WGRZ is reporting that the hepatitis A positive Wegmans' employee has led to at least $500,000 being spent on vaccination clinics in upstate New York.

So far, more than 8,300 people have been vaccinated.

Dr. Anthony Billittier said,

"When it comes to protecting the public's health we need to do what we need to do."

Erie County Executive Chris Collins said,

"We've redeployed workers out of the Rath building to go to the ECC clinic. They aren't doing their jobs in the Rath building but we're paying them anyway, so is it a cost for the Hepatitis clinic, yes, because when they come back their work is piling up." And they may have to work overtime to catch up.

It's also costing taxpayers money to rents screen to give patients privacy, for the needles to inject the vaccine, and for the NFTA buses on standby to keep people waiting warm.

These hepatitis A cases are a weekly occurrence in the U.S. A food worker parties in Mexico or the Dominican where hepatitis A is endemic. Food worker comes home, is fine for two weeks, then spends the next two weeks crapping out virus. And unless food worker is really diligent about handwashing, he's spreading virus-containing poop on food -- especially fresh produce or salads. After four weeks, food worker turns yellow and goes to the doctor where a diagnosis is made. Then the clinics start.

Get vaccinated for hepatitis A. And dude, wash your damn hands.

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Colin Houston, deputy head of the enforcement division of the UK Food Standards Agency told a public inquiry yesterday that  E.coli butcher William Tudor (nice tag line) falsified crucial health and safety documents and even lied about receiving hygiene awards.

The inquiry heard the claims had been made in a document known as a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) plan which Tudor, as a butcher, was required by law to prepare and implement to help reduce the risk to the public.

Mr Houston told yesterday’s hearing in Cardiff Bay that another of Tudor’s false claims in his HACCP plan had been to suggest that his factory had completely separate areas for the preparation and handling of raw and cooked meat.

Mr Houston told the inquiry he would have expected environmental health officers to check whether this was in fact the case during inspections of the premises on Bridgend Industrial Estate.

I can't wait to hear from the inspectors.

The inquiry also heard from a handwriting expert who found Tudor had falsified vital records detailing the temperature meat was stored at and cleaning records.

"There is conclusive evidence, as she (the handwriting expert) put it, that the logs and cleaning standards forms dated July 2004 onwards, were not completed on a daily/weekly basis, but that the batches of entries were made at one time.”

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On 60 Minutes this week, Hillary Clinton stated:  My two secrets to staying healthy: wash your hands all the time. And, if you can't, use Purell or one of the sanitizers."

Great statement, but should handwashing be a health "secret?"

Wouldn't it be so beneficial to all Americans if our presidential hopefuls spent time concentrating on spreading a campaign message that would really matter - the importance of regular handwashing? After all, isn't handwashing universal healthcare at its most fundamental level?   

And wouldn't it be wonderful if every political debate included statements on how a national handwashing campaign is needed for the protection of all Americans? And if funding of handwashing campaigns was a prime component in every politician's platform?

Hillary's handwashing admission is a start, but it's doubtful anyone will change their hand hygiene behaviors based on one statement by one politician.  In the interim, we all need to keep on spreading our handwashing platform, until the message causes real change around us.   

I'm glad America received a 5-second sound bite on handwashing. However, it is consistent handwashing actions and handwashing messages that speak volumes.  When it comes to public health, I'll always vote for soap.
--
Michéle Samarya-Timm is a Health Educator for the Franklin Township Health Department in New Jersey.

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The Detroit News reports that Pistons guard Rip Hamilton missed Tuesday's morning shoot-around at Philips Arena due to a gastrointestinal illness believed to be food poisoning.

Hamilton is in Atlanta, and the Pistons will re-evaluate his condition before today's 7 p.m. game against the Hawks.

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A couple of Sydney's top chefs have lambasted the Sydney Fish Markets for selling old, damaged seafood that is an "embarrassment".

Greg Doyle, of Pier Restaurant, said reviewers were "just being polite" when they said the markets were among the best in the world, adding,

"This is bullshit. I find the Sydney Fish Market an embarrassment. … You go down to the fish market and there is so much product that's days and days old. They are spraying them with tap water and it can ruin the fish because it absorbs all this water. It's old fish. That's why the place has this stink."

Steve Hodges, of Fish Face is quoted in tomorrow's edition of Time Out magazine as saying the markets are "f---ing terrible."

Grahame Turk, the managing director of Sydney Fish Markets, said he was appalled by the comments, adding,

"It's ridiculous really, because all three of them have been down here buying fish. … look at the inside - I would be quite happy to eat my dinner off the auction room floor."

New South Wales Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said there were  no problems with food safety.

"The New South Wales Government constantly monitors places like the Sydney fish market. The authority undertakes inspections and audits of the wholesale processes at the market. There've been shown to be no systemic problems with food safety."

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The sale of raw milk is currently illegal in the state of New Jersey, but local groups, such as Garden State Raw Milk, are campaigning towards legalization. The Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station is hosting of a seminar series on raw milk to inform the public on this topic.
On February 6th, the seminar series started with a presentation by Mark McAfee, from the organic dairy farm Organic Pastures (California): “Raw Milk, mother nature’s inconvenient truth”. Mr. McAfee discussed the health benefits of raw milk consumption as well as the personal satisfaction and commercial advantages of organic farming.

Throughout the talk, emphasis was put on the safe history of raw milk consumption with respect to pathogen contamination and association with foodborne outbreaks, and on the seemingly overwhelming health benefits of the consumption of raw milk as opposed to FDA-approved pasteurized milk. According to Mr. McAfee, raw milk represents an inconvenient truth to big dairies, pharmaceutical companies, western medicine in general and long-distribution chains. Though all these entities may have a commercial interest in keeping raw milk illegal, the consumer would be the one to benefit from its commercialization. Cases were mentioned of raw milk consumers who recovered from diseases such as allergies, lactose intolerance, Crohn’s disease or asthma which were unable to be cured by western medicine. Western medicine was claimed to only treat the symptoms of disease, whereas exercise and the consumption of unprocessed foods, such as organic raw milk, help prevent disease. The ability of raw milk to enhance the immune system is the most generally claimed reason for its health benefits. According to Mr. McAfee, among the factors that contribute to organic raw milk’s beneficial effects are its high content of animal fat (from grass-fed, not grain-fed cows), enzymes, beneficial bacteria, as well as vitamins and minerals. All of these are of course important components of a healthy diet, which are minimized in the standard American diet (aka  “S.A.D.”).

In particular, the example of pasteurized milk was used to describe the “harmful” effects of commercial processing. Apart from the destruction of enzymes and probiotic bacteria, it was implied that pasteurization covers for unsanitary processing practices, and that pasteurized product is an easy target for pathogens such as L. monocytogenes. Furthermore, the prevalence in recent times of immune system diseases was correlated with the consumption of processed food products. Unfortunately, scientific evidence is not abundant due to the limited number of research grants available and the implications of doing research against the interests of official agencies.

A number of benefits of organic farming were also mentioned, and from an economic point of view it was emphasized that a market exists for raw milk products, in which a consumer is willing to pay ~$5 per half gallon of organic raw milk.

My personal conclusion of this presentation is that although organic raw milk may represent a more wholesome alternative to pasteurized milk, and has traditionally been consumed raw for centuries, the current state of technology is able to produce microbiologically-safe, nutritious milk readily available to large, wide-spread populations in a cost-efficient manner. The presence of raw milk in the market may be a rightful and, if properly produced, safe alternative to consumers and farmers.
--
Silvia is a Graduate Assistant at Rutgers University and is looking forward to the upcoming seminars! ("Raw Milk Wars, Government's Attempt to Dictate What Foods We Can Consume" on 2/20, and “Raw Milk, A Microbiology Primer” on 4/3).

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People on street corners around San Antonio sell candy apples, but now, the health department is, according to KENS 5 Eyewitness News, putting out the word that those apples could make you sick.

Metro Health Sanitation Manager Stephen Barscewski said,

“Hepatitis A, noro virus that have a fecal, oral route to them, so they're practicing poor hygienic practices when they’re producing those apples. That's always a threat. … Candy apples are being made in houses and garages around the city that certainly aren't regulated by the city or the state."

The health department says most of the vendors are not licensed, and there’s no control over how or where the candy apples are made.

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Kentucky State Rep. Charles Siler is sponsoring legislation to make KFC's ''finger lickin' good'' chicken Kentucky's official picnic food.

Siler said the fried chicken, first served by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1940, deserves the title because of the worldwide attention and economic benefit it has brought to the state.

Bruce Friedrich, vice president at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, responded,

"If the state legislature moves forward with this one, then they should change Kentucky's state bird from the cardinal to the debeaked, crippled, scalded, diseased, dead chicken."

Two years ago, PETA launched an initiative to have a bust of the bespectacled Colonel Sanders removed from the Kentucky Capitol. Sanders, with his white goatee and black string tie, became recognizable worldwide by marketing his fried chicken.

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Olympic food has come a long way since the little chocolate donuts favored by John Belushi.

The N.Y. Times reports that in preparing to take a delegation of more than 600 athletes to the Summer Games in Beijing this year, the United States Olympic Committee faces numerous food issues. In recent years, some foods in China have been found to be tainted with insecticides and illegal veterinary drugs, and the standards applied to meat there are lower than those in the United States, raising fears of food-borne illnesses.

USOC has made arrangements with sponsors like Kellogg’s and Tyson Foods, which will ship 25,000 pounds of lean protein to China about two months before the opening ceremony, but will hire local vendors and importers to secure other foods and cooking equipment at the Games.

Why? Frank Puleo, a caterer from Staten Island who has traveled to China to handle food-related issues, went to a supermarket in China last year, and encountered a piece of chicken — half of a breast — that measured 14 inches.

"Enough to feed a family of eight. We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”

The protein from Tyson is one of the few food products that will be shipped from the United States. Kellogg’s has been asked to supply cereals like Frosted Flakes and Mini-Wheats, as well as Nutri-Grain bars, because those products are not readily available in China.

Frosted Flakes and little chocolate donuts. Breakfast of champions.

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