use a public bathroom continues to be a source of mystery to many. Many proprietors have found it necessary to issue reminders regarding proper use of facilities, and to explain the difference between men and women, which may account for different levels of publicly observed handwashing compliance (a post on foodsafe-l last night attempts to explain that "When women use the restroom it is a more septic process than when men urinate. Women need to wash their hands more frequently than men."
http://ilovecharts.tumblr.com/post/1121720179/heres-a-set-of-instructions-for-all-genders-if

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ARGENTINA sells DNA as world demands more beef
14.sep.10
The New York Times
Reuters
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/09/14/world/international-uk-argentina-beef-genetics.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
DUGGAN, Argentina -- Tipping the scales at more than a tonne, Montecristo would yield a lot of prime Argentine steak. But ranchers are not interested in sending bulls like him to slaughter -- his semen is far more valuable.
With newly affluent consumers from Brazil to China eating more meat, Argentine ranchers are honing their centuries-old cattle-breeding traditions to meet growing global demand for semen, embryos and genetics know-how.
"We don't have to pay for advertising, people associate the word Argentina with the word beef," said Mariano Etcheverry, secretary of CABIA, a chamber that groups around 20 Argentine bovine genetics companies.
Aided by the fame of the Argentine steak, breeders say exports to Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay have surged in recent years as strong economic growth in South America swells the ranks of the middle-class. Some have also found new markets in Colombia and Venezuela.
Exports of bovine semen have increased ten-fold in the last decade, in part thanks to the devaluation of the peso currency after a 2001/02 economic crisis, Etcheverry said.
But it is China's interest in bovine genetics that is rousing big hopes among breeders in Argentina, which already sends most of its soybean exports to the Asian giant.
"China is eager to buy Argentine genetics. It has a huge population and demand for meat is booming there," said Guillermo Garcia, head of Las Lilas Genetica, which lies near the country town of Duggan some 125 km (80 miles) from Buenos Aires.
Another breeding firm, Don Panos, is also in talks with Chinese investors.
"As well as genetic material, they want the technology -- the production technique, so they can do it on their own," the company's head Carlos Marietti said.

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CANADA: Fish could feed 20 million more
15.sep.10
CourierMail.com.au
AAP
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/fish-could-feed-20-million-more/story-e6freonx-1225923547446
A LANDMARK study by scientists and economists has estimated that better management of the world's wild fisheries could feed 20 million more people, especially in impoverished countries.
Researchers at the Fisheries Centre in Vancouver have released the first global estimate of the value of the industry, set at $US240 billion ($255.7 billion), but warned government subsidies encourage over-fishing which is destroying the resource.

The work is "the first big-picture analysis of the value fisheries have for people worldwide," said Rebecca Goldburg, a scientist with the Pew Environment Group, which funded the research. The reports were released via a telephone news conference today from the Pew Trusts in Washington.

Key findings of the series of four reports, published today in the Journal of Bioeconomics, include:

- Global wild fisheries are worth $US240 billion ($255.7 billion) dollars annually when multipliers such as processing are included.
- Fisheries could feed 20 million more people if over-fishing were eliminated.
- Ocean-related sports fishing, whale watching and diving, account for one million jobs, a value up to $US47 billion ($50.1 billion) dollars.
- Of $US27 billion ($28.8 billion) dollars in annual fishery subsidies, such as for cheap fuel, $US16 billion ($17.1 billion) worsens over-fishing that destroys fish stocks.
"Maintaining healthy fisheries makes good economic sense," said Rashid Sumaila, director of the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia in western Canada, which led the research.
The value of fisheries was historically measured by the landed value at dockside, which in 2000 was $US85 billion ($90.6 billion) worldwide, Mr Sumaila said.
The study was the first globally to put a figure on the industry taking into account the many economic spin-offs, he said.

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US: PCRM TV ad takes aim at McDonald's
15.sep.10
Meatingplace
Lisa M. Keefe
http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=18484
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is set this week to unveil a local television ad campaign in Washington, D.C., that links the city's relatively high rate of deaths from heart disease to its local concentration of McDonald's and other QSR stores.
The ad, which can be seen on the organization's website, shows a woman weeping over the body of a man in a morgue. In the man's hand is a half-eaten hamburger. Near the end of the commercial, the McDonald's logo appears over his feet, along with the line "I was lovin' it," a play on the QSR's current advertising tagline.
The commercial ends with the line, "Tonight, make it vegetarian."
PCRM says in a press release on it Web site that Washington, D.C. has more McDonald's, Burger King and KFC outlets per square mile than eight other cities with similar population sizes. The group also quotes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as saying that the age-adjusted death rate from heart disease in Washington is the second-highest in the country, above high-obesity states like Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
A PCRM representative explained to Meatingplace that the group also relied on other scientific research that has made a direct connection between incidence of heart disease and the density of fast-food outlets in a geographic area.
"Our city's addiction to Big Macs and other high-fat fast food is literally breaking our hearts," says Susan Levin, M.S., R.D., PCRM's nutrition education director. "It's time to tackle the district's heart disease problem head-on. A moratorium on new fast-food restaurants could be a critically important step toward fighting this epidemic."
McDonald's menu offers "almost no healthful choices," according to an analysis by PCRM dietitians. "Even many McDonald's items that consumers may believe are healthful — salads, for example — are generally high in calories, fat, and sodium," the group says on its website.
In response, McDonald's posted a statement on its website: "This commercial is outrageous, misleading and unfair to all consumers. McDonald's trusts our customers to put such outlandish propaganda in perspective, and to make food and lifestyle choices that are right for them."

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