Shelf-stable foods

From the USDA, some interesting facts about Shelf-Stable foods and cans

What does "shelf stable" mean?Foods that can be safely stored at room temperature, or "on the shelf," are called "shelf stable." These non-perishable products include jerky, country hams, canned and bottled foods, rice, pasta, flour, sugar, spices, oils, and foods processed in aseptic or retort packages and other products that do not require refrigeration until after opening.

Not all canned goods are shelf stable. Some canned food, such as some canned ham and seafood, are not safe at room temperature. These will be labeled "Keep Refrigerated."

How does canning make food shelf stable?Food is placed in airtight, vacuum-sealed containers and heat processed at 250 °F (121 °C) to destroy microorganisms and inactivates enzymes. As the food cools, a vacuum seal is formed that prevents any new bacteria from getting in. Once the container is opened, however, bacteria can enter and begin growing in the food. Any unused portions must then be refrigerated in clean containers.

Do cans contain lead?The canned food industry in the United States stopped using lead-soldered cans in 1991. In 1995, the Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule prohibiting the use of lead solder in all food cans, including imported products.

Is it safe to use rusted canned foods?Discard heavily rusted cans. Cans that are heavily rusted can have tiny holes in them, allowing bacteria to enter. Surface rust that you can remove by rubbing with your finger or a paper towel is not serious.

Is it safe to use food from dented cans?If a can containing food has a small dent, but is otherwise in good shape, the food should be safe to eat. Discard deeply dented cans. A deep dent is one that you can lay your finger into. Deep dents often have sharp points. A sharp dent on either the top or side seam can damage the seam and allow bacteria to enter the can. Discard any can with a deep dent on any seam.

If a can hisses when opened, is the food safe to eat?Some cans make a hissing sound when opened because they are vacuum-packed and the noise is a result of air pressure. This is perfectly normal. However, if a can hisses loudly or the contents spurt forcefully out of the can when opened, it may be an indication that the food is unsafe. Do not taste or use such food.

Is the dating of shelf-stable foods required by federal law?Except for infant formula and some baby food, product dating — having a "use-by," "sell-by," or "best-if-used-by" date — is not required by Federal regulations. Dating is for quality, not safety.

Is that mold on the Ketchup?

Are you using the same ketchup, mustard, pickles, etc, from last summer that have been in your fridge all winter? ConsumerReports says you may be better off tossing the old condiments and buying new for the BBQ season. They cite the following shelf-life values from the Food Safety and Inspection Service for items that have been opened.

Ketchup, cocktail or chili sauce: 6 months;

Chutney: 1 to 2 months;

Horseradish: 3 to 4 months;

Mustard: 12 months;

Pickles and olives: 2 weeks;

Mayonnaise and salad dressing: Up to 2 months;

Barbecue sauce: 4 months;

Worchestershire sauce: 12 months;

Jams and jellies: 6 months.

Two weeks does seem very short for pickles and olives but then again I've seen a moldy pickle in a vat at a grocery store. Ugh!

The Consumerist notes that the FoodKeeper shelf-life values come from "a trade group of grocery retailers and wholesalers" who might be concerned about your safety but are also happy to have you toss out old food and buy more. So these deadlines may not be life or death but just suggestions.

Shelf Life for Food Storage

One question that always comes up with Food Storage is, "how long will the food last?"  That's not an easy question.

The Family Survival Planning web site distinguishes two ways of defining "Shelf Life":

1. The "Best if used by" date for best taste and nutrition

2. A "Life Sustaining" date where the food may not taste wonderful but it will keep you alive.

The life sustaining period is influenced by temperature, moisture, oxygen and light.

* Temperature - the cooler the better, above freezing. Heat destroys food and its nutritional value, while foods stored below freezing will suffer freezer burn. A storage area should never exceed 75°; optimal is 50° to 60°.

* Moisture in food allows bacteria and other microorganisms to grow. Hence many long-term storage foods are freeze-dried or dehydrated.

* Oxygen in stored food also encourages microorganisms.  When my wife & I stored wheat, we added an oxygen absorber packet to each storage bucket. Oxygen is also the enemy of fats and oils causing them to go rancid. Nuts, grains, and other long-term foods contain some natural oils. Whole grains have an outer shell that protects the oil inside and can last 30 years or more, but ground flour exposes the oils and goes rancid in 5 years.

* Light can destroy the color in food and promote microorganisms growth.

Bottom Line

Check out the Long Term Food Shelf Life Chart at FSP. I was surprised to learn that dried apple slices and dried potatoes can last 30 years. Powered milk for 20yrs? Hmm, I'd worry about it going rancid sooner.

What is Pink Slime?

Pink slime has been in the news a lot lately. Which grocery stores sell it? What fast-food chains use it? Will certain public schools use it in school lunches?

So what is pink slime? First off, they're not talking about pink algae which is sometimes seen in swimming pools and called pink slime by some.  The official name is "Boneless lean beef trimmings". When a cow is butchered, there are leftover trimmings of meat mixed with a lot of fat and connective tissue. The meat industry used to cook the trimmings to render out the oil to make some profit from it. Then in 1990, Eldon Roth, founder of a frozen beef company called Beef Products Inc (BPI) had an idea.

The trimmings are finely ground and then spun in a high speed centrifuge to separate out the fat from the meat. The meat is squeezed through a tube the size of a pencil and exposed to ammonia gas to kill any pathogens such as E. coli. At the end of the process, the beef is at least 90 percent lean. It is used in meat supplies across the US, usually mixed in with normal hamburger upto 25% of the content.

Some people find the process objectionable and coined the derogatory term, pink slime. Other health experts credit the process for reducing the risk of E. coli infections.

Bottom Line

The sad part about the whole thing is that no labeling is required to indicate that Boneless lean beef trimmings were used. It may be perfectly safe but there's no way to opt out as an informed consumer except for giving up all hamburger.

And least people get into a huff over this, look closely at chicken and hams at grocery stores. Many have water and chemicals injected for "preservatives" but also to add weight and cost. Last week I noticed that a 5-gallon bottled water contained chemicals on the ingredients listing? Why?! For preservatives and minerals it claimed.

What a Crock!

We've owned a crock pot for decades, never using it, gathering dust on our shelf of unused appliances. Then my wife saw a good deal on a pork roast for "pulled pork" and bought it. We've never done that either so she asked a friend who gave us a pulled pork recipe which required a crock pot. We followed instructions and waited, and waited. After several hours the meat still looked raw. We waited more hours - and finally the meat was cooked and did pull apart easily with a fork. We added a sauce that was wonderful and my wife is eager to try it again.

This got me to wondering, is a crock pot safe? How can meat be raw for hours in a warm environment and not develop food poisoning? The answer is in the temperature.

The low or warm setting is 71–74 °C [160–165 °F] and the high is usually 175–200 °F. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bacteria in food is killed at a temperature of 165°F. Beef/pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 170° as high as 190°F in poultry. With a crock pot you are cooking right on the edge of safety, just high enough to kill bacteria but not enough to burn food. Be sure to follow cooking directions, for instance cooking poultry on low would not be safe.

I saw a comment online that opening the lid of a crock pot lowers the temperature and that you should add 20 minutes cooking each time you lift the lid.

Bottom Line

Have fun with crock pots but follow instructions. It's not a bad idea to test the internal temperature of meat to make sure it's in the safe zone.

Nor any drop to drink

If you followed the advice from earlier this week, you'll have stored one gallon of water per person per day for at least 3 days. But what if you didn't and disaster has struck? If water supplies run low, never ration water. Drink the amount you need (1 or 2 quarts) and try to find more for tomorrow. You can minimize the amount of water your body needs by reducing activity and staying cool.

Municipal tap water can become contaminated during floods, power outages, etc. When in doubt follow these two steps: 1. Clarify the water with a filter or fine cloth. 2. Disinfect the water by boiling or adding 2 drops of unscented bleach per liter/quart of water. Wait 30 minutes for bleach to kill bacteria. Never drink water contaminated with toxic chemicals or heavy metals.

Do you know the location of your incoming water valve? You’ll need to shut it off to stop contaminated water from entering your home if you hear reports of broken water or sewage lines. To use the clean water in your pipes, let air into the plumbing by turning on the faucet in your house at the highest level. A small amount of water will trickle out. Then obtain water from the lowest faucet in the house.

Did you know your hot water tank holds 30-60 gallons of water? When desperate for water, turn off the water heater to prevent it from operating empty and let it cool before draining to prevent scalding. Open the drain valve at the bottom tank, discard the first few gallons if they contain rust or sediment. Add 5-7 drops of chlorine bleach per gallon of water, stir, and wait 30 minutes before use.

As a last resort, use the water in the reservoir tank of your toilet (not the toilet bowl!). Be sure to boil it or apply bleach. A more appealing source of water is the liquid in canned fruits & vegetables. Swimming pool/hot tub/water bed water may be used as "gray water' for washing but not drinking due to chemicals they contain.
Bottom Line

Wouldn't you rather have stored bottle water at home rather than some of the desperate choices above?


P.S.
Today's title comes from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

As Idle as a painted ship, upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.

What is freezer burn?

Hamburger with freezer burn

Have you ever removed an old item from the freezer and found it dry and discolored? Or covered in ice crystals? If so, you've been burned by your freezer.

According to Everyday Mysteries, water migrates to the coldest place they can find. If the shelves and walls of your freezer are colder than your steak, the water leaves the steaks and builds frost elsewhere, drying out the food, leaving space for Oxygen molecules to move in, which discolors the food. Wikipedia calls this sublimation, an odd process of going from a solid (ice) to a gas while skipping the liquid in-between state. Water molecules move about, find themselves near the food surface, freeze, and then sublime into water vapor and refreeze elsewhere.

The recommended way to prevent this is to tightly wrap food in layers. This slows the water migration but can not stop it. There is a time limit for storing foods and eventually you'll have ice crystals on the meat, inside the wrapping, instead of on the walls. Great wrapping (better yet vacuum sealed) will block oxidation and discoloration.

An odd cause of freezer burn is a freezer that is TOO warm, above 0 degrees F. In the 0 to 32 degree range water will freeze and "evaporate" from sublimation as described above. This process is actually encouraged with low presssure to "freeze-dry" items.

Bottom Line

With the exception of freezer burn damage, food can last indefinitely in a freezer. Freezing to 0 °F inactivates any microbes — bacteria, yeasts and molds — present in food. The microbes sleep, but they are not dead! Once thawed, the microbes again become active, multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illness. Treat thawed items the same as you would any perishable food.

When to toss Leftovers?

"Leftovers make you feel good twice. First, when you put it away, you feel thrifty and intelligent: ‘I’m saving food!’ Then a month later when blue hair is growing out of the ham, and you throw it away, you feel really intelligent: ‘I’m saving my life!’"
– George Carlin

Question: "When do I throw out leftovers"?

TasteOfHome.com has a simple answer, "If in doubt - throw it out". 

Don't rely on taste or smell or looks. Food may contain an unhealthy level of bacteria yet give no clue after several days.

A more detailed answer is, "it is best to eat leftovers within 2 days. Some items may still be safe after 3-5 days."

Raw foods from potentially dirty environments have a higher risk of contamination. These include fresh poultry & fish & other seafood (shrimp, scallops, squid, and shucked clams, mussels, and oysters). Don't keep these items in a fridge for more than a day (two at most).  Fresh (raw) ground meat and chopped meat (stew chunks) are equally at risk with more surface area exposed for bacteria growth.

Cooked foods will usually keep for 3 days (5 at most).

There are some foods that are are designed/created for a slightly longer shelf life:
hard cheese: 3 to 4 weeks
soft cheese: 1 week
yogurt: 1 - 2 weeks

Advice for Storing Leftovers

Begin with a clean container with an airtight seal. For items still hot, use shallow containers or divide the food into smaller portions so the center of the leftover can cool quickly. Some experts suggest waiting until steam has stopped rising from food before putting it into the refrigerator so that you don’t heat up your refrigerator. But don't wait too long.

"If food has been left out for longer than 2 hours, don’t put it back in the refrigerator, and don’t keep it for later. It’s not safe to eat." - TasteOfHome

"If food is left at room temperature for more than two hours, (one hour in hot weather) bacteria can grow to harmful levels, making it unsafe to eat." - European Food Information Council

Other experts discourage cooling leftovers on the kitchen counter but instead recommend putting warm leftovers quickly in the fridge. Bacteria are like Golilocks and love warm food (not too cold and not too hot) and grow quickly at a temperature that's "just right". My mother is a stickler when it comes to food safety. My wife & I were surprised when she took the hot bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken we had purchased for a picnic, transfered it to tupperware, and then put that in a cooler with ice, because it would take us a few hours to reach the picnic site.

P.S.
The quote at top comes from a George Carlin routine called Ice Box Man which I recommend.

What is food Poisoning?

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."
-Bombeck, Erma

Despite the name, food poisoning does not mean that someone has slipped hemlock or arsenic into your meal. Food poisoning usually means that you ate something containing an infectious agent like a virus, bacteria or parasite. But it can also mean poisoning in the real sense if you consumed a toxic agent like a poisonous mushroom or pesticide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there are more than 250 known diseases that are caused by "bad" food. In the United States each year 1 in 6 people (48 million) become sick from a food-borne illnesses resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.

Common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, fever and chills that occur within 30 minutes to 48 hours after consuming a contaminated food or drink. Most food poisoning is not serious and will run its course in 24-48 hours.

When to Seek Medical Care

Contact your doctor if

• You have a sick child under age 3
• You cannot keep any liquids down
• You cannot keep down prescribed & necessary medicine because of vomiting
• You are pregnant
• Symptoms last for more than two days
• You have a low-grade fever
• Symptoms begin after recent foreign travel
• There is an outbreak where others who ate the same thing are also sick
• You have a weakened immune system (HIV/AIDS, cancer/chemotherapy, etc)

Go to the nearest emergency room if:

• The sick person passes out, becomes dizzy & lightheaded, or has problems with vision.
• You have a fever higher than 101 F (38.3 C) along with the abdominal symptoms
• You have sharp or cramping abdomen pains do not go away after 10-15 minutes (might be appendicitis which can be deadly)
• Your stomach or abdomen swells
• Your skin and/or eyes turn yellow (possible liver failure?)
• You are vomiting blood or having bloody bowel movements
• You stop urinating, have decreased urination, or have urine that is dark in color
• You have problem breathing, speaking, or swallowing.
• One or more joints swell or a rash breaks out

Bottom Line

No food is every germ free so illness is not caused by consuming a single bacteria but rather from eating something with a concentration of infectious agent too numerous for the body to defeat quickly. When you buy deli meat or cook a meal, the food is safe. But as the leftovers sit in the fridge the few bacteria multiply, slowly to sure, but surely. If the leftover is completely reheated to 160 F or so the new bacteria are killed. But if you eat a week-old item cold, like cold cuts in a sandwich, then your stomach may be in for a rude shock.

Preventing Foodborne Disease this Holiday Season

"Holidays are the best. I couldn't imagine being from a small family."
-Kim Kardashian

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one out of six Americans (48 million people) will get sick, 128,000 will be hospitalized, and 3,000 will die from foodborne diseases this year. (See A Fatal Cantaloupe?) So far in 2011 the CDC has investigated 65 outbreaks of food illness.

Evidence shows that preventing illness begins with the basics. Stay safe during this holiday season by following these safety tips:

• Clean. Wash hands, cutting boards, utensils, and counter tops.
• Separate. Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood separate from ready-to-eat foods.
• Cook. Use a food thermometer to ensure that foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature: 145°F for whole meats (allowing the meat to rest for 3 minutes before carving or consuming), 160°F for ground meats, and 165°F for all poultry.
• Chill. Keep your refrigerator below 40°F, and refrigerate food that will spoil.
• Report suspected illness from food to your local health department.
• Don't prepare food for others if you have diarrhea or have been vomiting.
• Be especially careful when preparing food for children, pregnant women, those in poor health, and older adults.

Bottom Line

For more information see

• “Check Your Steps”
• CDC Food Safety
• Foodborne Illness
• It’s Turkey Time

How long is food safe during a power outage?

“I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood.”
-Bill Watterson (author of Calvin & Hobbes)

My wife & I recently spent several winter days without power due to the Oct 29 snow storm which dropped 4 inches of heavy wet snow on trees still covered with autumn leaves. This causes massive amounts of broken limbs, fallen trees, and power lines knocked down. The damage to power lines was greater than tropical storm Irene a few months back.

When the power went out on Saturday we knew it would be gone for awhile - this was a major storm. So our first thought was the fridge. We discussed what to pull from the fridge (before opening it) and then quickly removed items we wanted to use and put them in an insulated cooler. The fridge and freezer were not opened again until power was restored. The cooler was placed outside in the snow to help keep it cold. If we had been more clever we might have emptied the fridge and put everything in the snow. This would have been great overnight but perhaps still unsafe during the heat of day. We also could have used dry ice in the fridge but no one was distributing it locally to us.

The magic temperature with refrigerated food is 40°. The USDA says,

"Always keep meat, poultry, fish, and eggs refrigerated at or below 40°F and frozen food at or below 0°F." ... "The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed."

The USDA website has a table listing when foods are no longer safe. Discard any potentially hazardous food that has been above 41°F for four hours or more, reached a temperature of 45°F or higher for any length of time, or has an unusual color, odor, or texture.

VERY IMPORTANT: More than 250 diseases can be caused by bacteria found in contaminated food. Many bacteria can grow above 40°F and not produce a funny smell or taste. Never taste food to determine if it’s safe.

The following items can tolerate room temperatures for a few days and DO NOT need to be tossed out:

• Butter or margarine
• Hard and processed cheeses
• Fresh uncut fruits and vegetables, Fruit juices
• Dried fruits and coconut
• Opened jars of vinegar-based salad dressings, jelly, relish, taco sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, ketchup, olives and peanut butter
• Fresh herbs and spices
• Fruit pies, breads, rolls, and muffins. Cakes, except cream cheese frosted or cream-filled
• Flour and nuts

Fortunately the list above describes most of our fridge content.  We should toss our raw eggs and our yogurt. I always thought yogurt would last longer than regular milk but even yogurt has a short shelf life; see http://www.ehow.com/facts_7382133_long-yogurt-stay-good-unrefrigerated_.html

Bottom Line
Perishable food such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs that are not kept adequately refrigerated or frozen may cause illness if consumed, even when they are thoroughly cooked.

For a list of foods and which are "safe" or not when warm, check out http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp
Another good site is http://www.uri.edu/ce/ceec/food/factsheets/powerout.html

See also my blog post:  Living without power

Is It DONE Yet?

While barbecuing on Labor Day my coals were quite hot and I was surprised at how quickly everything cooked. That's not necessarily a good thing. With a hot flame it's easy to burn the outside while the inside is still undercooked. While I enjoy meats with a bit of red or pink inside there's a risk of sickness if the center is not sufficiently hot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that every year about 48 million people in the United States become ill from harmful bacteria in food; of these, about 3,000 die.

The signs and symptoms of foodborne illness range from upset stomach, diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and dehydration, to more severe illness including death. This can be prevented by cooking food to a safe temperature.

According to the CDC, many people assume that if a hamburger is brown in the middle, it is done. According to US Dept of Agriculture research, 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown before it reaches a safe internal temperature. The only safe way to know if hamburger is safe is to measure 160 °F in the center.
The CDC would like everyone to know that "Thermometers Aren't Just for Turkey Anymore". The food thermometer should be placed in the thickest part of the food and should not be touching bone, fat, or gristle. Check the temperature in several places to make sure the food is evenly heated. Make sure to clean your food thermometer with hot, soapy water before and after every use! Imagine you stick the thermometer into meat that is under cooked and bacteria clings to the thermometer. Then later you stick the thermometer into meat properly cooked but now you've reinserted the bacteria!

Cross contamination from bacteria can also occur if you put cooked meat back onto the plate that held the raw meat. I saw one friend rightly freak out after carefully cooking chicken on the grill, another person then started to place raw meat on the grill right next to his chicken. My friend knew the risk of cross contamination.
Raw meat can contaminate everything it touches including your hands! Be sure to wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds after handling uncooked meat.

Bottom Line

While watching a cooking competition show for professional chefs, two contestants were challenged to cook filet mignon rare, medium and well done for three judges. I was surprised to see they used thermometers to measure the degree of doneness. I thought "real" professionals could tell by the firmness of the meat.

So I learned that thermometers were not just for safety but also for cooking food "just right".

New Rules for Pork

(Lisa) “I’m going to become a vegetarian”
(Homer) “Does that mean you’re not going to eat any pork?”
“Yes”
“Bacon?”
“Yes Dad”
“Ham?”
“Dad all those meats come from the same animal”
“Right Lisa, some wonderful, magical animal!”
- The Simpsons

I love a juicy pork chop but I've given up ordering chops at restaurants. They come out dry as leather almost every time. The reason for this is trichinosis, a parasitic disease caused by eating roundworm larvae in undercooked meat. This used to be quite common and some hypothesize that it's the reason behind the Jewish Kosher law forbidding pork. But today Trichinosis is no longer a problem in commercially grown pork and hasn't been for years. So the USDA has issued new guidelines saying that it's OK to eat pork that is still pink and it's OK to cook it to 145 F instead of 160 F as previously recommended.

"We found it was perfectly acceptable and that 160 was probably overkill," says Elisabeth Hagen, USDA's undersecretary for food safety.

The new guidelines focus on killing Salmonella which, sadly, is far too common in foods today like eggs and spinach. Cook meat to "145 for all whole cuts of red meat, 160 for ground red meat and 165 for poultry". When your whole cut of meat reaches 145 degrees, let it sit for three minutes the USDA recommends. The external temperature will be higher and will continue to cook the center for added safety without overcooking.

The 160 F is needed to kill bacteria like Salmonella that reside on the outside of the meat. Usually an internal temperature of 145 indicates that the outside has reached 160. When meat is ground, like hamburger, the bacteria can get mixed into the center and so every part of the meat must reach 160 (or 165 for chicken since Salmonella is more prevalent in poultry).

Bottom Line

Old habits can be hard to kick but I'm looking forward to juicer pork roast and chops.

Dirty Foods

“The more serious the illness, the more important it is for you to fight back, mobilizing all your resources-spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical.”
- Norman Cousins

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 200,000 Americans experience food poisoning every day. This number could be as high as 800,000, according to Philip Tierno, author of The Secret Life of Germs. "Everyone in this country will get sick at least once this year from a foodborne virus, bacteria, or toxin," he says. But we may not know it and blame the mild symptoms—nausea, diarrhea, cramping—to a stomach flu.

Where do these germs come from? MensHealth.com identifies the “10 Dirtiest Foods.”  I’ll cover some highlights but be sure to read the entire article for all the details.

1. Chicken: Don’t be fooled by commercials of Perdue chickens enjoying a good life. Most chickens are raised in very dirty coops under crowded conditions. As a result, one in 10 chickens carry germs that can make you ill. To protect yourself
- Buy free range chickens which are raised (supposedly) in cleaner environments
- Do not wash chickens or chicken parts in the sink. This spreads the germs to anything that touches the sink. Instead put the chicken directly into a pan/pot and let heat kill the germs.
- Chicken should be cooked to a temperature of 180°F. Use a thermometer – don’t trust the color of juice when pricked.
- If the chicken touched a cutting board, clean the board and knife with a mild, diluted bleach solution.

2. Eggs: pasteurization has reduced the risk of dirty eggs to 1 in 200,000. But given the millions of eggs consumed in America, eggs sicken an estimated 660,000 people annually and kill 300.
- Only buy pasteurized eggs.
- Never use a cracked egg in a carton.
- Store eggs in the coldest part of your fridge (not in the fridge door).
- Wash your hands after handling eggs.
- Cook eggs to 160°F

3. Hamburger: In one USDA test, 53% of the ground chuck examined was infected with Clostridium perfringens which can cause illness.
- Buy beef that is "treated by irradiation" to kill germs
- 1 Tbsp. of Fresh oregano can kill E. coli in one pound of beef
- Cook beef to 160°F

4. Fresh fruit – because most fruit is eaten raw, any germs on the outside will not be killed by cooking. For example, Cantaloupe grows on the ground and has a netted exterior that makes it easy for Salmonella to sneak on; and once on it's hard to clean off.
- Clean the exterior of all fruits prior to eating. Wash your hands afterwards.
- Washing fruits will also remove any pesticides that were sprayed on.

5. Fresh vegetables : my mother is paranoid about washing lettuce. She grew up on a farm and has seen how dirty field conditions are for the produce and the workers. You also want to wash spinach and scallions thoroughly..
- "Just because something is wrapped in cellophane doesn't mean it's free of pathogens." Don’t be lulled by claims of being "triple washed."

6. Deli Meats: cold cuts have been labeled "high risk" of causing listeriosis by a joint team of researchers from the USDA, FDA, and CDC. The Listeria germ grows rapidly on cut meat even with ideal refrigeration; and then the cold cut is eaten without further cooking. The most likely source of Listeria-contaminated cold cuts is the deli slicer. Without regular cleaning, the blade can transfer bacteria from roast beef to turkey to pastrami and back.
- Toss any meat that is a week old
- Slather on the mustard. Researchers found that mustard killed off 90 percent of three potent pathogens—Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella—within 2 hours.

Bottom Line

We like to think the food we buy is clean but the truth is that it’s not. The advice above will help prevent some common sources of illness.

Stinky Eggs

“I have met a lot of hardboiled eggs in my time, but you're twenty minutes.” - Oscar Wilde

My wife loves hardboiled eggs but they stink-up the refrigerator with a sulfur smell for a day or more after cooking. I did some research and found two sites that say the smell is most likely from overcooking the eggs.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006021409626

http://hubpages.com/hub/Easy-Home-Egg-Freshness-Test-and-How-to-Boil-Eggs-that-Dont-Smell-Eggy

First check is if your eggs are too old. Eggs in the refrigerator can be stored safely for weeks but each egg is losing moisture through its shell, at the rate of about 5 milligrams of liquid per day. As the moisture escapes the shell, a small air pocket at the base of the egg grows. This provides an easy test for freshness: eggs that float in water are very old and should not be eaten. The quicker an egg sinks, the fresher it is.

If you eggs are fresh but still produce a sulfurous smell when hard boiled then you've overcooked them. Rapidly boiling water will overcook the white part of the egg before the yolks are completely set. Rapid boiling can also crack the shells. So the suggested technique for making hard boiled eggs is:

* Place eggs in pot of cold water, single layer, with an inch of water covering
* Heat just till boiling (let the eggs warm up slowly)
* Start your timer.
* Gently simmer your eggs at about 90 degrees. Some cooks say cover the pot and remove it from the burner.
* Eggs are solid at 13-17 minutes depending on the size of the egg (http://www.ochef.com/655.htm)
* Do NOT cook for longer than this.
* Stop the cooking process by removing the eggs from the pot and plunge them in cold water or place them briefly under cold running water. This is VERY important.

Get crackin'.

Bottom Line

Eggs are high in nutrients -- a very good source of selenium, iodine, and vitamin B2 and a good source of protein, molybdenum, phosphorous, vitamin B5, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. There are 78 Calories, 2 Weight Watchers points in one hard-boiled egg.

The bad: Eggs are high in Saturated Fat, and the yolks are very high in Cholesterol. The MayoClinic recommends just one egg a day if you eat the yolk.

Hamburger Recall

“What good does it do to sit at the counter when you cannot afford a hamburger?"
- Martin Luther King, Jr

I'm dismayed by the number of recalls I see for unsafe products and food. The latest to catch my eye is tons of hamburger meat processed in Pennsylvania. Consumerist.com has the details:

A few tons of ground beef from a meat processor in Pennsylvania have been recalled over fear of possible E. coli contamination. As of early Monday morning, the only retail outlets identified as possibly having received the ground beef were BJ's Wholesale clubs in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

Since the recalled beef has been repackaged and rebranded it will be tricky to identify. Hopefully the repackaging included the "use/freeze by" date of "07/01/10," and the product code "W69032." Although the use by date has passed, the USDA is concerned that some customers may still have the tainted meat sitting in their freezer.

Bottom Line

See the Consumerist article for a list of stores impacted.

Power Outage

“I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge.”
- humorist Spike Milligan

When the power goes out, a refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if UNOPENED. A full freezer will hold the temperature for up to two days if the door remains CLOSED (24 hours if the freezer is only half full).

More than 250 diseases can be caused by bacteria found in contaminated food. After a long outage, you can NOT rely on appearance or odor for food safety. Never taste food to determine if it’s safe use a food thermometer instead. Discard all perishable foods (meat, milk, soft cheeses, cooked leftovers) that have been above 40°F for 2 hours. Discard items that have come into contact with raw meat juices. If frozen food still contains ice crystals or is below 40 °F, it is safe to refreeze; otherwise toss it.

You can help preserve your food by moving any item you must use (like milk or soda for the children) into a cooler with ice. Then wrap tape or rope around your fridge and freezer to keep it closed from prying young fingers.

Bottom Line

For a list of foods and which are "safe" or not when warm, check out http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp

Another good site is http://www.uri.edu/ce/ceec/food/factsheets/powerout.html

If you don't have a food thermometer, then keep two ice cubes in a bag on a freezer shelf. If the ice has completely melted when the power returns, you can be pretty sure the food is not safe to keep.

Modern Farming

“As the farmer who won the lottery said when asked what he was going to do with his winnings "Keep farming until it's all gone” - unknown

Farming is a dirty business. Not dirty as in illegal but muddy, messy, hot, stinky, etc.

My paternal grandmother was raised on a farm and hated it. She couldn’t wait to leave. My maternal grandparents were dairy farmers and their son (my uncle) carried on the family tradition. (My mother married a serviceman and left farming forever.) My cousins all fled the farm as soon as they could and got city jobs. But not so long ago one cousin returned and bought my grandparents farm after they had passed away. Now her husband raises hogs and the kids are in 4-H.

So why the history? Years ago I read and loved Michael Pollan book, The Omnivore's Dilemma about the horrible things done to mass-produce food. Recently I learned about a rebuttal by a working farmer, The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-intellectuals. I recommend it highly, also.

One shot fired against modern farmers is the claim that over crowding and “unhealthy” conditions have led to an increase in food illnesses like the tainted spinach last year. But one writer disagrees with A Food Elitist Strikes Back. He writes,

So how big a problem is foodborne illness? In 2000, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that "foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year." That sounds pretty bad. But let's give those numbers a bit of context. In 1900, six years before Upton Sinclair wrote his great muckraking book, The Jungle, about the filthy conditions in the meatpacking industry, the death rate from gastritis, duodentitis, enteritis, and colitis was 142.7 people per 100,000 [this equals nearly 110,000 deaths with a 1900 population of 76 million]. It is likely that most people experienced bouts of intestinal distress several times a year. Today, accepting CDC calculations of 5000 deaths per year implies a hundred-fold reduction, to just 1.4 deaths per 100,000 people. Additional good news is that the incidence of many foodborne illnesses continues to decline according to the CDC's FoodNet surveillance network established in 1996. In its 2005 report, the CDC found that the incidence of O157:H76 infections had fallen by 29 percent from the 1996-98 level.

… Also during the 20th century, the rise of national and regional grocery chains and industrial food processors saw dramatic improvements in overall food safety.

Bottom Line

It can be very difficult to know the truth based on news headlines. I saw two odd statements on the web today – “Pigs kill more people than sharks” and “Diarrhea kills more people in India than Swine flu”. Neither is what you’d expect based on news, TV, movies, etc. In India there was a riot caused by the first Swine flu death there. But no one is rioting over diarrhea.

Likewise food recalls make for good news stories. “Watch our report or you may die.” One gets the impression that bad food is everywhere – peanut butter, spinach, hamburger, etc. So it’s nice to have an historical perspective and learn that food deaths are down by a factor of 100 since 1900. We are doing something right! Yet TV news shows senators and the president calling the FDA a failure that must be changed. But perhaps they just don’t know the all the facts.

Artificial Ingredients

"I appreciate the additional additives and preservatives that help sell a project, but I'm sticking to what works best for me. I gotta sell the album live on stage and make people believe in the songs.”-Busta Rhymes

Have you ever looked at the ingredients list of a food product and wondered why it contained so many unpronounceable chemicals? They are there for color, for texture, for artificial flavor, or for extending the lifespan of the product. Reasons that help company sell the food and make money. These chemicals are rarely there for your health.

For a description of 35 common additives, check out The Ultimate Food Additive Glossary at Eat This, Not That.

Bottom Line

Avoid products with dozens of ingredients. Simple is healthier. However this does mean that your food will have a shorter shelf life and/or require refrigeration. Or that oil may separate and need to be stirred back in (like natural peanut butter). But this is a small price to pay to avoid chemical additives.

Are Forzen Meals Safe?

Generally speaking, I think it is fair to say that I am a friend to the creatures of the earth when I am not busy eating them or wearing them. — John Hodgman

From the Consumerist.com, Food Companies: Our Food Probably Isn't Safe Enough For Your Microwave. Good Luck!

As the food supply chain gets longer and harder to control — food companies are Basically giving up and placing the responsibility for food safety on you, the consumer. In fact, one food giant, General Mills, has essentially conceded that cooking their food in a microwave isn't good enough.

According to the New York Times,

General Mills, which recalled about five million frozen pizzas in 2007 after an E. coli outbreak, now advises consumers to avoid microwaves and cook only with conventional ovens. … [The problem is that] the supply chain for ingredients in processed foods - from flavorings to flour to fruits and vegetables - is becoming more complex and global as the drive to keep food costs down intensifies. As a result, almost every element, not just red meat and poultry, is now a potential carrier of pathogens, government and industry officials concede."

In 2007 over 15,000 people became sick eating ConAgra frozen chicken pot pies. ConAgra was never able to determine which of the many ingredients caused the outbreak.

Bottom Line

In our brave new world of global sluppy and distribution, one thing we've lost is the food safety Americas used to enjoy in the 20th century. I'll have to begin seriously again washing apples and treating all foods as "dangerous" until cleaned or cooked thoroughly.