Personal Injury Law

Halloween decorations hide a poor inspection score

Posted on October 25, 2009
Halloween in New Zealand doesn't appear to be as hyped-up as North America. I've yet to see any houses decorated in Wellington, and the usual surplus of costumes and candy in grocery and department stores is nearly non-existent here. That won't stop me however; I've already begun gathering the fixin's for my costume...

An A for the ice cream shop on Curb Your Enthusiasm

Posted on October 25, 2009
Finally getting around to watching last week's Curb Your Enthusiasm before delving into this week's, and once again, the Los Angeles restaurant inspection disclosure program is the money shot of the show. In addition to the A, the 31 Ice Cream has some sort of food safety seal I haven't seen before...

Gratuitous food porn shot of the day - rib eye steak and all the fixins

Posted on October 25, 2009
Sorenne eating dinner with mom and dad, 6:00 p.m., Oct. 25, 2009. Should have taken the picture last night with seafood surprise (in Manhattan Kansas?) and grandma here, but tonight will have to do: Grilled rib eye steak with rosemary and garlic, grilled sweet potato fries, grilled Portobello mushrooms and red pepper, garlic-lime butter on home-made whole-wheat baguette, and sugar snap peas...

Supermarket Guru says stickers on clamshells a good food safety idea to go

Posted on October 24, 2009
Supermarket Guru picked up on our food safety stickers for takeout food and suggested it was one way retailers could turn food safety into a competitive advantage, and wrest takeout business from nearby restaurants. Which was exactly one of our thoughts when we began experimenting with food safety stickers about five years ago...

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But we've never had E. coli - petting zoo visitor freefall

Posted on October 24, 2009
Staff at the Stonebridge City Farm want to reassure potential visitors that the farm has never been affected by E. coli as the number of visitors continues to decline in the wake of a petting zoo outbreak that sickened 93 children. Mark Barry, funding development worker at the farm in St Ann's, said, "We've been quite severely affected by E...

Can citrus-scented Windex make the world a better place?

Posted on October 24, 2009
From the reading-too-much–into-the-results-of-a-study category, researchers have found that people are unconsciously fairer and more generous when they are in clean-smelling environments. The research found a dramatic improvement in ethical behavior with just a few spritzes of citrus-scented Windex...

Restaurant inspections:announced or unannounced...

Posted on October 23, 2009
  Restaurant inspections are generally carried out unannounced by a health inspector. In this way one can obtain a snap shot of what is actually going on at that time. Some of the expressions on employees' faces when I arrive and announce myself are priceless, makes me feel so wanted at times...

Milking cows on the Sydney Habour bridge

Posted on October 23, 2009
The bridge over Sydney Harbour connecting Sydney with the business area of north Sydney is an engineering marvel. Ben, Dani and I walked it one night after too much fine wine with some Australian colleagues. I've jogged across it many times. And walked, like in this pic from 2004 (right)...

Top Chef: Medium-rare lamb is 140F and soy sauce is the secret ingredient in perfect gravy

Posted on October 23, 2009
Jennifer and daughter Ingrid brought the lamb, I did the cooking, and Amy's mom flew in from Vegas. Another Thursday night in Manhattan (Kansas). What better occasion to try out alleged perfect gravy that scientists with the U.K. Royal Society of Chemistry have determined contains drippings from a roast on a bed of halved onions, carrots and celery and the left-over water from boiled cabbage...

Faith-based food safety? Market microbial food safety directly at retail so consumers can choose

Posted on October 22, 2009
Most food purchases are based on faith. That's why an extensive series of rules, regulations and punishments emerged beginning in 12th century Mediterranean areas. Faith-based food safety systems are prevalent from the farmer's market to the supermarket, especially in the produce section...

World record wash-off: India versus South Africa

Posted on October 22, 2009
The World Health Organization launched their second annual Global Handwashing Day on October 15, 2009. The purpose of the two events was to break current world record holder, Bhiddwa School Niketon of Dhaka, Bangladesh, with 1,213 participants. South Africa broke the current record with 1,802 Gauteng school-children participants with help from rugby hero Bryan Habana...

Food safety doesn't just happen in English - so why aren't restaurant inspection disclosure results available in other languages?

Posted on October 22, 2009
You'd figure that getting stuff translated into other languages would be a breeze, since I have an in with the modern languages department. But to do it in real-time is a bit messy. Whether it's a recall, an inspection report or a warning label, not everyone who eats in the U...

Salmonella in nuts...again.

Posted on July 09, 2009
Nuts and seeds seem to be prone to Salmonella contamination. This year alone peanuts, pistchios, sesame and sunflower seeds, and now potentially pecans have been recalled due to Salmonella contamination. Today General Mills announced a voluntary recall of Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters 'Nut Lovers' (pictured right) due to potential Salmonella contamination believed to be from pecans in the product, reportsForbes...

ABC News: 3 kinds of E. coli linked to Nestle's cookie dough

Posted on July 09, 2009
Brian Hartman of ABC News is reporting that investigators have linked at least three different kinds of E. coli to Nestle's cookie dough but they remain stumped as to just how the bacteria got in the product. DNA testing of E. coli found in an unopened package of cookie dough at Nestle's plant in Danville, Va...

Food safety in French: Le Blog d'Albert Amgar

Posted on July 09, 2009
I'm not sure how I would have figured stuff out when I moved to Manhattan (Kansas) if Amy wasn't with me. Especially the American university administrative hoops. And the French. I'm Canadian but, like many other Canadians, don't speak French. Fortunately, Amy's a French professor so I can now understand all the food safety stuf Albert Amgar sends me from France – it's usually in French...

Real World cast member needs to wash his hands

Posted on July 09, 2009
I watch MTV. I have watched every season of the Real World since I can remember. Partly because I have a strong opinion on how MTV was the first television station to do reality shows, but mostly because I love the idiotic drama, which includes, but is not limited to drunken nights, roommate fights, and hook-ups...

Welsh government responds to E. coli outbreak report; parents of Mason say it's not enough

Posted on July 08, 2009
After the 2005 E. coli O157 outbreak which killed 5-year-old Mason Jones and sickened and 160 schoolchildren in Wales, Professor Hugh Pennington led a public inquiry which revealed the futility of food safety training, government inspection, and pretty much anything to do with the so-called food safety system...

Powell to Times - stick it in

Posted on July 08, 2009
The following letter appeared in the Dining and Wine section of this morning's N.Y. Times: Re 'The Perfect Burger and All Its Parts' July 1: The only thin piece of metal that should be stuck into the side of a hamburger is a tip-sensitive digital thermometer...

Andrew Stormer: stick it in for safety (a thermometer)

Posted on July 08, 2009
Andrew Stormer (right, exactly as shown), a Kansas State food science grad who used to work with me writes from Topeka: Food is my career and a passion, so I often find myself in conversations with people regarding trendy food topics (organic, healthy, safe etc...

Belgica mussels under the microscope; is New Zealand better than Old Zeeland?

Posted on July 08, 2009
A year ago Amy and I were sitting in a Wellington, New Zealand restaurant overlooking the harbor, pulling mussels from the shell (it was a holiday complete). Consumers in Belgium are just beginning to enjoy the annual harvest of so-called Belgica mussels...

Not-so "Totally awesome, dude": California pizza parlour home to rat(s)

Posted on July 08, 2009
Growing up my older cousin Adam was obsessed with the pizza-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and every time we visited his house my sisters and I were forced to re-enact fight scenes from the wildly popular TV series. Adam was always Leonardo, and somehow one of us was always the wise rat Splinter...

An inspectors' dream.....

Posted on July 08, 2009
  I love food safety and hate pathogens, so sometimes I can get a little too excited when restaurant operators' are engaged in food safety and really care about what they are doing. Just the other day on a routine restaurant inspection, the manager pulled me aside and asked me if I want to hear everything they are currently doing to ensure food safety...

Obama moves on food safety: will it mean fewer sick people?

Posted on July 07, 2009
Reuters is reporting this morning ahead of a press conference later today by recently formed supergroup, the Food Safety Working Group (right, not exactly as shown), that the Obama administration is ordering tougher steps to curb salmonella and E.coli contamination in U...

Beets, bears, Battlestar Galactica and restaurant inspection

Posted on July 07, 2009
I've never been to Saskatchewan, but for some reason whenever I picture the prairie people I picture Dwight Schrute's beet-lovin' cousin Mose (pictured right) from The Office. Perhaps the fear on the Saskatchewanonian's shirts has caused the recent decrease in restaurant inspection website numbers...

From the we've never had a problem file: Salmonella in lasagna edition

Posted on July 07, 2009
NBC 29 reports that a group of central Virginia guests have Salmonellosis that appears to be linked to frozen lasagna from a popular past a shop. In a classic blame game maneuver and "wha happened?" defense, the owner of Mona Lisa (the pasta shop) says that if his food is the source of the outbreak, it was likely customer error...

E. coli cause of kidney failure in Iowa child?

Posted on July 07, 2009
KSFY is reporting that a one-year-old boy from Sioux Center, Iowa is in a Sioux Falls hospital tonight, fighting hemolytic uremic syndrome or HUS. His dad told Action News today that Isaiah is normally an active kid, but this has slown him down and their time in the hospital has been heart-wrenching saying "you never think you're going to see your child in the hospital and the reality of it is, is that it can happen to anyone...

How many food poisoners can you spot on this list?

Posted on July 07, 2009
As Eddie Murphy said in the movie, 48 Hours, 'A badge and a gun goes a long way. … There's a new sheriff in town.' That's the impression the Obama Administration is trying to project with a spate of announcements to enhance food safety, which makes me feel it's 1994 all over again … and look, there's Michael Taylor back as a food safety advisor at the Food and Drug Administration (good choice, BTW)...

Food poisoning strikes Birmingham police

Posted on July 07, 2009
In 1984, the Pope visited the restored 350-year-old Jesuit mission of Ste. Marie-among-the-Hurons in Midland, Ontario. After departing, 1,600 hungry Ontario Provincial Police officers who had worked the ropes gathered for a boxed lunch. Of those 500 officers who chose ones with roast beef sandwiches, 423 came down with salmonella...

Doggie dining update: seems to work in Sarasota

Posted on July 06, 2009
Amy and I have developed a habit of going to the Sarasoto/Venice Beach area on Florida's Gulf coast. Especially in August. It's just too hot in Kansas. We won't be taking the dogs this year but we probably will in the future. According to this update in the Herald Tribune, Florida authorized local governments to create doggie dining in 2006, and Sarasota and Manatee counties enacted ordinances in 2007...

Fireworks, food safety and bad, bad stuf

Posted on July 05, 2009
As the fireworks continue in the background, Amy and I are working in bed and put on a terrible, 1972 movie, 1776, which turns out to be a musical about American Independence starring Ken-The-White-Shadow Howard as Thomas Jefferson and William-I-was-on-St...

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