Filtering by Tag: Bacillus cereus

Food Safety Talk 190: Once My Taste Went Weird (with Daniel Jalkut)

Added on August 15, 2019 by Don Schaffner.

Today the guys were joined by software developer Daniel Jalkut for a wide ranging discussion on food safety including whether the inside leaves of a head of lettuce need to be washed, whether something can ever be 100% safe, the importance of Mann's Assumption, how what people see in the grocery store informs their perception of food safety, the risks of microorganisms on the outside of food packages, food safety culture, the risks from reheated rice, and a fascinating and deep dive into pine mouth and its causes. The show ends with a discussion about the possibilities of reconditioning a wooden cutting board of unknown origins.

Food Safety Talk 174: No Borscht Collusion

Added on January 30, 2019 by Don Schaffner.

The show starts with a discussion of Ben’s vocal fry, which leads to an interesting digression regarding fried fish. Ben follows up with a discussion about emptying his inbox and what sparks joy. This leads to a semi-deep dive on productivity before a short segment on television recommendations. Food safety talk begins with discussion about flour safety, which moves on to a viral video on leftover pasta safety tied to food poisoning incident from more than a decade ago. There is a discussion about the safety of fast food left out of temperature control for several hours before the guys move on to listener feedback. Listener feedback covers handling wedding leftovers, canning borscht, and the benefits using aseptic technique when pouring milk. Listener feedback is interrupted by more discussion of food safety in the news, and a recipe for overnight cooking, and crockpot safety. Ben discusses pet food safety, before returning to listener questions on the proper sanitary technique for disinfecting a spatula left behind the stove for a year, and confusing deli meat labels, before the show ends with a brief chat about microbiological risks from sinks and how they are spread. Link so you can follow along at home are shown below:

Food Safety Talk 122: Isn't that Ampersand?

Added on March 24, 2017 by Don Schaffner.

This episode opens with an interesting discovery about the messages app then quickly veers into popular culture, and almost as quickly back to food safety. Food safety talk on rice and Bacillus cereus is followed by a discussion of the Salmonella in truffle oil outbreak at Fig & Olive restaurants. The discussion then turns to recalls and when to go public. A recent Listeria recall linked to cheese made from pasteurized milk leads to talk about raw milk, followed by a brief segue into North Carolina life, and then on to a recent Lysol ad, and the five second rule. The show wraps up with a discussion of recipe safety, followed by what Ben thinks might be the best after dark ever.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

Food Safety Talk 74: Lait de Poo

Added on April 3, 2015 by Don Schaffner.

Don and Ben start the show by talking about the drastic weather in Raleigh, NC and Freehold, NJ. They quickly changed topics to beverage preferences, including Starbucks and eggnog. Ben notes he is not a fan of eggnog although his grandparents used to drink consistently. Ben also reminisces about other old-timey eating habits including pickled beets, and buttermilk. Don will stick with eggnog plus whiskey during the holiday season. Ben shared his excitement about a Sloan concert that he recently attended with his wife. Ben also mentioned a thoughtful gift that he received from his wife: a poet (Matthew) wrote a poem for Ben on the topic of barf and Ben was very thrilled. Don also shared his excitement as well as he recently celebrated his birthday, and Merlin gave him a shout out on his podcast.

Twenty minutes in, food safety talk officially began and Ben commented on a blog post where the interviewed the research chief of ABC Research laboratories. She was interviewed about raw honey and recommended honey pasteurization to prevent infant botulism. Ben disagreed with her statement, and noted that pasteurization does not destroy the spores present in honey. Don supported Ben and added that pasteurization is even less effective in low water activity foods like peanut butter or honey. According to this fact sheet, honey is pasteurized to reduce the likelihood of fermentation and crystallization over time.

Don turned the topic to Ebola in the US, and mentioned Peter Sandman’s post on The public health establishment and the quarantine debate. Sandman complained about how the US handled the Ebola issue. Ben agreed with some (not all) of the post and concluded that risk talk should always be frank.

From Ebola the topic turned to Hepatitis E as an emerging foodborne disease. A UK article stated, 1 in 10 sausage carries the risk of Hepatitis E, which seems high to Ben and Don. Don thought that Hepatitis E in the UK might be a worker sanitation issue. Both guys were intrigued by the apparent low risk of Hepatitis E in the US. Peer reviewed research published in Epidemiology and Infection states that Hepatitis E is associated with unprocessed sausage, and 90% of British pigs have exposed to Hepatitis E and produce antibodies. Cooking suggestion including cooking for 20 min at 70 °C or better yet, using a thermometer.

Don mentioned a recent contact by a local company asking about safe practices for cooked brown rice preparation. Although the company had a detailed and meticulous workflow, additional information (like product time and temperature) would be needed to insure control of Bacillus cereus, according to Ben.

The show concluded with talk about the Month-Long Poop Cruise, the verdict in the Peanut Corporation of America case and the food safety mess in Pro Sports.