| Food safety budget leaves a bad taste
In just the first two months of 2007, more than two dozen food safety alerts have been issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. One of those warnings, about peanut butter contaminated with salmonella that has sickened more than 300 people, got wide media attention. Others slipped by with little publicity, including: California cantaloupes (salmonella); processed green bean casserole (Listeria); egg-free pasta (containing eggs, a problem if you're allergic); Little Debbie Nutty Bars (metal particles); imported herring (uneviscerated, posing botulism risk). Or this one, Earth's Best Organic 2 Apple Peach Barley Wholesome Breakfast Baby Food. Neither wholesome nor fit for babies, it could cause botulism, the FDA warned. While that partial list is admittedly unappetizing (details and other warnings available at www.fda.gov), it illustrates a growing problem with the safety of our food.
Carnivores, Rejoice!
When in doubt, go for what you know — and that would be kebab if you're talking about the restaurant scene. No matter how much gastronomes and food critics alike rave about the sumptuous new cuisines our capital has successfully integrated over the past two decades or so, that juicy sobaa (finger, literally) of kofta still holds a special place in our hearts. My brother-in-law once confided earnestly, “My respect for kofta is up there with that of my mother and father." In black and white movies, it was also a celebratory treat, a must after a new job, a raise or a deal pulled off. With my first paycheck, I myself, like my father before me, treated the family to a kebab meal. Not so fortunately for Cairenes, though, the best kebab houses seem to have made their home in the shabby Bahari district of Alexandria.
What nudists, Schlitz beer and vitamin D have in common
Who would have thought that drinking too much Schlitz beer, years ago, would have not only gotten you drunk, according to Southbury chiropractor Dr. James Prado, but may have overdosed you on vitamin D? "In the late 1800s to early 1900s, they started vitamin D supplementation in foods to prevent rickets (a bone disease) in children," says Prado. "It wasn't really regulated, so they put too much in certain foods -- not only in milk but in things as varied as bread, hot dogs, soda and Schlitz beer. Then, they cut back on supplementation and now, most people are deficient. It's epidemic right now because we're all indoors or wearing sunscreen outdoors." Vitamin D is necessary for maintaining proper calcium metabolism -- regulating calcium balance in our bodies. "The majority of the vitamin D we get comes from sunlight," Prado said.
Clamped but worth it
I was there. And it was great to be there. Not even the pain of finding my car clamped when I came out could dampen a great day. An extra 100 was a small price to pay for a memory like that. I will never forget Ireland v England in Croke Park last Saturday. It was a very emotional day, too. I was proud to be involved, and also proud to be a GAA man on that famous day. I have never heard Amhran na bhFiann sung with such gusto. It was incredible. But the respect that was shown to God Save The Queen was also something special. It made the hairs stand on the back of my head. There was a very strong sense among the attendance of being witness to and part of something historic. Rugby people I met were extremely complimentary about Croke Park, and I believe the decision to open up Croke Park has enhanced not diminished its status as a sporting arena.
New York Times Restaurant Critic Frank Bruni Comes Out?
New York Times chief restaurant critic Frank Bruni's review of Robert's Steakhouse at the Penthouse Executive Club, which offers female strippers in addition to what Bruni says are some fine steaks, reveals something about Bruni many have suspected and speculated about, but according to some food bloggers has never been listed on the menu until now. Bruni's review is peppered with passages like this which describes his entrance with three apparently like-minded friends: "We were strangers to such pulchritudinous territory, less susceptible to the scenery than other men might be, more aroused by the side dishes than the sideshow: underdressed, overexposed young women in the vestibule, by the coat check, at the top of the red-carpeted stairs up to the restaurant, on the stage that many of the restaurant's tables overlook." And if there was any interest in strip, it was of the steak variety: "She said she was running low on cabernet.
Controversy over the Sale of Beer at Ozark Festival
Ozark city leaders are trying to bring a taste of the "big easy" to the wiregrass. Next month, the city is hosting a crawdad festival, where people will be able to enjoy Cajun food and music. But the festival is causing some controversy. Along with all the Cajun food that will be offered. Beer will also be sold. Now anti-alcohol advocates are rallying together to convince people not to attend unless city leaders ban the sale of alcohol at the festival. "We're trying to make an authentic Cajun style festival. The beer goes along with the crawdad and the other Cajun food that we are going to have," said Mickey Snell, with the Ozark Leisure Services Department. Some people disagree and say beer should not be sold at next month's Crawdad Festival in Ozark, which will be held at Eagle Stadium behind the Ozark Civic Center.
Salmonella behind peanut-butter poisoning found
WASHINGTON - Federal inspectors found the strain of salmonella behind a recent food-poisoning outbreak at the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant that made the tainted peanut butter, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. Beyond the Sylvester, Ga., plant, the strain also has been isolated from open jars of the company's peanut butter and some of the 370 people who have fallen ill in the outbreak, the FDA said. ConAgra on Feb. 14 recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at the Georgia plant after federal health officials linked the product to an outbreak that began in August. The recall now includes all such products made since December 2005, the FDA said. "The fact that FDA found salmonella in the plant environment further suggests that the contamination likely took place prior to the product reaching consumers," the agency said in a statement.
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