Thank goodness the baseball post season begins today. Over the course of the next three weeks I can sit and watch great ballgames while sinking into a mindless stupor.
Headline today: Health Care Law, What Happens On October 1st? And What It Means To You.
Today is September 30th, think it's time to check it out?
Saturday night I watched "Lincoln" , a very interesting, entertaining and educational film set in 1845. The country was at war. Politicians were holding to party lines. Equal rights for all was a pipe dream. Things sure have changed in 148 years.
By now I hope you know Wanda and I like to cruise (and I don't mean looking for pick-ups in bars). While there is an abundance of edible delights aboard the ship we are very selective. A light breakfast and lunch, a simple dinner and lots and lots of desserts. I love desserts. Now it seems I should be much more careful about what I eat.
Food That Can KILL (or make you very sick).
GREENS: Do you like fresh salad? Do you eat healthy? If you use lettuce, escarole, endive, spinach, cabbage, kale, arugula (not the cookies) and chard, watch out. According to the CDC they caused 262 outbreaks involving 8,836 reported cases of illness between 1998 and 2008. Contamination can come from manure, dirty water rinses, or unwashed hands.
EGGS: Linked to at least 138 outbreaks since 1998, most often due to Salmonella bacteria (we had a cat named Samminella). Always cook your eggs, avoid eating any products containing raw eggs and refrigerate eggs before using them (this must be info for dummy's).
MEAT: Has caused at least 33,000 illnesses with chicken number one and ground beef second. Always treat raw meat as if contaminated.
TUNA: Bad tuna can cause flushing (I assume this means your skin not the toilet) headaches, and cramps. S. Klein, an attorney with the Center for Science in the Public Interest says, "You just can't cook out all the things wrong with the food supply right now." Don't know about you but this news has me feeling pretty secure.
OYSTERS: In 1985 I vacationed in New Orleans. I found a bar that sold oysters for a quarter and beer for a buck. I ate there every day. I like oysters but may have consumed my last one. Bacteria called Vibro vulnificus has got to be awful.
POTATOES: Danger may be lurking in the potato salad, especially if it's prepared at a restaurant or deli. Cross contamination is likely the source of potato-related outbreaks of illness from germs like Listeria, Shigella, E. coli, and Salmonella (never had a cat named Listeria or Shigella).
CHEESE: Like potato salad; soft cheeses, such as feta, Brie, Camembert, and Mexican style cheese can also be cross contaminated. Most people that get sick from cheese do so from products consumed at home. Damn, we just bought a big wheel of Brie at Costco.
ICE CREAM: In 1994 a batch of ice cream premix was transported in a truck that had carried non pasteurized eggs. Salmonella sickened 224,000 people. Talk about winning the lottery.
TOMATOES: Do not allow bacteria to grow and multiply. Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with hot water and soap (I sing two versus of the happy birthday song) before AND after preparing fresh produce. Wash fruits and veggies just before eating, cutting, or cooking, even if you plan to peel it before eating. Bananas too?
SPROUTS: Highly vulnerable to bacterial contamination the seeds sprout in warm, moist conditions. "It's like a spa for bacteria," says S. Klein. So, remember, always saute your sprouts before adding them to anything. Doesn't saute your sprouts sound sexy?
BERRIES: Another common source of food poisoning is berries, including strawberries, raspberries, (I just realized I have been mispronouncing these my entire life....they are not razz but rasp-berries) and blackberries.
PEANUT BUTTER: Just last year 42 people in 20 states were sickened from peanut butter tainted with Salmonella. This type of contamination occurs during processing so the best we can do is avoid the product or watch closely for recall notices. Or. consider shopping at retailers who notify you if you buy a product that is later subject to recall.
"Hello, this is George, the manager at Safeway. Am I speaking to Mrs. Teasdale? I am? Good. Have you made cookies or sandwiches with the peanut butter you bought here six months ago? Oh, Sorry to hear that."
MELONS: In 2012, 261 people were infected after eating cantaloupe grown on a farm in Indiana. Three of those people died. The year before, 147 people were sickened and 33 died, after eating cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria. Always scrub the surface of melons using a stiff brush and running water. When you cut the melon you're not bringing "stuff" from the outside right down into the interior.
RAW MILK: I'm going to skip this one. I doubt I have many raw milk drinking readers.
This list is very upsetting, is there nothing we can eat?
The new food (drum roll please) is BUGS. But for now, only if you're really, really poor.
Aspire, a new start-up was recently awarded the 2013 Hult Prize and its $1 million capitol investment to develop tasty insect based foods. There's lots of protein in crickets and worms.
Aspire intends to feed 21 million people with its insect products over the next five years, themselves included. "I like the worms, the silk worms," said marketing chief McGill University student Shobatta Soor. "The chapullines, the grasshoppers, if you tried them, you'll know exactly what I mean."
And I thought the world was going to the dogs.
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