Faculty and students in the Hospitality Department were featured on 13 WHAM news at 11p on Thursday, Feb. 15, after salmonella was found in peanut butter. Our experts shared with consumers some information on keeping your food safe.
Visit 13 WHAM’s Web site at https://www.13wham.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=2425a48f-dd66-4907-91d3-776d32830bb0
then click on Watch Video to see our professors and students in action.
Here's the article:
From E. Coli in spinach to Salmonella in peanut butter it seems there has been a lot of sickness linked to food over the past year.
Professor Drew Lawrence teaches culinary arts at Monroe Community College and owns a family catering business.
Lawrence said, "You're never, in my opinion, going to eliminate these types of outbreaks. What we need to be able to do is control them."
Still, Lawrence doesn't think the numbers of food illness cases are rising; he thinks we're hearing more about them.
"The media is making things much more accessible to the community in addition we're more attuned to what's happening with our food supply, he said.
The hospitality and food preparation programs at MCC include whole courses on food safety and sanitation. Students learn about the safety measures that help prevent bacterial outbreaks such as proper handling off food and cooking meat and other foods at proper temperatures and to the appropriate internal temperatures.
Reporting Problems with Food
About a tenth of 300 of the total number of cases linked to the peanut butter were from New York state, none in the immediate Rochester area.
The HYPERLINK "https://www.monroecounty.gov/health-index.php"Monroe County Department of Public Health is looking into four or five possible cases, none of which has been confirmed.
The HYPERLINK "https://www.ontariocountypublichealth.com/"Ontario County Public Health Department looked at all the confirmed salmonella cases from last year; none is from the same strain as the peanut butter cases.
Public health officials caution people not to confuse salmonella poisoning with the HYPERLINK "https://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htm"norovirus, commonly known as the “stomach flu,” which is going around and has similar symptoms.
Nevertheless, if you've eaten peanut butter and have become sick over the last seven days, the county health departments want to hear from you. The number in Monroe County is (585) 753-5164; the Ontario County numbers are (585)396-4343 or 1 (800) 299-2995.
For more information about preventing illness from salmonella and other food borne bacteria, visit the HYPERLINK "https://www.ific.org./publications/other/consumersguideom.cfm"Web site of the International Food Information Council.
Dianne E McConkey
Public Affairs
02/19/2007 |