Fruitcake - Will It Last Forever?

In "A Christmas Memory," Truman Capote writes about how, as they have done each year, Buddy and his favorite cousin inaugurate the Christmas season with a late November fruitcake baking. This entails gathering wind-fallen pecans and a visit to the dilapidated shack of Mr. Haha Jones to buy whiskey, using the money that they have accumulated through the year in their Fruitcake Fund. After four days of baking, their fruitcakes are ready for delivery to friends, "persons we’ve met maybe once, perhaps not at all."

Is it the fruitcake that lasts a long time, or the memory of the fruitcake?  I don't need a physical reminder to conjure up the sounds, sights and smells of a bakery filled to capacity with fruitcakes in various forms of completion. The fruitcake may not last forever, but those memories will.

This week, a look at long lasting fruitcake.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas." - Dale Evans  (American writer, film star, singer-songwriter and wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers, 1912 - 2001)

   Fruitcake - Will It Last Forever

History of Food Safety in the U.S. - Part 2

In 1862, President Lincoln appoints a chemist, Charles M. Wetherill, to serve in the new Department of Agriculture. This was the beginning of the Bureau of Chemistry, the predecessor of the Food and Drug Administration.

This week, Part 2 of 3 on the History of Food Safety in the U.S.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The highest courage is to dare to appear to be what one is." - John Lancaster Spalding (American author, poet, advocate for higher education, the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria from 1877 to 1908 and a co-founder of The Catholic University of America, 1840 - 1916).

   History of Food Safety in the U.S. Part 2

History of Food Safety in the U.S. - Part 1

In the winter of 1924, oysters grown in polluted waters near Long Island, NY, caused an outbreak of typhoid fever from Salmonella Typhi that killed 150 people and sickened at least 1,500. To this day, it holds the record for the highest body count of any foodborne illness outbreak in U.S. history.

This week, Part 1 of 3 on the History of Food Safety in the U.S.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (US essayist & poet, 1803 - 1882)

   History of Food Safety in the U.S. Part 1

Traceback Investigations

In the spring of 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began to hear from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health partners about cases of salmonellosis. The case count grew quickly. In the first week of April, 93 illnesses were reported. The next week there were 116, and a week later there were 139. By early May, the number of cases had nearly doubled. The final count: 425 people had been reported ill by the end of the outbreak. But by using traceback analysis, FDA was able to follow a trail of tuna shipments to its source, leading to the recall 58,000 pounds of frozen tuna and helping prevent additional illnesses.

This week, a look at traceback investigations.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." - Edgar Allan Poe in the short story "Eleonora" (American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, 1809 - 1849)

   Traceback Investigations

Fist bumps are less germy than handshakes

Like it or not, our hands are in constant contact with all types of microbes. When we touch a doorknob, answer the phone, or get on the bus, our hands are bound to get full of germs. And if we can’t wash them immediately after or forgot our hand sanitizers, we will spread germs to other surfaces, including someone else.

This week, a look at what we can do to avoid contact with germy hands.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "What's done cannot be undone." - William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act V, sc. 1 (English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, 1564 - 1616)

   Fist Bumps Are Less Germy Than Handshakes

Vladimir Putin employs a full-time food taster to faithfully ensure his meals arent poisoned

A food taster?  Really?

This week, a look at, well, the title says it all.

TTFN, Fred,

Quote of the week: "Hell, there are no rules here-- we're trying to accomplish something." - Thomas A. Edison (US inventor, 1847 - 1931)

   Junk Science Vladimir Putin Employs a Full-time Food Taster to Faithfully Ensure His Meals Aren't Pois...

Why Most Americans Refrigerate Raw Shell Eggs and Europeans Often Don't

Any world traveler has probably noticed that in most countries outside of the US and Canada, eggs aren't stored under refrigeration. Whether you are wandering in an outdoor market, shopping in a grocery store or visiting a home, you will find eggs sitting on the counter, at room temperature.

This week, a look at refrigerating eggs (or not).

TTFN, Fred,

Quote of the week: "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." -  Robert Frost (US poet, 1874 - 1963)

   Why Most Americans Refrigerate Raw Shell Eggs and Europeans Often Dont