Filtering by Tag: Botulism

Food Safety Talk 16: Gun with a Bang Flag

Added on by Don Schaffner.

The show starts with a discussion of Canadian culture, including hockey, the Canadian national anthem, and the Tragically Hip, and then in quick succession, BLN, Rush, Neil Young, The Band, and Tim Horton's Coffee. 

No self-respecting podcast would neglect the preliminary requisite discussion of Skype, the resolutionary New iPad, favorite apps like Omnifocus, or favorite games like W.E.L.D.E.R.

A brief discussion of the merits of Multitasking during teleconferences occurs before the guys briefly revisit pink slime and then launch into their main topic on home canning food safety.

Home canning of green beans always should use a USDA approved recipe. And remember: there are no safe options for canning Vegetables in a boiling water canner! Why do some people not get sick when foods are improperly canned? Well, it comes down to probability, and like Barbie sort of said "probability is hard." And when your number comes up, it's not just a sign that says bang, in fact it's quite serious.

While it is true that heat does denature bot toxin, that is probably not a good food safety management strategy. A good quality management strategy for home or commercially canned foods is first in, first out stock rotation. The bottom line? When in comes to C. botulinum, don't play too close to the edge.

From the discussion of canned foods, Don moves on to discuss his recent trip to Thailand, funded in part, thanks in part to Mark Robson. He goes on to comment on the safety of street food, and his ideas for research. Because after all, how will he know what he thinks until he sees what he says? The safety of street food is a popular topic in the Journal of Food Protection, although our pal Linda Harris has yet to publish on the safety of roasted chestnuts.

The guys briefly remark that they are glad the FSPCA website is finally live. Too bad they didn't use squarespace.

When Ben mention's his opus, Don first think's he is talking about a penguin. Ben clarifies that he isn't talking about a musical work, or other excellent works by Richard Dreyfuss, but instead is talking about the Ottawa Lunch Lady and some of their recent problems.

In the after dark, Don tells Ben again how much he liked Ben's comment on too many cooks in the kitchen.

Gun With a Bang Flag