Do you know your summer food safety IQ?  The USDHHS website, Foodsafety.gov, has a short quiz to help you find out.  Don’t worry, if you’ve completed the StateFoodSafety.com™ Online Food Handler Course, you’ll do just fine.  Trust us . . . we got 100%.

What’s Your Summer IQ?

Foodsafety.gov is the official website of the United States Department of Health & Human Services.

Photo Credit:  British Foods Worldwide

ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” recently published their findings of a year’s worth of health department violations for all Major League football, hockey, baseball, and basketball stadiums in North America operating in 2009.  The comprehensive article entitled What’s Lurking in your Stadium Food? can be read in its entirety here.  The website contains an interactive map that divides all the stadiums by the percentage of concessions stands that received critical violations, from “No Violations” to “79-100%.”  The highest category (100%) means that every single concession stand in the stadium received a critical violation in 2009.

A “critical violation” as defined by health department officials, is a violation of safe food handling and storage procedures that could result in employee or consumer illness or injury.  However, as ESPN clarified, a critical violation can mean different things to different health departments.  “For example,” states the article, “some [health departments] consider mouse droppings a critical violation, while others classify them as a minor problem.”  Dexter King of the International Association of Assembly Managers explained that “different inspectors interpret different violations almost as a referee would look at it, ‘Should I call this a foul or not a foul?’”

We recommend reading the full article, but if you don’t have time, here are some highlights:

• 107 stadiums were investigated for this article.  Of those, 28% had received critical violation at more than half their concession stands.
• 11 stadiums received zero critical violations.
• 8 stadiums received critical violations at all of their concessions stands.  7 of those stadiums are located in Florida.
• California stadiums scored well, with the percentage of critical violations in the 1-25% range.
• Specific complaints and violations included chemicals stored too close to food, “slime” in frozen drink machines, food residue in coolers, insects mixed into frozen drinks, under-cooked meat, employees touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands, insufficient hand washing, time/temperature abuse, cross-contamination, and rodent infestations.
• Food establishment inspections are all carried out in different ways.  In some locations, inspections come from the state level (Florida) and others come from the city or county level (California).  Some inspectors drop in unannounced in the middle of a game (Kansas City, Missouri) and others schedule inspections days in advance (Chicago, Illinois).  Each of these factors can affect the establishment’s scores and violation numbers.

Source:  ESPN “Outside the Lines”

Photo Source:  Artichoke Heart

We’ve gotten a kick out of the recent article by Delish.com about fast food you can only get outside of the United States.  Check out the source below to find out what Domino’s Pizza prepares in France, what McDonald’s is serving in Japan, and what Taco Bell is dishing up in India.

Source:  Delish.com

Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico do not look promising as locals and officials  stare down the barrel of a potentially devastating hurricane season.  More than ever, the Gulf needs support.  So we were excited when we discovered Baking for Good™–the online bake sale that donates 15% of every purchase to a worthy cause.

Baking for Good™ began in 2009 as a company committed to high-quality baked goods, and spreading good will one chocolate chip at a time.  Each order is beautifully packaged and shipped in two days or less to most locations.  So stop by Baking for Good, pick up a brownie basket, and do your good deed for the day.

This week is Food Allergy Awareness Week and it’s a good time to consider food allergies and how they make us (and our children) sick.

What is a Food Allergy? According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a food allergy is an “abnormal response to a food, triggered by the body’s immune system.”  When the body encounters a food substance it doesn’t like (or is allergic to) it releases a special antibody in order to protect itself from that food.  However, this allergic reaction can be extremely dangerous and sometimes leads to death.  If you have a food allergy, talk to your doctor.  He or she can help you identify what you are allergic to and what actions to take in the event of a reaction.

What is the difference between “Food Intolerance” and “Food Allergy?” First, it is important to know that certain bacteria present in food can create “food poisoning” symptoms similar to an intolerance.  So before jumping to a conclusion about foods you may, or may not, be intolerant of, it’s best to consult your doctor.

• Food Intolerance is the body’s inability to process certain types of food.  The digestive system of individuals with Food Intolerance lacks the enzymes necessary to break down specific foods.  When the body is unable to break down food, it can linger in the intestinal tract and cause severe cramping, bloating, and gas.  In severe cases of Food Intolerance, undigested food particles can rupture the the lining of the intestines and enter the bloodstream.
• Food Allergies, as mentioned before, is the immune system’s reaction to a food substance it perceives to be potentially harmful.  Symptoms tend to be more immediate than those felt by food intolerance sufferers.  Common allergic reaction symptoms include coughing, sneezing, vomiting, migranes, watering eyes, rashes, swelling, hives, and–in extremely severe cases–anaphylactic shock, which prevents the sufferer from breathing on their own.

What are some common foods that cause Food Allergy? Almost 90% of Food Allergies are triggered by protein-rich foods such as:

• Fish such as bass, flounder, and cod,
• Shellfish such as lobster and shrimp,
• Peanuts,
• Tree nuts such as walnuts and almonds,
• Wheat,
• Milk,
• Soy,
• and Eggs.

These foods are all legally considered “major food allergens” and should be avoided by sufferers of Food Allergies.

For more information, visit foodsafety.gov or the FDA.  Additional source:  foodintol®.

We have some great blog posts coming up for you . . . keep checking back!

Ok, so we’ve been obsessed with Jamie Oliver–Britain’s tastiest export–for a while now.  Formerly known as England’s “Naked Chef,” Jamie single-handedly overhauled the United Kingdom’s school lunch program and has now taken America by storm with his new cookbook Jamie’s Food Revolution.  Oliver teaches non-foodies how to use fresh, healthy ingredients to make simple, affordable, delicious meals the whole family will love.

If you can’t get enough of Jamie, then you’ll love his new show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution debuting on ABC March 26th.  He’ll head to America’s unhealthiest city to try and break the cycle of destructive habits, arming himself with fresh ingredients and some alarming facts.  (Did you know that America’s current generation of children is not expected to live longer than their parents?!)  In one powerful promo, he visits a first grade classroom only to find they are unable to identify even the most basic fruits and vegetables.

In the show, Jamie will focus largely on the eating habits of America’s youth.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is likewise concerned with this issue. They issued a press release last Friday (Feb 26, 2010) stating that on average, parents who considered nutrition when selecting fast food items for their children, chose meals that were at least 100 calories less than meals selected by uninformed parents.  As the USDHHS   put it, “100 calories, added up over time, is actually a significant amount.”

For more information, check out Jamie Oliver’s website and sign the petition to become “part of the revolution.”

Wes Studi, the American Indian actor pictured below, is helping to get the word out.  Take Wes’ advice and get your family vaccinated.  Also, please note that children 9 years of age and younger will need TWO doses of the flu vaccine.

"The best way to protect yourself, your family and your community is to get vaccinated against seasonal and H1N1 flu." -Wes Studi, quote for HHS

Click HERE to find out where you can locate the vaccine.

Photo Credit:  www.aaanativearts.com

If foodborne illness is your thing, then check out the adorable E.Coli with his fuzzy dangling tendrils.  Anyway you look at it, these cuties are a great gift.  Or you could just send flowers.

GIANTmicrobes