Do you know food safety rules for baking in the kitchen? You may know to handle eggs carefully and to bake cookie doughs and cake batters before eating them, but do you know why? With a new E. coli outbreak linked to cake mix, these rules are more important than ever. Many people know that raw eggs can contain pathogenic bacteria, and think that's why food safety experts say not to eat raw cookie dough and cake batter. But eggs are not the only safety issue when baking. As improbable as it seems, flour is a raw agricultural product and not only can it be contaminated with pathogens, it has caused several multistate food poisoning outbreaks in the past few years. All-purpose, cake flour, and bread flour are made from wheat, which is grown in fields. And like all foods grown … [Read more...]
Canada Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Eggs Ends With 70 Sick
The Canada Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs has ended with 70 sick in two provinces, according to Public Health Canada. A specific brand of eggs was not named in the outbreak investigation notice. The patient case count by province is: Newfoundland and Labrador (27), and Nova Scotia (43). Illness onset dates ranged from late October 2020 to mid-March 2021. Nineteen patients were hospitalized because they were so sick. The patient age range was from 2 to 98 years of age. Between October and December 2020, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued food recall warnings for a variety of eggs that wee sold in those two provinces. Some people who got sick reported exposure to the recalled eggs, but there were a number of patients who did not. The outbreak seems to be over, … [Read more...]
How Long Can You Store Easter Eggs After the Holiday?
Making and decorating hard cooked eggs for the Easter holiday is traditional. But how long can you store Easter eggs after the holiday? The answer is one week. Which means that this next Sunday, all of your hard cooked Easter eggs should be eaten or discarded. If you stored the eggs after peeling, they should be kept in a bowl of cold water. And change the water every day. Unfortunately, you can't freeze whole hard cooked eggs or they will be rubbery. You can remove and freeze the yolks if you want. Of course, that time frame assumes that you cooked the eggs to well done, refrigerated them within two hours of cooking, and stored them in a refrigerator at a temperature less than 40°F. And used food-grade dye to color the eggs. And that you didn't hide them directly on the ground … [Read more...]
Canada Salmonella Egg Outbreak Sickens 57 in Two Provinces
A Canada Salmonella egg outbreak has sickened at least 57 people in two provinces in that country, according to an outbreak investigation notice posted by Public Health Canada. Food recall warnings were issued for eggs sold in those provinces between October and December 2020. All of those eggs are past their use by dates, but more sources could be identified as the investigation processes. The patient case count by province is: Newfoundland and aerator (25) and Nova Scotia (32). Illness onset dates range from late October 2020 and late January 2021. Nineteen patients have been hospitalized because they are so sick, which is a high percentage for a Salmonella outbreak. The patient age range is between 2 and 98 years of age. Investigators have found that exposure to eggs is the … [Read more...]
Salmonella Potsdam Outbreak Ends With 7 Sick, No Information
According to the FDA's Core Outbreak Investigation Table, the recently announced Salmonella Potsdam outbreak has ended with seven people sick. We don't know what caused the illnesses, where those sickened live, if anyone was hospitalized or died, or the ages of the patients or their illness onset dates. The FDA has initiated traceback, has conducted on-site inspections, and has conducted sample collection and analysis. But no recall has been issued, no public health advisory has been issued, and no more information has been released. The FDA does state that "Outbreak investigations that do not result in specific, actionable steps for consumers may or may not conclusively identify a source or reveal any contributing factors." Salmonella Potsdam is a rare serotype of this pathogen. … [Read more...]
Again, Just Say No to Raw Dough During the Holidays
It's that time of the year again. People bake a lot during the holiday season, so it's time for another reminder: Just say no to raw dough. It's important that consumers not eat raw dough or batter of any kind unless the dough is made with pasteurized eggs and heat treated flour. Don't even taste a tiny amount. Those two ingredients can be contaminated with potentially deadly pathogens and in fact have caused many illnesses. Raw cookie dough and raw cake batter are the biggest culprits, but homemade play dough and play clay made with flour has also made children sick. Eggs are often contaminated with Salmonella bacteria; in fact, hens can carry the pathogen inside their ovaries. That means the eggs are contaminated on the inside so washing them won't help. And uncooked flour is a … [Read more...]
Hilly Acres Farm Eggs Recalled For Possible Salmonella Contamination
Hilly Acres Farm Eggs are being recalled in Canada for possible Salmonella contamination. These eggs were sold in Newfoundland and Labrador at the retail level. The recall notice states that "Consumers should not consume and distributors, retailers, and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals, and nursing homes should not serve, sell, or use the recalled products." No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this recall. The recalled Hilly Acres Farm Eggs were sold under two different brand names: Farmer John Eyking and Nova Eggs. The recalled products include Farmer John Eyking Large Size Eggs sold in 12 egg cartons. The UPC number on this product is 0 73557 00002 1 and the codes on the package are DEC 27 N38, JAN 3 N38, and JAN 10 … [Read more...]
Hilly Acres Farm Eggs Recalled in Canada for Possible Salmonella
Hilly Acres Farm Eggs are being recalled in Canada because they may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. The eggs were distributed at the retail level in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Consumers should not eat and distributors, retailers, and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes should not serve, sell or use these recalled eggs. No illnesses have been reported to the company to date in connection with this recall. You can see the long list of recalled products at the CFIA web site. The brand names that are part of this Hilly Acres Farm eggs recall include no name brand, generic, Farmer John Eyking, Eyking Delite, Compliments, Maritime Pride, Nova Eggs, Nova Eggs Eggsquisite, and Great Value. These products … [Read more...]
Pandemic Food Safety: Most Googled Recipes and Safety
We all know that during the coronavirus pandemic, more people are cooking at home out of necessity. Many people are cooking for themselves for the first time. And some of those people haven't been taught about food safety. CNBC's Make It section found the top 10 most-googled recipes during quarantine. And we are listing the food safety issues with some of those recipes. The top 10 recipes are for: banana bread, pancakes, chicken, pizza dough, brownie, Recette crepe, meatloaf, French toast, lasagna, and cheesecake. All of these recipes can make you sick if not prepared correctly. Baking Recipes The potential food safety issues with the baking recipes are with eggs and flour. Don't make any recipe that calls for eggs and isn't cooked or baked before eating. Eggs can be … [Read more...]
What You Need to Know About Salmonella and Eggs
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing more people to cook at home, many consumers need reminders about food safety. If you haven't cooked in a long time, you should know that there are some foods that are considered high risk and need to be handled with care. One of those foods is eggs, more specifically Salmonella and eggs. Many Salmonella outbreaks have been linked to raw and undercooked eggs. Eggs should be coked to a final temperature of 160°F, as measured with a reliable food thermometer. That means that sunny side up and over-easy eggs are not safe to eat, especially if anyone in your family is in a high risk group for food poisoning. Those groups, which have a higher rate of hospitalization and even death from bacterial infections, include young children, anyone over the … [Read more...]
