Key seems to be the source is usually contaminated water...seems like a simple fix, no?
The Atlantic has a piece by Nicholas Florko in which he discusses the fact that onions, which traditionally have been thought to have "natural properties that are thought to prevent foodborne illnesses, and on top of that, they undergo a curing process that acts as a fail-safe," now have been implicated in a E. coli outbreak.
From the story:
"Clearly, onions are not contamination proof. Onion experts I spoke with floated some plausible theories. Linda Harris, a professor of food safety at UC Davis, posited that bacteria could hypothetically bypass an onionâs protective skin by entering through the green tops of the onion and then traveling down into the layers of the onion itself. And although onions might have antimicrobial properties, that might not always be enough to prevent an E. coli infection from taking hold, Michael Doyle, a food microbiologist at the University of Georgia, told me; when it comes to antimicrobial activity, he said, 'not all onions are created equal.' And the McDonaldâs onions could have become infected simply by way of probability."
The fact is that "the culprit, in many instances, is contaminated water used to irrigate crops. An outbreak can also start with something as simple as a nearby critter relieving itself near your veggies. Any additional processing, such as when onions are cut into prepackaged slivers, can give bacteria lots of opportunities to spread. Thatâs why the FDA considers most precut raw vegetables to be high risk. (As with other foods, cooking onions to 165 degrees Fahrenheit kills pathogens.)"
But Florko also makes a broader point:
"The entire situation demonstrates the maddening inscrutability of foodborne illness. The reality is that although these outbreaks are rare, they can be dangerous. One person died after eating a contaminated Quarter Pounder, and a 15-year-old had to undergo dialysis to stave off kidney failure. Yet for all of the technology and science that goes into food safetyâthe genome sequencing of foodborne pathogens, blockchain technology that traces crops from farms to store shelvesâwe continue to be stuck with more questions than answers. America has less of an onion problem than an everything problem."
i was just thinking i forgot about dinner last night and i need to get something yummy for lunch because
i had some stuff in the freezer in our office, but someone helped themselves to one of my items, so i took them all home. and of course forgot to bring something in for today.
There Is No Such Thing as âJunkâ Food
Food hierarchies are, in truth, sorting mechanisms. It does not make you a worse person to eat âjunkâ food, and it certainly doesnât make you a better person to eat whole grains.
and of course forgot to bring something in for today.
