I don’t understand cricket -- other than it may be as boring as baseball --  but I do understand barf.

Tillakaratne Dilshan achieved the milestone he narrowly missed in Sri Lanka's first innings to post an unbeaten 123 as New Zealand became increasingly dependent on rain to stave off defeat in the first cricket test in Galle last night.

New Zealand had little to enthuse about once it became apparent morning rain would not stall the start of play for the first time since a delayed toss.

Their mood darkened further when Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder called in sick at breakfast, the worst affected of eight players struck down by food poisoning.

Only Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and Iain O'Brien were immune from the bug that provided Auckland wicketkeeper Reece Young with his first experience of test cricket.


 

"At night all you could hear was vomiting from every corner. I've never experienced anything like it. People were simply zipping up their tents and leaving — they just wanted to get out of there.”

That’s the dream lede for a barfblog.com post, although probably not pleasant for some 150 campers stricken at a North Devon campsite.

"Almost every tent on the site was affected. There were so many sick children — it was an awful sight to witness.”

North Devon Council said the owners took the decision to close the campsite.

The site has a private water supply which has been closed off due to possible contamination.
 

And no I am not talking about Johnny Depp. Time and time again food safety communicators promote the use of digital tip sensitive thermometers to determine doneness of food. But how often is this practice being done in restaurants? If so, is it being done correctly? From my experience, it seems that restaurant operators depend on color far too often and the operators that use thermometers do not use them correctly. This simply boils down to a need of properly train staff. It is imperative that front line food service staff are physically shown how to correctly use thermometers rather than just explaining the concept and theory behind it. Health inspectors, in particular, must take the time during routine inspections to demonstrate the proper usage of thermometers and compel restaurant managers to train their staff accordingly.

There have been too many cases of raw chicken burgers being served to the public and ultimately making people barf.  At times, food service staff are stressed and end up getting food orders wrong and are therefore rushed to correct the problem. In doing so, corners are cut resulting in burgers not being cooked long enough. Take the time to properly cook chicken burgers and remember stick it in.

It seems everyone in the media is bent on cross-contaminating and undercooking their food this summer. On Monday night’s “Great American Road Trip” (a poor replacement for the Amazing Race), the first challenge was for the men to cook hamburgers on a charcoal grill in 30 minutes for all the families to judge. The challenge took place in Sedan, Kansas at the Red Buffalo Ranch.

First, host Reno Collier made a cooking demonstration. No handwashing stations are present anywhere in sight (see right). After Collier explained how he likes to talk to his meat as he formed a raw patty, he threw it on the grill and wiped his hands on a towel. The condiment station was well stocked, but there were no meat thermometers and no safety instructions. The DiSalvatore dad said he’d never cooked anything in his life. Silvio quickly asked for tips from his wife Amy who said, “Just don’t overcook it.”

Silvio: “How do I know when it’s cooked?”

Amy: “A little bit of pink inside. Good luck.”

The father of the Rico family made the decision to cook his entire 5 lbs of meat and he commented, “I really misjudged how long it would take to cook those things.” Ricardo’s giant burgers were far from being done when it was time to serve. Host Collier yelled out, “Feel free to check these things out before you go sticking them in your mouth.” [Katie, that was for you.] One of the kids commented, “I was more nervous about barfing than about winning the challenge.”

It’s mindboggling how much cross-contamination took place in this highly edited clip (see approximately minutes 11 to 20). I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth while watching. In the end, the Ricos went home, but surprisingly they did not receive the lowest score for their burger.

Raw burger is not safe to eat. Hamburger is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 160F as measured by a tip sensitive meat thermometer. (See Doug’s videos on youtube.) Color is an unsafe indicator of doneness. Wash your hands after touching raw meat and before touching ready to eat products like buns. I personally find it challenging to grill and avoid cross-contamination … so why does everyone keep saying how simple it is to make a burger?

If you want to risk your own stomach or life, that’s your business; but please do not try to kill your neighbors or your children with undercooked meat or cross-contaminated condiments.