Alfalfa Sprouts Will Kill You

I always remember when I first left the East Coast for California for college so many years ago (How long ago? Let's just say that I brought an electric typewriter with me). I was a stranger in a strange land but I was pleased to see that the sandwich shop I had walked into offered Pastrami. In my religion, you eat Pastrami on rye (or marble rye if you're feeling a little crazy), put a little mustard on it, and have it either hot or cold, and have a nice kosher pickle on the side. This is what I was expecting. Imagine my shock, then, as I was served a Pastrami sandwich with more sprouts on it than meat. As Colonel Kurtz liked to say "The horror. The horror. It really gets to me sometimes!"

So I really wasn't surprised to read that the FDA has issued a warning against eating raw alfalfa sprouts because of a salmonella outbreak.

Raw sprouts have been linked to several outbreaks of salmonella over the past two decades, FDA says. There have been 31 cases in six states since mid-March, and another 100 or so since February.

Anyway, I'm back on the East Coast now. Not a sprout in sight.

Pistachios = Death

Seems like pistachios are the source of a new salmonella outbreak. From the wires:

The company at the center of a nationwide pistachio recall says the salmonella contamination could have come from raw nuts during processing but not a human or animal source in its plant.

Lee Cohen, the production manager for Setton International Foods Inc., said Tuesday the company suspects roasted pistachios sold to Kraft Foods may have become mixed at Setton's plant with raw nuts that could have contained traces of the bacteria.

The pistachios were processed at central California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., which is in the corporate family of Setton International Foods Inc.

Meanwhile, Kraft expanded its recall to include any Planters and Back to Nature products that contain pistachios.

Health officials have warned people not to eat any products containing pistachios while they investigate.

Even when they get this thing under control, several issues remain for the FDA to address:

• It's kind of creepy eating green nuts


• I can't eat them when my fingernails are either too long or too short


• They're a lot of trouble for not much food


• I find using a nutcracker on a walnut to be a much more satisfying experience than prying open a pistachio with my fingernails

Kids sure do eat a lot of sugar!

I went to Cinderella's Pre-K class for the morning. I was there to read a story (The Guest by George Marshall) and try not to cause too much trouble.

Now I'm a firm believer that life needs some sugar to counter all the bitterness in the world, but I have to say that the quantity of the sweet stuff being consumed by the future leaders of America was just a bit out of hand.

At breakfast (free for all), the choices include Frosted Flakes and French toast with corn syrup (would it be that hard to get real maple syrup here in New England?). Luckily, I send Cinderella off to pick out a book while I'm picking out her breakfast, but do we really need to be handing out Frosted Flakes? They also have stacks of chocolate milk that they hand out at lunchtime.

At snack time, all the kids eat something packed from home. Cinderella gets raisins, a whole wheat roll with butter or jam, a stick of string cheese, or some fresh fruit. I also pack her some milk to drink. One or two of the other kids had something along those lines. All the rest had fruit rollups, Rice Krispy Treats, cookies (!), and juice (otherwise known as liquid sugar).

I wasn't able to stick around for lunch or the afternoon snack, but I figure it was more along the same lines.

By my estimate, the little munchkins must have ingested about 2 cups of sugar and/or corn sweetener apiece.

And then we worry about why they're all bouncing off the walls?

Just saying...

Scary Chinese Fortune Cookie

Not that they want anyone to get really worried, but the FDA has just ordered that all shipments of food products (for both humans and pets) must be tested first for melamine.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the FDA acted after 60 or so tests of Chinese candy and crackers tested positive for the additive, which has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children, and caused at least four deaths.

Melamine is a particularly nasty chemical substance that has many industrial uses, but is toxic to humans, especially infants and children. Food suppliers have been illegally using it as a cheap filler.

The New York Times reports that in addition to the previously reported White Rabbit candy, consumers are being urged to worry about breaded shrimp, dietary supplements, and protein powders and shakes.

Consumer advocates are pleased that their worrying is being heard, but urges the testing to expand to cover egg and fish products, foods that have recently been found to contain the harmful additive.

China keeps putting scary stuff in food

New reports today about the growing tainted food scandal in China. Seems they have been putting melamine not only into milk products (including baby milk formula), but also feed for animals. The chemical has now been found in eggs and egg products, but further testing is underway and the New York Times reports that it may have spread to everything from pork and chicken to bread, cakes, and seafood (hmm, sounds like the pu pu platter).

Melamine is a particularly nasty chemical substance that has many industrial uses, but is toxic to humans, especially infants and children. Food suppliers have been illegally using it as a cheap filler.

So far the only stuff that's been detected in the US food supply has been White Rabbit candy at import shops. But the extent of the contamination of the food supply doesn't bode well, and certainly isn't good for Chinese kids, where so far over 50,000 people have fallen ill and several babies have died.

Oh right, and the whole tainted pet food thing a year ago (note to self: stop eating Meow Mix).

MSG Will Make You Fat

A new report by people in white coats suggests that MSG will make you fat. In a new report in the journal Obesity (you gotta wonder what they serve in their cafeteria), researches noted that Chinese peasants who ate a lot of MSG with their food were nearly three times as likely to be obese than those who didn't pour the stuff on (after controlling for calories, exercise, etc.).

So how am I supposed to get my umami fix now?

Kids Food Is Bad

According to a new study by a British scientific journal, 89% of food in supermarkets specifically targeted to kids have low or no nutritious value. To confront this, it appears that food marketers have decided to increase the number of dubious nutritional claims about their products. The investigators spotted a pizza carton labeled "Source of calcium" but made no mention that it was loaded with salt, and a jar of peanut butter mixed with chocolate was claimed to be a "source of six essential nutrients" (sure, peanut butter and chocolate, but what are the other four???).

Then again, the journal was called Obesity Reviews. I bet they say that about Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs too.

Overeating Is Easy

According to the NYT, a recent study showed that when junk food makers put their products in smaller packages, we are just inclined to eat more of it.

In one experiment, students were primed to think about their body shape, then were given potato chips and left to watch television. They ate nearly twice as many chips when given nine small bags as when given two large ones. They also hesitated less before opening the small bags.

I guess you might as well just get the big bag.