Entries tagged with 'food safety'
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According to the New York Times, raw tuna lovers were undeterred by the news that some of their favorite sushi bars were serving tuna containing what some would construe as unhealthy levels of mercury. As we pointed out yesterday, the story in yesterday's paper raised many more questions than answers. I think consumers are getting hip to the fact that virtually every food can be shown to be harmful if consumed in excess. Common sense will rule the day, I hope. Apparently it did yesterday. I called the kitchen at Esca, which sells many different kinds of tuna in many forms, and I got this report:...
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Adding to the confusion around what to order at the sushi bar if you are concerned about food safety (and sustainability), the New York Times' investigation of mercury levels in tuna served in Manhattan restaurants raises many more questions than it answers. The Times reports that 5 of 20 samples tested had mercury levels so high "that a diet of six pieces a week would exceed accepted safety levels. This sounds like scary and bad news for restaurateurs and sushi lovers. Statistically speaking, how relevant are these findings? There has not been much research into the impact of high mercury consumption in adults, so how scared should we be? How variable are mercury levels from fish to fish? Do mercury...
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A Slovenian woman who found a mouse foot in a jar of pickles was told it was completely normal. [via Consumerist]...
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According to the New York Times, "China and the United States, seeking to ease the furor over the safety of food exports, signed an agreement today calling for a greater United States role in certifying and inspecting Chinese food exports, including an increased presence of American officials at Chinese production plants."...
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Don't know if you should eat that tuna sandwich that has been sitting out all day? What about those potatoes that are growing sprouts? Or the 9-year-old Spam found in the trunk of your car? Macbebekin rounds up the best, "Is this safe to eat?" questions from Ask Metafilter in these two entries....
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Frozen pizzas recalled: Some Jeno's and Totino's meat-topped pizzas may be contaminated with E. coli. The recall covers frozen meat pizzas produced on or before Oct. 30. Click through for full list. [dailypress.com] Food stamp program to get $1 billion more in farm bill: Savings from other areas in the agriculture bill freed up money to further fund the program as well as put $5 billion toward public nutrition through 2012. [Reuters] Portuguese takes first prize at molecular gastronomy competition: The annual Rencontres Sciences, Art & Cuisine event in Paris awarded first place to a test tube containing "a delicate and edible suspension of freeze-dried raspberry, gold chips, chopped mint leaves, and whole raspberries obtained with concentration gradients of...
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"Chef Tell," early TV chef, dead at 63: Paul Erhardt was one of America's first and best-known telechefs. "...it was his persona as the jolly chef with an impenetrable German accent, sharp knifework, cutting wit and easy recipes that made him an indelible fixture of TV pop culture, from regular appearances on Regis and Kathie Lee to comedy spots on Saturday Night Live." [Philadelphia Inquirer] Nestle to focus on "extreme food": The company plans to boost its lines of food aimed at diabetics, cancer patients, athletes, infants. "We deal with consumers at the extreme: extremely old, extremely young, extremely frail, or extremely fit," a Nestle executive said. [Reuters] Chinese arrest 774 in food scandal: Though the government is touting...
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Fast food eaters fatter than others: Is this really news? A study finds that people who eat several fast-food meals a week are significantly heavier than those who don't eat fast food very often. [USA Today] Declining sales for causal dining restaurants: "Fifty-four percent of Americans said they would eat out at restaurants less over the next three months, according to a survey of 1,000 people by RBC Capital Markets. And if they do, many will try cheaper options such as McDonald’s." [Detroit Free Press] Suppressing thoughts about your food cravings may make you eat more: In a recent study, women who tried to stop thinking about chocolate ate 50 percent more than those who were encouraged to talk...
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I'm not usually all that skittish when it comes to food safety (I do stay away from frozen boxed hamburger on principle), but when I read in the New York Times about people very likely contracting salmonella from eating frozen food that hadn't been microwaved long enough, I got very scared. According to the story, a 19-month-old baby girl became "so violently ill after eating a Banquet chicken pot pie she passed out and had a seizure, a 104-degree fever, and nearly constant diarrhea" (she had diarrhea for six weeks before she fully recovered). She was not alone. "According to the Centers for Disease Control," the story continues, "165 people in 31 states have become ill with the same strain...
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And then they came for the pot pies: ConAgra plant in Missouri shuts down after possible link to 139 salmonella cases in 30 states. Check your freezers, folks. ConAgra advises against eating "Banquet brand turkey and chicken pot pies as well as generic-store brand pot-pie products bearing the number 'P-9' on the side of the package." [The Canadian Press] U.S. considering food aid to North Korea: "Pyongyang has positively responded to a U.S. plan to send monitors to ensure the food reaches the neediest, [newspaper Chosun Ilbo] said, adding that Washington was considering other aid such as generators for hospitals." [Agence France-Presse] Alice Waters appears on Today. With video. [MSNBC] An act of Congress: In a look at food-stamp...
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