There aren’t enough castles with moats.

At least not anymore.

But Cardiff Castle in Wales, which dates back to 3rd century Romans, has a lovely moat constructed by the Normans to fend off the locals as they pillaged their way across what is now the U.K.

The food has been uneventful, all of it served piping hot as the Brits suffer through their worst snow and cold in 30 years. To watch the constant news and weather reports on BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 4, and Sky News – there is one movie channel that seems to feature bad 1980s American fare – and read the newspaper accounts, the country is in chaos and everything has been shut for at least two days.

We drove from Cardiff to Manchester when people were told to stay off the roads and it was completely uneventful, what with the couple of inches of snow. Guess they aren’t used to that around here.

Some attempted to escape the weather, only to end up barfing.

USA Today today reports that Britain's Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has ordered an early end to a cruise to the Canary Islands after a massive outbreak of what is believed to be norovirus.

The UK's Daily Mail reports at least 289 of 795 passengers on Fred Olsen's Boudicca this week have been struck down by the illness. At 36% of passengers, it's one of the most widespread outbreaks of a norovirus-like illness recorded on a cruise ship in years. Even the worst outbreaks of norovirus rarely spread beyond 10% of passengers.

The outbreak, moreover, is the third in a row for the ship and comes as another Fred Olsen vessel, the Balmoral, also struggles with a major outbreak of norovirus-like illness -- it's third in a year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a summary report today on a Multistate Outbreak of Human Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Associated with Aquatic Frogs --- United States, 2009.

During April--July 2009, the Utah Department of Health identified five cases of Salmonella Typhimurium infection with indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns, predominantly among children. In August, CDC began a multistate outbreak investigation to determine the source of the infections. This report summarizes the results of this ongoing investigation, which, as of December 30, had identified 85 S. Typhimurium human isolates with the outbreak strain from 31 states. In a multistate case-control study, exposure to frogs was found to be significantly associated with illness (63% of cases versus 3% of controls; matched odds ratio [mOR] = 24.4). Among 14 case-patients who knew the type of frog, all had exposure to an exclusively aquatic frog species, the African dwarf frog. Environmental samples from aquariums containing aquatic frogs in four homes of case-patients yielded S. Typhimurium isolates matching the outbreak strain. Preliminary traceback information has indicated these frogs likely came from the same breeder in California. Reptiles (e.g., turtles) and amphibians (e.g., frogs) have long been recognized as Salmonella carriers (1,2), and three multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections associated with turtle contact have occurred since 2006 (3,4). However, this is the first reported multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections associated with amphibians. Educational materials aimed at preventing salmonellosis from contact with reptiles should be expanded to include amphibians, such as aquatic frogs.

Reports from the ABC affiliate in Newark (NJ) are that Iberia, a popular local restaurant, is the source of an outbreak linked to Salmonella. To date there have been 35 illnesses reported with five culture-confirmed as Salmonella. All illnesses appear to be linked to Christmas parties on 5 different dates.  While many dishes are being investigated, 7 different homemade sauces have been sent to state laboratories for testing. All restaurant staff have also been tested.

Ramona Serra, one of the reported victims (but with some symptoms not too consistent with salmonellosis) was quoted as saying:

"We had a Christmas party there, and I got a headache around 10:30 and I didn't feel good the next day." Serra is among 13 people who got sick at their company Christmas party at the Iberia Peninsula Restaurant at 63 Ferry Street in Newark. Three of them were hospitalized.
"They had a stomach pains, belly ache pains, their whole body was aching them," Serra said. "They were really bad."

Isolated, that's what Iberia general manager George Loueira said about the outbreak, "This is an isolated incident. It's under investigation. We want to have everybody continue to patronize the business." I bet. An outbreak isn't the best advertisement and 5 different dates doesn't sound too isolated.

Since the investigation started on Dec. 28/09 the Newark Department of Health has placed an inspector in the kitchen to monitor food handling and handwashing.

Maybe it’s the weather. The U.K. is in the midst of its biggest snowstorm in 40 years but at least it’s not -10F, like it’s going to be in Kansas this week.

Whatever the reason, Kansas City police want to know the identity of a woman who trashed a McDonald’s restaurant Dec. 27 because she hated her hamburger.

According to police, when the woman complained about her hamburger, employees offered to replace it. She demanded her money back. Employees declined.

So the woman threw a glass water dispenser over the counter, breaking it. She pushed three cash registers off the counter, smashing one touch screen. She cursed and fled.  The video is below.

In Toledo, Ohio, police say a woman punched through a McDonald's drive-through window, taking swipes at a couple of employees, because Chicken McNuggets weren't available -- at 6:20 a.m.. Police say 24-year-old Melodi Dushane was treated for injuries, and jailed.

It might look good today, but by cleaning up is the Aramark-managed Capitol cafeteria the "safest restaurant in the city of Harrisburg"?

PennLive.com reports that after being closed by Pennsylvania officials on December 17th following an inspection that revealed rodent droppings, underheated dishwashing water and poor food handling procedures, Capitol is trying to clean up their image. Bruce Walton, vice president for operations of Aramark was cited as saying that prior to the closing, more than 1,500 customers ate at the Capitol cafeteria on busy weekdays and that rebuilding that steady clientele will take time.

After a thorough clean-up, a new pest control program with Ecolab and contracting with a company to provide surprise audits, Aramark district manager Andre Obendorfer was quoted as saying "This is the safest restaurant to eat in in the city of Harrisburg."

Ah, the safest food/safest restaurant comment; impossible to back-up with evidence and leaves everyone who eats there with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Walton, by not disclosing any firings or discipline, downplayed what might be the most important change -- personnel. He was quoted as saying that they "did make changes in our team." Rodent control and a cold dishwasher can lead to public health issues, but other violations found on December 17th including indirect cross-contamination (handling potentially contaminated equipment and then going to clean equipment, possibly leaving pathogens for the next person) and not having paper towels, demonstrate a lack of a food safety culture. A personnel and management issue.

Food safety culture is a set of values wherein food safety risks are openly identified, discussed, and addressed. What this means is that anyone who works there -- from manager to dishwasher -- knows that paper towels can reduce risks so they refill the dispenser. Food safety is supported from the organization but it's the front-line folks who hold the health of patrons in their hands. An organization like Aramark needs to be building the food safety culture capacity behind the scenes, not just touting how clean everything looks now.

To assure patrons of their commitment to food safety, the article reports that Aramark will have staff on site to answer questions, use guest chefs and in the most bizarre step, revamp cafeteria stations such as turning the pizza station into an "Italian zone." I guess visitors to the Capitol Complex have the perception that Italian food is safer than pizza?

The Toronto Sun reports that 28-year-old Tommy Lam and his girlfriend stopped by the McDonald’s at Markham Rd. and Denison St., north of Toronto, around 11 a.m. last week to order four pita-wrapped sausage and egg burritos to eat on their way to work.

Soon after, they sat down to eat at his business, Jewellery Box, just around the corner at Steeles Ave. E. and Middlefield Rd., Lam claims they spotted dozens of ants inside and outside their burritos.

Fortunately, the little critters weren't crawling around. But that was of little consolation to Lam, who had already eaten the first of his two burritos.

Whether or not that first sandwich was also laced with dead ants, Lam is not sure.

When Lam returned to the store, Lam said the McDonald's manager, "didn't even offer an apology. … He offered to replace our burritos, that was it. I just said, 'No thanks!' and walked out."

Lam said he later tried to contact McDonald's head offices and his local public health department, but he wasn't able to reach anyone over the long weekend.

The Toronto Globe and Mail used to be a decent newspaper. I was enamored with the paper and its journalists as a genetics undergrad, was thrilled when I started writing regularly for the paper in the 1990s, and then dismayed as the amount of crap published began to far outweigh the thoughtful stuf.

Once such sign of decline was the hiring of columnist Leah McLaren about a decade ago. Chapman was somewhat enamored with her self-indulgent depictions of young female life in hip Toronto; I thought it was bullshit.

Leah is still at the Globe as it continues its drawn-out decline, and wrote on Saturday that,

“This year for Christmas I poisoned the in-laws.

“They had flown all the way from Toronto to spend the holidays in London, dragging several extra bags of gifts across the Atlantic like a modern-day Santa and Mrs. Claus. In return, I had planned a feast for dinner.

"The centrepiece of the meal was a beautifully aged prime rib roast. I had purchased it, for nearly $100, from my local Notting Hill butcher, who specializes in organic, free-range, ethically farmed beef, lamb and poultry.

"I don't eat much meat these days, but everything about that shop made me feel safe, from the quaint striped awning to the well-heeled locals queuing up for their premium giblets to the butcher with his starched, white-linen apron making small talk as he trimmed the leg of lamb. Even the store's slogan ("Real meat naturally fed") was heartening. What could possibly be more healthy, comforting or downright trendy than a rib roast for Christmas? As I stepped out of the shop with my several pounds of Grade A flesh in hand, I was determined to follow the butcher's emphatic instructions: "Do not overcook."

"And I didn't. The prime rib was perfect - except for the 36 hours of stomach-churning misery it caused everyone who ate it."

Leah’s lesson from all this? Don’t eat red meat.

One Moses Shuldiner responded with a letter in the Globe today, stating that Leah’s “mistake was to not inform herself of proper food handling techniques as recommended by the Toronto Public Health Department, which can be downloaded from the City of Toronto's website. … After reading information from public health anyone can, for a nominal fee, write the test to become a certified food handler, ensuring mastery of the material.”

Shill. Mere mortals do not have to become certified food handlers to cook dinner for the in-laws, or anyone else. I cooked lamb on Christmas Eve and my 1-year-old ate it. No one barfed. Use a tip-sensitive digital meat thermometer. Next time, Leah, stick it in.