When in doubt, throw it out!

Fundamental principles of food safety:

Don't eat anything you're not sure is safe.

Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

Prepared foods should not sit out at room temperature for more than two hours (cumulative).

I know these things. So why, when I found an overlooked bag of groceries that somehow had managed not to be put away several hours after we returned from the store, did I stick the prepared-food items it contained in the fridge??? Pure stupidity born out of a "don't waste food" reflex.

So I ate the Korean pancakes that had been sitting under a none-too-hot hot lamp in the store and then came home to sit at room temperature in my kitchen before being refrigerated for a day. Somehow, I figured that if I reheated them, it would probably be OK. Which is dumb, because I know the toxins produced by some bacteria can survive heating.

The result: I've spent a couple days incapacitated with all the miserable gastrointestinal ills and other symptoms of food poisoning. Better now, but I expect it will be another day or two before I'm recovered.

A valuable lesson, relearned the hard way.

Sorry to hear that

But think of it this way: It's a colon cleanse! (KIDDING!)

Feel better soon!

LAZ wrote:Fundamental principles of food safety:

Don't eat anything you're not sure is safe.

Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

Prepared foods should not sit out at room temperature for more than two hours (cumulative).

I know these things. So why, when I found an overlooked bag of groceries that somehow had managed not to be put away several hours after we returned from the store, did I stick the prepared-food items it contained in the fridge??? Pure stupidity born out of a "don't waste food" reflex.

So I ate the Korean pancakes that had been sitting under a none-too-hot hot lamp in the store and then came home to sit at room temperature in my kitchen before being refrigerated for a day. Somehow, I figured that if I reheated them, it would probably be OK. Which is dumb, because I know the toxins produced by some bacteria can survive heating.

The result: I've spent a couple days incapacitated with all the miserable gastrointestinal ills and other symptoms of food poisoning. Better now, but I expect it will be another day or two before I'm recovered.

A valuable lesson, relearned the hard way.

You realize the body is inherently toxic so look at those pancakes as reestablishing your own implicit contamination

perhaps you could buy a pack of those Japanese foot pads?

ugh...not to make light of your... ... predicament

my partner n I just had a horrendous bout ourselves(such a lovely image)

a commercial chianti salami(strange, but true...you'd think it was preserved enough...wouldn't you) from a popular purveyor is what we narrowed it down to

having two bathrooms rocks

The two hour rule is a good one to remember when taking home a doggy bag. The clock starts when the food comes out of the kitchen, not when you leave the restaurant.

My wife and I keep a small cooler in the trunk of the car, and when we leave the house on weekends, we always take a couple of blue ice thingies and put them in the cooler. You never know what you might find at a new store or farmers market, or leftovers.

jimmya wrote:My wife and I keep a small cooler in the trunk of the car, and when we leave the house on weekends, we always take a couple of blue ice thingies and put them in the cooler. You never know what you might find at a new store or farmers market, or leftovers.

Jimmy,

I've been keeping a cooler in the trunk for years, like you say one never knows what delectables might cross your path.

LAZ, sorry to hear you have been under the weather, glad to hear you are on the mend.

Enjoy,
Gary

It hurts more when you do it to yourself, doesn't it?

Hope you're feeling 100 percent very soon.

Another reason to grow your own tomatoes:

NBC wrote:Salmonella Hospitalizes Two Chicago-Area People
Tomatoes May Be To Blame

POSTED: 7:00 pm CDT June 5, 2008

CHICAGO -- Two Chicago-area people were in the hospital on Thursday with the same type of salmonella strain that has been linked to tomatoes in New Mexico and Texas.

Consumers in those states have been warned not to eat specific types of tomatoes while health officials in Illinois, with the third-highest number of cases, say they're not ready to make that link. Twelve cases of the rare strain are now reported in Illinois -- all of them in or near Cook County.

Preliminary tests suggest that roma and red round tomatoes are the culprits of the outbreak of the unusual strain called "salmonella Saintpaul."

"This is a strain type that isn't normally found anywhere. So the fact that it's been found concurrently in a number of states makes it highly suspect," said Donna Rosenbaum, the executive director of the food safety group "S.T.O.P," and acronym for Safe Tables Our Priority....

I'll make sure not to eat tomatoes that are red or round.

NBC wrote: . . . while health officials in Illinois, with the third-highest number of cases, . . .

Well, we're only the bronze-medalists here. We'll need to move up to second place before I start to worry about my tomato consumption . . .

Has there been any word from any reliable source yet as to whether the tomatoes were contaminated by handling or whether we are facing another spinach-type episode where the produce is "grown contaminated" and can't be disinfected by washing?

They haven't identified the source yet. There have been a number of outbreaks of salmonella linked to raw tomatoes in recent years, but it doesn't seem like anyone's definitively pinpointed the cause.

The Centers for Disease Control wrote:Advice to consumers

At this time, FDA is advising that consumers in New Mexico and Texas should limit their tomato consumption to cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, and tomatoes grown at home. Consumers should be aware that raw tomatoes are often used in the preparation of fresh salsa, guacamole, or pico de gallo, and in tortillas or other food products.

Customers everywhere are advisted to:

* Refrigerate tomatoes within 2 hours or discard cut, peeled, or cooked tomatoes.
* Avoid purchasing bruised or damaged tomatoes and discard any that appear spoiled.
* Thoroughly wash all tomatoes under running water.
* Keep tomatoes that will be consumed raw separate from raw meats, raw seafood, and raw produce items.
* Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot water and soap when switching between types of food products.

FDA information on this investigation can be found at: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01843.html*

I assume they're talking about refrigerating cut tomatoes. I never refrigerate whole raw tomatoes. It makes them mushy.

Mike G wrote:I'll make sure not to eat tomatoes that are red...

Well, if you stick to the Jewel or Dominick's, that shouldn't be too much of a problem...

I was thinking of this thread yesterday...I'd bought some prepackaged sugar-free (don't ask me, moment of weakness) rice and tapioca pudding and stuck it on the shelf. Took one out and ate a big spoonful - and swallowed what was clearly spoiled milk. Tossed it. Grabbed another, under the assumption that I'd not checked the packaging for holes. Again, spoonful went down with the same spoiled-milk flavor. Tossed all the rice pudding and grabbed the tapioca, went through the same motions, when suddenly it dawns on me that I'd bought this stuff from the refrigerated section and had left it on the shelf for a week. I followed this potential gastrointestinal catastrophe by consuming what turned out to be a moldy piece of bread - I can only say that it was late, the kitchen was dark, and I wanted to get the taste of spoiled milk out of my mouth.

I escaped unscathed, but more aware of how my own stupidity and mortality are inexorably intertwined.

Mhays wrote:suddenly it dawns on me that I'd bought this stuff from the refrigerated section and had left it on the shelf for a week.

Glad you suffered no ill effects ... but I'm also glad to know that I'm not the only one absent-minded about grocery unpacking.

Meanwhile, the latest on the tomato situation from the FDA:

FDA recommends that consumers not eat raw red Roma, raw red plum, raw red round tomatoes, or products that contain these types of raw red tomatoes unless the tomatoes are from the sources listed below. If unsure of where tomatoes are grown or harvested, consumers are encouraged to contact the store where the tomato purchase was made. Consumers should continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.

On June 5, using traceback and other distribution pattern information, FDA published a list of states, territories, and countries where tomatoes are grown and harvested which have not been associated with this outbreak. This updated list includes: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. The list is available at http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/ ... #retailers. This list will be updated as more information becomes available.

Not good news for non-gardening Chicago localvores or Midwest farmers. I suspect that a lot of tomatoes are going to sold at cut rates to canneries or dumped.

Florida tomato industry in "complete collapse"

Florida's tomato industry is in "complete collapse" and $40 million worth of tomatoes will rot unless federal regulators quickly trace the source of a salmonella outbreak and clear the state's produce, an industry official said on Tuesday.

"We probably have $40 million worth of product we can't sell. We've had to stop packing, stop picking," said Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.

...

This makes me very glad that I have those 8 tomato plants growing in my back yard!

I put out around 10 or so tomato plants this year and now I'm quite pleased that I did.

A few days ago I was at the Subway (yech, but it was on my way to a meeting) on Michigan down by the Wrigley building and I saw for the first time what I can only refer to as "Tomato Rage".

When the employees tried to explain that they did not get a shipment of tomatoes in from where ever delivers their produce the guy got belligerant and angry. He kept repeating rather loudly "How am I supposed to eat a Tuna Fish sandwich without any tomatoes, this is ridiculous, this is unbelievable, you people are ridiculous!" he kept up being a blow hard and belittling the employees until he finally took his tomato-less sandwich and left.

Didn't this happen a couple years ago with peppers or cucumbers - not salmonella, but a shortage? Maybe it was also tomatoes, IIRC it was a bad hurricane season and Subway was on the news because so many customers were complaining.

Funny how people don't understand "there just isn't any." I remember, shortly after Katrina, hearing people complain at our local Popeyes because there were no biscuits - there was a sign clearly stating that the biscuits were sourced from the New Orleans area, and they would be unavailable until they found a new supplier. You know, no biscuit with your chicken vs loss of life and property...

Sheesh! Doesn't that person read the paper/watch tv/listen to the radio/get out any? It's been all over the news, everywhere, that many restaurants, including all the major fast food places, are not serving tomatoes until the salmonella thing is figured out.

The Campari tomato websitehas a list that's a little more specific than "round and red":

These tomatoes, sourced from any region, can be consumed without restriction by FDA.
Grape tomatoes, Cherry tomatoes, Mimi tomatoes, Campari tomatoes, Yellow tomatoes, Orange tomatoes, Tri-Color tomatoes, Sunshine tomatoes, Vivaldi tomatoes, Splendido tomatoes, Medley tomatoes, Gourmet Medley, Tomatoes On-the-Vine, Romana On-The-Vine tomatoes, Yellow Beefsteak Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes, Couer de Boeuf tomatoes, Strawberry Tomatoes, Cocktail Tomatoes, Champaign Tomatoes

There is also a list of regions from which you may buy any kind of tomato, but for a consumer to figure out where a given grocery-store tomato is sourced is pretty difficult. Who knows - maybe the silver lining is that people realize what they're missing when they buy cheap tomatoes and produce a market for tomatoes that taste good...

leek wrote:Sheesh! Doesn't that person read the paper/watch tv/listen to the radio/get out any? It's been all over the news, everywhere, that many restaurants, including all the major fast food places, are not serving tomatoes until the salmonella thing is figured out.

You would think so. He was prattling on about how they need to learn how to "outsource their produce" and that "You people should know that no one is going to eat a sandwich without tomatoes".

He ended up backing up the entire line and just seeming like a very nasty person over something that given the media coverage, shouldn't be a shock.

LAZ wrote:I suspect that a lot of tomatoes are going to sold at cut rates to canneries or dumped.

Does the canning process kill the bacteria completely?

Not if the can explodes when you puncture it.

Heard on the radio news (WTAM Cleveland) this AM that the first cases of salmonella linked to tomatoes have been reported in Southern Ohio.

When was the last time you cleaned out your refrigerator?

The Times-Picayune wrote:"Vegetable bins in home refrigerators contain the highest percentage of bacteria," said Sandria Godwin, a food scientist with Tennessee State University and part of a four-member panel that presented its findings on consumer refrigeration trends....

Poor refrigerator cleaning, mixing unwashed vegetables with uncovered raw meats in the storage bins, failing to install a refrigerator thermometer, and not maintaining the recommended refrigerator temperature of 40 degrees are all food spoilers and bacteria multipliers.

While less scientific than some of the other findings, uncertain economic times have also forced consumers to view raising the temperature in the refrigerator as a way to save on their energy bill, panelists said. It has also made consumers less likely to throw away food that is past its recommended sell date.

Consumers with a higher income are less likely to keep their refrigerator clean, Godwin said. She cited busy lifestyles and time constraints as the cause....

Erzsi wrote:I put out around 10 or so tomato plants this year and now I'm quite pleased that I did.

A few days ago I was at the Subway (yech, but it was on my way to a meeting) on Michigan down by the Wrigley building and I saw for the first time what I can only refer to as "Tomato Rage".

When the employees tried to explain that they did not get a shipment of tomatoes in from where ever delivers their produce the guy got belligerant and angry. He kept repeating rather loudly "How am I supposed to eat a Tuna Fish sandwich without any tomatoes, this is ridiculous, this is unbelievable, you people are ridiculous!" he kept up being a blow hard and belittling the employees until he finally took his tomato-less sandwich and left.

I almost got into a little hissy fit also in the same type of situation around the time of the 'tomato outbreak'. I went to a nearby Chipotle to get my daily chips and pico when I hear "sorry sir, what other salsa can I get you?"....WHAT OTHER SALSA? I've been coming here for years and even worked here at one time and never seen a pico-less day. Of course I said nothing of the sort and said no thank you and left...but I was a bit frustrated that day not knowing why they didn't have it. I even went home and complained to my brother about 'poor management' and ordering at the joint. woops...

Latest on the salmonella outbreak says the culprit might not be tomatoes, after all.

CBC wrote:The American government is widening its hunt for the source of a major U.S. salmonella outbreak, turning its focus beyond tomatoes to other fresh produce.

Food and Drug Administration investigators are about to start testing other vegetables commonly served with tomatoes, although they say it would be irresponsible to identify the vegetables at this early point in the investigation and trigger possibly unnecessary panic.

"Tomatoes aren't off the hook," the FDA's chief of food safety, Dr. David Acheson, said Tuesday. "It's just that there is clearly a need to think beyond tomatoes."

A total of 869 people have been sickened the United States from salmonella illnesses since mid-April....

So how many millions of dollars were (and still are being) wasted let alone the produce because of the tomato salmonella frenzy?

LAZ wrote:Latest on the salmonella outbreak says the culprit might not be tomatoes, after all.

CBC wrote:The American government is widening its hunt for the source of a major U.S. salmonella outbreak, turning its focus beyond tomatoes to other fresh produce.

Food and Drug Administration investigators are about to start testing other vegetables commonly served with tomatoes, although they say it would be irresponsible to identify the vegetables at this early point in the investigation and trigger possibly unnecessary panic.

"Tomatoes aren't off the hook," the FDA's chief of food safety, Dr. David Acheson, said Tuesday. "It's just that there is clearly a need to think beyond tomatoes."

A total of 869 people have been sickened the United States from salmonella illnesses since mid-April....

Muttster wrote:So how many millions of dollars were (and still are being) wasted let alone the produce because of the tomato salmonella frenzy?

According to a new story from CNN, $450 million. The story also says that the FDA plans to halt Mexican produce at the border, as the hunt expands to cilantro, jalapeno and serrano peppers and green and bulb onions.

The source of the outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul remains unknown, but it has already had far-reaching implications.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that 943 people in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada have become ill.

The person in the Canadian case became ill in Ontario on the day he returned from the United States, the CDC said.

The rare form of bacteria also has cut about $450 million of tomato growers' income, said Thompson.

"You don't even take into consideration the thousands of people that have been sick, and how much it's cost in drugs, loss of time and mental anguish for people who are sick," Nielsen said.

Last year during the same period, U.S. health authorities identified three people infected with the same strain.

Hi gang, I need advice:

last night I made some hard boiled eggs. I took them out of the hot water and into an ice bath to chill. Then I forgot about them until this morning. My kitchen is not air conditioned. (I put them in the fridge when I discovered them this morning)

think I should throw them out?

Yes, yes, and indeed yes -toss! I caused Sparky no end of gastrointestinal trouble by feeding him hardboiled eggs that had gone off, even though they'd been carefully refrigerated (but I think had been held longer than a week limit) Usually, the out-of-fridge suggested limit is 2 hours. USDA agrees.

Being absentminded myself, I lose more food this way...