Restaurant shredded pork is associated with a Salmonella outbreak in the greater Toronto area in Ontario, Canada, according to a recall notice posted at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) web site. Illnesses associated with the consumption of these products are being investigated by the Ministry of Health in Ontario and Public Health Ontario, local public health units, and food safety partners. There is no word on the number of people sickened, the patient age range, illness onset dates, or the names of the restaurants. Neither Public Health Ontario or The Ministry of Health in Ontario have posted anything about this outbreak. The notice did state that the restaurants are serving the recalled products in Vietnamese/Asian meals in the greater Toronto area. Public health … [Read more...]
Learn Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures For Different Foods
As part of our series on helping beginning cooks learn about food safety during the coronavirus pandemic, the safe minimum cooking temperatures for many foods is critical. These risky foods have to be handled carefully and cooked thoroughly to avoid the risk of a serious foodborne illness. These foods include beef, pork, seafood, chicken, turkey, shellfish, and foods made with eggs. All of these foods have been linked to multistate food poisoning outbreaks in the past. When you handle these foods, make sure to avoid cross-contamination between them and foods that are eaten uncooked. Meat juices dripping on other foods in the fridge is a main source of contamination. Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures First of all, the only way to tell if these foods are safe to eat is by using … [Read more...]
Center For Food Safety Challenges New Swine Inspection System
Center for Food Safety (CFS) is challenging the USDA's new swine inspection program with a lawsuit filed earlier this month. That agency, along with Food & Water Watch, is suing the USDA, stating that new rules about pork safety inspection in slaughter plants are dangerous for employees, consumers, and the animals themselves. The New Swine Inspection System (NSIS) lets corporation employees inspect the carcasses themselves instead of using federal inspectors, and also surrenders federal control over removing contamination from carcasses "without any minimum training requirements for slaughter-plant employees," according to CFS. This is a reversal to the swine slaughter inspection system that was put in place in the United States in 1906, when the Pure Food and Drug Act was … [Read more...]
