Wacky and Weird

Posted: September 19th, 2007 - 6:57pm by Ben Chapman

All over the airwaves today was a bizarre story of rabies risk.  Bats have, according to the New York Times, taken over a dorm at Texas Southern University and in true college student fashion, authorities were alerted indirectly, via the internet.Students posted the below video on YouTube and word of the infestation made it to the health department

Wacky and Weird  |  Comments

Posted: September 19th, 2007 - 10:14am by

I recently witnessed a different kind of food safety hazard that probably occurs more often than is ever mentioned. I kicked off last weekend with some classmates -- drinks were flowing and the food was disappearing as fast as it could be cooked. Since everyone seemed to be hungry, plates were of no need

Wacky and Weird  |  Comments

Posted: September 19th, 2007 - 9:32am by Doug Powell

The Associated Press is reporting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has fined a man $800 for flying dead snakes and birds inside his luggage from South Korea to Atlanta.Last month, security officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport found 30 snakes, a dead bird and pieces of several other birds in his luggage

Wacky and Weird  |  Comments

Posted: September 19th, 2007 - 7:48am by Doug Powell

Nine people who came to visit a sick friend at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital in India ended up being admitted themselves after retiring to a nearby hotel for a meal of lentils and, allegedly, lizard.The Hindu reports that following complaints, the police have registered a case against the hotel staff on charges of negligence, endangering the safety of others

Posted: September 17th, 2007 - 9:35pm by Doug Powell

I really can't come up with a better title.Boring, Oregon's cousin town of Boreing, Ky. is known for its goat poop bingo.The story says that guessing where Buckwheat the Goat will leave his droppings in order to win prizes (including a $50 gift certificate from Bi-Mart) is a popular pastime at the daylong event, but there’s more to this celebration than just animal dung

Wacky and Weird  |  Comments

Posted: September 17th, 2007 - 9:18pm by Doug Powell

Scottish residents are not happy after being told by water chiefs that worms in the water supply are merely an "aesthetic issue."Customers complained to Scottish Water after they found tiny bloodworms - midge larvae - coming out of their taps. The story says that about 30 householders in Oban are thought to have discovered the 6mm worms when pouring a glass of water

Wacky and Weird  |  Comments

Posted: September 10th, 2007 - 9:44am by Doug Powell

McDonald's staffer Kendra Bull was charged with a reckless conduct, a misdemeanor, for her role in food preparation after dousing police officer Wendell Adams burger with salt,The burger made Adams so ill after a couple of bites that he vomited.Officer George Louth, spokesman for the department said investigators don't know if Bull was targeting the officer with the Big N'Tasty blue-light special, only that she admitted putting the salt on the burger, but that the cash register, er, registered a discounted meal

Wacky and Weird  |  Comments

Posted: September 10th, 2007 - 9:14am by Doug Powell

One Chinese family on the southern island province of Hainan decided to test a bottle of water on a chicken to see what would happen.The Beijing News, citing a report in a local paper, said, "The result was the chicken died within a minute," and showed a picture of a man holding a plastic bottle squatting over the crumpled body of the bird

Posted: September 6th, 2007 - 10:11pm by Doug Powell

Colorado is the latest U.S. Midwest state to track an increase in cryptosporidium infections. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said earlier this week about 50 cases were reported in August, more than four times the usual number.Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that cases of confirmed cryptosporidiosis increased from 3,505 for 2003 to 3,911 for 2004 and to 8,269 for 2005, a 111

Wacky and Weird  |  Comments

Posted: September 6th, 2007 - 9:31pm by Ben Chapman

One of the best ever monikers in any food safety story came out courtesy of our friends at healthinspection.com.  Dirty Finger Al inspired today's infosheet which can be found here.Dirty Finger Al got his name because he is allegedly “grotesque in his hygiene because of filthy hands and fingers and open, oozing sores while cooking