FitSugar

Food Section Sampler - Sept. 15, 2010

YumSugar — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:30:28 PDT

A peek at The French Laundry's intense kitchen culture. - San Francisco Chronicle
The Iowa egg producer linked to the recent salmonella outbreak tested positive for the same bacteria in 2008. - New York Times
In the last couple of years, néo-bistrots have offered Parisian cuisine at an affordable price. - Wall Street Journal
Should food trucks have to carry health letter grades, too? - Los Angeles Times
Fermentation enthusiasts are encouraging eaters to embrace friendly bacteria in their food. - Washington Post
Meet NoOodle, a pasta with no calories, no carbs, and no fat. - Chicago Tribune
Inside Ferran Adrià's new Harvard class, Science and Cooking. - Boston Globe

Source: Flickr User arnold | inuyaki

Yummy Links: From Cherry Tomatoes to Eggs

partysugar — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:42:39 PDT

A cool trick for cutting cherry tomatoes. - Huffington Post Food
Why you should be drinking Spanish white wines. - Slate
How come so many chefs' twitter accounts are horribly boring? - Time
An homage to the cooking shows of the past. - Grub Street SF
How to make your own tonic water. - Chow
Must make: mussels in spicy tomato sauce. - Serious Eats
After taking a hiatus, competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi is back in business. - Eater
Why there is salmonella in your eggs. - Eatocracy

Salmonella Egg Scare Makes Tasting Cookie Dough a No No?

LilSugar — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:00:30 PDT

Half a billion eggs have been recalled, but kids love licking the brownie batter more than they like eating the cooked treats. While stealing tastes of cookie dough and cake mix may be part of the baking ritual in some households, lots of moms are keeping their children's fingers away from the bowl because they are wary of the threat of salmonella posed by raw eggs. Salmonellosis is an illness that can cause diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and headache. Do you take precaution or let your kids live and lick a lil?

What Do You Know About Salmonella?

PetSugar — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:55:05 PDT

With recent recalls based on possible salmonella contamination, I wanted to test your knowledge on this dangerous disease. Remember, even though you're not eating the dog treats, just touching them and not washing your hands can put your human family at risk, too.

Symptoms sneak up on pets, and oftentimes once more serious ones appear, significant dehydration has already hurt your precious pal. Learn more about this infection and all sorts of symptoms for people and pets when taking this quiz!

Take the Quiz

Another Reason Not to Eat Junk: Pringles Recall

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:10:02 PST

As if junk food wasn't bad enough because of the high calorie content and unpronounceable ingredients, here's another reason to avoid it. Procter & Gamble has announced the recall of two flavors of Pringles: Restaurant Cravers Cheeseburger and Family Faves Taco Night. The culprit is the widely used flavor enhancer hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) made by Basic Food Flavors, Inc. Investigators found dirty equipment and poor drainage at the Las Vegas plant and smelly, standing pools of liquid where the HVP was made. What's even worse - the liquid tested positive for salmonella. Um . . . eww.

Pringles isn't the only food to worry about. Hot dogs, chili, stews, gravies, sauces, soups, salad dressings, and other snack foods also contain HVP made from this company. For a full list of products contained in this recall, check out FoodSafety.gov. Will you be tossing anything from your kitchen cabinets?

Do You Order Cocktails That Are Made With Raw Eggs?

partysugar — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:50:11 PST

The New York City Health Department recently told the Pegu Club that using raw eggs in cocktails is a health violation.

However, bartenders know that in some classic cocktails (like a Pisco sour), a raw egg is necessary to make the drink frothy.

Like most daring drinkers, I assume that the alcohol will kill any salmonella and often order beverages made with raw eggs. How about you?

Source: Flickr User twohelmetscooking

Alfalfa Sprouts Linked to Salmonella

FitSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:30:00 PDT

There have been many surprising foods linked to salmonella lately, including tainted peanut butter and pistachios. Now government health officials are encouraging people to avoid raw alfalfa sprouts, since they may be contaminated with a strain of salmonella. There have been 31 cases of illness reported since mid-March in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. Sickness came after people said they consumed raw alfalfa sprouts obtained at restaurants or bought from stores. Since the sprouts were grown in multiple states, the FDA says the seeds used to make the sprouts are contaminated.

So for now, I'd pass on the sprouts in your salad and on your sandwiches.

Source

Brace Yourself For a Bigger Pistachio Recall

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:30:00 PDT

It's amazing that tiny nuts could cause so much trouble. Last week Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. recalled more than two million pounds of roasted pistachios shipped since last Fall, and now the recall has been expanded to include all raw nuts and all roasted nuts from the producer's 2008 crop.

It's seen as a proactive move because there have been no confirmed illnesses, but health officials don't want to take any chances this time around and the FDA has indicated it will issue more sweeping decisions like this going forward. Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the FDA commented, "We’re going to try to stop people from getting sick in the first place, as opposed to waiting until we have illness and death before we take action."

Check the FDA website for its list of products affected by the recall, and if you don't see a pistachio-containing product that's in your pantry, don't eat it for a few weeks until there's more news about specific items. So far the list contains items such as trail mix, ice cream, and candy. Food safety first!

Source

Pistachios Subject of Newest Salmonella Scare

FitSugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:00:00 PDT

Nipping on the heels of the ongoing peanut butter salmonella outbreak is a new scare in tainted nuts, and this time salty fingers are being pointed at pistachios. Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. has recalled more than two million pounds of roasted pistachios shipped since last Fall, just fraction of the 55 million pounds processed by the company last year.

Because the nuts in question were shipped in bulk to wholesalers who repackaged the nuts for consumers, the effects of a pistachio-driven outbreak could be far-reaching. While growers aren't happy about the safety implications, the FDA recommends steering clear of any product containing pistachios until they have more information about the situation. That means avoiding everything from ice cream and cake mixes to trail mix and energy bars.

While eating pistachios is a decidedly delicious way to lower the LDL (bad) levels of cholesterol in your body, rely on other sources for improving heart health like olive oil and your morning oatmeal until there's more detailed news available.

Source

Pistachios: Salmonella's Latest Victim

YumSugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:35:37 PDT

Last night - only two months after a colossal peanut scare that led to a recall of more than 3,800 peanut products - the FDA recalled two million pounds of pistachios that have been distributed nationwide due to risk of a salmonella outbreak.

The new contamination concerns, which are not tied to the peanut products, were traced to pistachios grown by Setton Farms of Terra Bella, CA. One of Setton Farms' customers, Kraft Foods, alerted the FDA of its findings on March 24 after it discovered several strains of salmonella during routine analysis of its pistachio products. Packaged foods containing traces of the pistachios - from ice cream to boxed cakes to trail mix - have been pulled from shelves.Although so far there have been no reported illnesses and only a couple of consumer complaints, the FDA is advising customers to avoid eating pistachios until it confirms more details of the outbreak. Pistachio growers are not happy: "We hope the FDA comes out with a more refined statement about which pistachios to avoid. The vast majority of pistachios are not tainted," said Richard Matoian, executive director of California's Western Pistachio Association.

Considering President Obama just vowed to strengthen America's food safety system, I hope this issue gets addressed immediately. Until then, I plan to avoid nuts for the time being. What about you? Are you surprised to hear about another nut recall so soon?

Source