Safe Food Act 2007, Representative Feedback

First, an unsafe food&drug round-up:

Medicinal Seafood:
FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood, Products Have Repeatedly Contained Potentially Harmful Residues

Veggie Chips - No Booty For You:
FDA Warns Consumers Not to Eat Veggie Booty Snack Food, Risk of Salmonella Contamination

Dual-Acting Toothpaste:
Wider Sale Is Seen for Toothpaste Tainted in China
FDA Advises Consumers to Avoid Toothpaste From China Containing Harmful Chemical (Lists the brands to avoid)
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The Safe Food Act 2007 that I've been trumpeting calls for increased inspections, both domestic and foreign. These inspections, had they been implemented, might have delivered us from the above hazards.

Back in the middle of May, I wrote a letter to my Congressman in the House, to my two Senators, and to the President regarding the Safe Food Act of 2007 (S. 654 and H.R. 1148).

About a month later, I received a response from one Senator. This was in addition to his auto-reply. A clip:

"Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding recent food safety concerns. I appreciate hearing from all [state residents] about the issues that matter most to them.

In March of 2007, the presence of melamine, a chemical agent commonly used in the production of plastics, was detected in wheat and corn gluten as well as rice protein imported into the United States from China. These substances were then used in household pet food that caused the deaths of dozens of animals across the country. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that any melamine fed to livestock destined for the consumer food supply poses no threat to human health, this tragedy, along with other incidents such as the recent E. Coli outbreak in spinach grown in California, has prompted Congress to take action.

Consequently, I [endorse] S. 654, the Safe Food Act of 2007. This bill would create a new Food Safety Administration (FSA) and make it responsible for establishing a certification system for foreign nations seeking to import foods into the United States. This agency would also conduct oversight, allowing for a better flow of information between the existing food-monitoring governmental entities.

I will keep your views in mind as we continue to work on this important legislation.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you."

Yesterday I received a response from my other Senator. A clip:

"Thank you for contacting my office regarding S. 654, the Safe Food Act of 2007. I appreciate your taking the time to bring your views on this important matter to my attention. As a United States Senator, it is essential that I be kept fully informed on the issues of concern to my constituents. Be assured that I will keep your thoughts on this legislation in mind when the Senate considers this or related issues during the 110 th Congress."

The President's office sent an auto-reply about 7.4 seconds after I hit "Send":

"On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence. We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions. Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House cannot respond to every message. Thank you again for taking the time to write."

Although the responses were cookie-cutter (the first one was nicely elaborative), I'm happy to get them... well, except for the President's. No one could have read my personal and painstaking letter in 7.4 seconds. My local Congressman has yet to respond, not even with an auto-reply "Thank you." or "Message received." I know he received it though since I was immediately added to his mailing list. I'm now reminded every few weeks of how important the issues that matter to me are to him, and how dedicated he is to "championing issues of concern to his constituents." He could do with a little PR assistance.

I also wrote to Hillary Clinton, but she replied that my time would be better spent writing to my own Senators:

"Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns with me via e-mail. I hope you will understand that, because of the volume of e-mails I receive from residents of New York State, I cannot at this time respond to messages received from residents of other states. I encourage you to contact your U.S. senators if you have an issue or concern that needs immediate attention."

If you're a resident of New York state, if you've been following my posts on food safety, and if you agree with me that the Safe Food Act 2007 could help mitigate some problems caused by the current structure, I encourage you to write to your Senators, Ms. Clinton and Mr. Schumer. They are two of only 4 Senators (Durbin (IL) and Casey (PA) are the other two) who think enough about food safety to be sponsoring this legislation, and who could help catapult it out of Committee.

I'm of the opinion that every little squeak helps.
________

Roasted Red Peppers

The grill was fired up, so these are grilled red peppers. Roasting and grilling produce similar products, but grilling adds a soft, smoky background.

They made a fine lunch with a few Kalamata olives and a piece of New York Times No-Knead Bread.

Ingredients

1 Large, Firm Red Pepper (That was all I had but it was enough for 2 people.)

A pinch of each of the following:

Extra-virgin Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Kosher salt
Black pepper (Freshly ground, if handy)
________
1   Heat a gas grill to medium-high. Wash the pepper and grill it over a medium flame, turning often, until the skin blackens fairly evenly.

Notes: A charcoal grill works great but it's a lot of work for one pepper. I've held it over the flame of a gas burner too, which also works great until you get tired of holding it. My backup in winter is the broiler.

Don't worry about charring the skin. That part gets scraped off.

2   Immediately place the hot pepper into a heat-proof bowl and cover. I use a stainless steel bowl and cover it with aluminum foil. Let it steam in the bowl, then cool, for at least 30 minutes.

3   When cool, hold the pepper above the bowl and pierce it with a sharp knife to allow the juice to escape. (You want to save the juice.) Cut away the stem, core, seeds, and ribs. Rub off the charred skin. Slice pepper lengthwise into 1-inch wide strips. Return strips to the bowl with the pepper juice, and toss with a dash of olive oil and vinegar, and a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour and not more than a day.

I like to add a pinch of chipotle ground chili pepper. But I like things hot. Hot.

Enjoy!

Sweet Food

Is it just me? Or has food been tasting sweeter to you too? Pasta sauce, peanut butter, catsup ... who's been spiking all the catsup with sugar? Why can't I buy an unsweetened catsup? ... even carrots. Oh boy, Dr. Davis is going to have a heyday with this one:

Hello Sugar... Food Is Getting Sweeter

The story ran in The Times (London). I'd wager its findings would apply here in the US too:

"In 1978 Kellogg’s Special K had 9.6g of sugar per 100g, but this has now nearly doubled to 17g - a similar level to vanilla ice-cream."

"It is not just manufactured foods that have seen their sugar content rise. Supermarkets have also been selecting sweeter varieties of fruit and vegetables to appeal to customers. According to McCance and Widdowson, between 1978 and 2002 the amount of sugar in:

• Bananas rose from 16.2g per 100g to 20.9g
  
• Pears rose from 7.6g per 100g to 10g
  
• Carrots rose from 5.4g per 100g to 7.4g"

Glazing carrots has become redundant.
________Photo of Sugar Warehouse in Brazil from Alibaba.com.

Good Manufacturing Practices For Dietary Supplements, Gets The Nod

Friday was a good day. I was sitting at a red light when I heard the news:

"The Food and Drug Administration issued long-delayed rules on how dietary supplements are manufactured, packaged, and labeled." ^{1, 2}
- National Public Radio, June 22, 2007

I yelped. I slapped my dashboard. The light turned green.

I spoke about this 13-year-pending FDA rule last month on my post, Good Manufacturing Practices For Dietary Supplements, Waiting For The Nod, where I lamented that this rule, a rule that received legislative approval in 1994, was still not in force.

This isn't the kind of regulation that would limit access to supplements, not outright at least, unless a product was certifiably filthy. It doesn't address safety (Is taking 2 grams of vitamin C a day safe?), or efficacy (Is St. John's Wort effective for use in depression?). It merely establishes enforceable guidelines for supplement quality. These include such things as equipment function and cleanliness, batch testing, sanitation, storage at the proper temperature/humidity/light conditions, record keeping, etc. - things that any business worth its salt, or your dollar, would already have in place.

I hope this means:

• Less DDT and other pesticides in St. John's Wort, Valerian, Echinacea, Ginseng, and other herbals.
  
• Less lead, mercury, glass, and other contaminants.
  
• Fewer bacteria and bug parts.
  
• A greater likelihood that the strength of the product on the label matches the strength of the product in the bottle
  
• A greater likelihood that the identity of the product on the label matches the identity of the product in the bottle.

Some think this rule doesn't go far enough; that it's too little, too late.^3,4 I'm not going to be negative. I think it's a good regulation. It moves the supplement industry in the direction of better quality and more trustworthy labeling. A positive response by the public to rules like this opens the door for more in the future.

One aspect I especially like ... these Good Manufacturing Practices apply to foreign companies as well as domestic. Did you know that China provides the US 90% of its vitamin C? As well as the bulk of vitamins A, B₁₂, and E? (I didn't. Thank you, Tim Johnson at the Seattle Times.) According to this rule, businesses anywhere "that manufacture, package, label or hold dietary supplements, including those involved with the activities of testing, quality control, packaging and labeling, and distributing them in the US" are obligated to comply.

Friday was a good day.
________¹ FDA's press release.
² If you're inclined, here's the FDA's Final Rule (pdf, 815 pages).
³ Center for Science in the Public Interest: "...the regulations are not as stringent as those for infant formula and low-acid canned foods."
⁴ Public Citizen: "A final rule issued today by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not only is 13 years late but will not do anything to ensure that dietary supplements are safe or effective - a critical necessity."

Really Raw® Honey

And really good honey. I don't often write about brands, but this brand stands out.

It's an unprocessed honey, more solid at room temperature than commercial honey like Golden Blossom.

It's advertised as:

• Being free from pesticides and fertilizers.
  
• Never being heated, strained or filtered.
  
• Containing the pollen, propolis, honeycomb, and live enzymes that the bees put in.

I'll admit, the third item in this list took a little getting used to. The particulate matter, "cappings" the folks at Really Raw call it, floats in tea and crunches when it meets tooth. These cappings rise to the top and form a layer of honeycomb crunch about 1/16 inch thick over the honey (see photo below). Apparently, they became so prized that "Really Raw Honey Cappings are now available by the jar and can be chewed, just like chewing gum, for a sweetly delicious way to enjoy and ingest the goodness the bees put in." I'm not there yet.

Another reason I like Really Raw^® Honey - it started as a small family business and continues to support small family beekeeping operations.

I didn't go out of my way to purchase it. This 8 oz. jar was on the shelf of a local grocery store (Wegman's) for $5.99. (I've had other raw organic honey that didn't taste this good and was almost double the price.) If you'd like to try it, it's available from their website at www.reallyrawhoney.com - free shipping.
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I probably wouldn't have written this post were it not for the following two personal experiences. I've used this honey in tea for years, but I never put it on my body...

A few weeks ago, after combing research that culminated in my post Honey For Wound Healing, I rubbed some Really Raw on a really raw abrasion I had that was taking a long time to heal. It was a sticky mess. I stuck with it. The wound closed up overnight and was a dull pink memory in another day.

Still not convinced, I tried it again. This time I used it on a facial rash I typically get in the Spring from allergies. I tapped on less than 1/8 teaspoon, then spread it with warm water. Fortunately, I didn't have to leave the house for a few hours because I had a nice case of shiny cheeks. That afternoon, honey washed off by then, my inflammation was noticeably reduced. The next day my complexion was so clear it invited unsolicited kudos from my husband.

These testimonials have nothing to do with science. For all I know, there could have been a placebo effect working. Something was working. So, even though I'm reluctant to discuss personal matters, I wanted to share this. You're welcome to comment with your own personal experiences.
________Photos: Homegrown.

Honey For Wound Healing

I was aware of honey's use as a folk remedy for cuts, burns, and other minor skin problems, e.g. athletes' foot.

Recently I learned that honey has been holding its own against more expensive pharmaceutical antibiotics in clinical trials. Not only did honey speed healing and reduce scarring, but it was shown to be effective against "superbug" infections, those for which traditional antibiotics are useless (e.g. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-resistant enterococci). It can even heal wounds in people who are immunocompromised (whose wounds heal poorly), such as those undergoing cancer treatment.

An article in The Economist reported:

"One patient, whose wounds had become infected by the potentially fatal strain of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to the antibiotic methicillin (MRSA), and who failed to respond to other drugs, was free of this superbug within 48 hours of receiving the honey treatment."

Mechanisms

• When bees make honey, they secrete an enzyme into it (glucose oxidase). This enzyme produces hydrogen peroxide (glucose oxidase reduces O₂ to H₂O₂) at low levels and continually. These low levels won't destroy healthy tissue as topical applications of H₂O₂ can, and their continual production reduces need for frequent application. Hydrogen peroxide acts as an antimicrobial agent, slowing bacterial growth.
  
  
• Other antimicrobial components have been found in honey (possibly the flavonoids caffeic acid and ferulic acid). Some honeys have a stronger antibacterial effect, notably honey from bees collecting nectar from certain bushes (manuka, jellybush) growing in Australia and New Zealand.
  
  
• Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution with high osmotic potential; it is hypertonic relative to bacterial cells, and relative to edemous tissue that accompanies infection. That means water will move out of a bacterium and into the honey, reducing the bacterium's ability to reproduce or destroying it altogether. It also means honey can reduce painful swelling.
  
  
• Honey provides a physical barrier to further infection. Its consistency also eases wound undressing. Both of these qualities reduce scarring.

Dr. Arne Simon, an oncology specialist at the University of Bonn Children's Hospital in Germany, and his collegues reported some of their findings last year:

Wound Care With Antibacterial Honey (Medihoney)* In Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Supportive Care In Cancer, 2006.

Below are photos of one of Dr. Simon's patients whose wound was treated with honey:

The wound was caused by a catheter port:

"Even in a patient suffering from a relapse of acute Lymphatic leukemia subjected to high level immunosuppression lasting for months, a deep surgical site infection of a port pocket healed completely without further complications."


* Medihoney is a formulation approved for use as a medicine in Europe. It consists of a mixture of honeys mostly from hives in Australia and New Zealand. The honey is not heat-treated but is sterilized with gamma-radiation to inactivate Clostridium spores which may be present. Other commercial, unprocessed, non-pasteurized, and non-irradiated honeys have also proven effective in studies.¹

An excellent website devoted to the wound healing properties of honey can be found at the Honey Research Unit of the University of Waikato, Department of Biological Sciences, in New Zealand.

Honey is proving itself as a safe, inexpensive, and effective treatment for skin problems. Let's get that bee Colony Collapse Disorder resolved pronto!
________¹ Local Application Of Honey For Treatment Of Neonatal Postoperative Wound Infection

ACTIVE Study: Don't Lose Your Mind

Diet is only one variable in the equation that leads to health. When it comes to cognitive health, diet shares that equation with a number of variables, including blood pressure, inflammation, exercise, attitude, and social networks. But one variable, mental activity, has been receiving more weight in the equation, owing to studies such as this one:

Long-term Effects of Cognitive Training on Everyday Functional Outcomes in Older Adults

Methods

The participants in this study (n = 2832, mean age 73.6) were divided into 3 treatment groups and a control group. The treatment groups received either memory training, reasoning training, or speed-of-processing training. There were ten training sessions at the start of the study and four booster sessions at 11 and 35 months (at the end of year 1 and year 3).

Results

"The ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) study is the first largescale, randomized trial to show that cognitive training improves cognitive function in well-functioning older adults ..."

But the star finding:

"... and that this improvement lasts up to 5 years from the beginning of the intervention."

Ten sessions and a few boosters = 5 years of improved cognitive functioning? I'm sold.
________
Some nutrition for your brain (Try them before you look in comments!)

1. How many triangles can you count in the following figure?


2. How can you throw a ball such that it comes back? No bounces allowed.

3. What do you see?



4. A man wants to transport a fox, a chicken and some corn across a river. He has a rowboat, but it can only carry the man and one other item. If the fox and the chicken are alone together, the fox will eat the chicken. If the chicken and the corn are alone together, the chicken will eat the corn. How does the man do it?
________

Wholesome Beef

DairyQueen at The Ethicurean posted a nice piece on the latest beef recall due to E. coli 0157:H7 contamination:

Rhetorical Questions About USDA Recalls

She (or he, not sure) reports that the company doing the recalling, United Food Group (UFG), began with a 75,000 pound recall on June 3, then expanded it to 370,000 pounds on June 6.

Well, on Saturday, June 9, FSIS (the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service) reported that the UFG expanded it further to 5.7 million pounds. Holy hamburgers, Batman, that's a lot of beef:

California Firm Expands Recall of Ground Beef for Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination (Includes products. Oh no, Trader Joe's.)

This is a voluntary recall, as DairyQueen points out, since the USDA lacks recall authority. Whether the UFG has decided to conduct it out of concern for mankind, or concern for their bottom line means less to me than that it was done. However, when it comes to food safety, recalling is like plugging a leak; it's best to fix a problem at the source. Maybe in this case that means favoring grass over grain as cattle feed, since I read somewhere that feeding a cow grain can increase the size and number of E. coli 0157:H7 colonies along its digestive tract. I don't mean to infringe on the territory of animal husbandry experts though; I know more about beans than cows.

I can see the USDA's quandary. On one hand they're expected to promote agriculture, on the other hand, police it. We could help them out of, what might be perceived as their conflict of interest, by transferring their food safety function to a more dedicated group. (Have I mentioned the Safe Food Act 2007 would do that?)

Back to DairyQueen and the FSIS website.
Wait, one more tangent... People are referring to this as a USDA recall, yet nowhere on the USDA's homepage did I read about this recall. You can't read about it on the FDA's site either, nor their CFSAN (Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition) site. You have to find out which agency, in this case FSIS, is responsible. It blows my mind that the FDA is responsible for cheese pizza, but the USDA is responsible for pepperoni pizza. There should be one-stop shopping for food safety news. (Have I mentioned that the as yet unpassed Safe Food Act 2007 would provide this coordination?)

Back to DairyQueen and the FSIS website, I promise.
Towards the end of her post, DairyQueen talks about the FSIS "Ask Karen" application. (Click the pic to give Karen a try.):

DairyQueen asked Karen: "Hi Karen. Is American beef safe to eat?"
Karen replied: "All beef is inspected for wholesomeness. Beef found in retail stores is either USDA inspected or inspected by state systems that have standards equal to the Federal government. Each steer and its internal organs are inspected for signs of disease. The Passed and Inspected by USDA seal insures the beef is wholesome and free from disease."

So I asked Karen: "What does wholesome mean?"
Karen replied: "I'm sorry, I don't understand your question. I am trained to answer food safety questions about foodborne illness, and the safe storage, handling and preparation of meat, poultry and egg products. Please reword your question and try again."

I appreciate that the USDA is inspecting all beef for wholesomeness. It troubles me though that they cannot explain what wholesome means.

I would love for someone to explain to me what wholesome means.
________Photo of USDA beef inspection (for grading) from Encyclopedia Britannica.

Diabetes Is An Expensive Disease

"Take a walk or take an [expensive] pill."

The day you're diagnosed with diabetes is the day you'll want to begin making deposits into your own personal diabetes fund. It's also a good day to review your medical coverage. A plan that's comprehensive (includes dental and vision), with low deductibles (those were the days) and no donut hole is a good choice. Make arrangements for that plan to be with you for a long time too, because diabetes isn't something that goes away.

I've worked in this field for years. I'm humbled when I see the costs patients endure ... the costs to their health, to their sense of wellbeing, to their productivity, to their time, and to their wallet - the cost I've chosen to discuss here. I can't think of an organ system that diabetes doesn't affect. That widely distributed, long-term, insideous chipping-away at someone's vigor is difficult to watch. I can only imagine how difficult it is to experience.

The day you're diagnosed with diabetes is the day you'll begin to look back with fondness at once- or twice-a-year visits to a doctor. The schedule of healthcare visits recommended for a person with diabetes is breathtaking:

• Physician (Minimum every 6 months, more frequently if on insulin: HbA1c, glucose, lipids, urinary protein, blood pressure, BMI, immunizations)
  
• Gynecologist/Women (Yearly: breast exam, mammo, pap test, polycystic ovary, sexual dysfunction)
  
• Urologist/Men (Yearly: PSA, rectal exam, sexual dysfunction)
  
• Specialists: Endocrinologist, Cardiologist, Gastroenterologist, Dermatologist, etc. (As needed: stress test, micro/macrovascular disease, gastroparesis, colorectal exam, acanthosis nigricans)
  
• Dentist (Every 6 months: periodontal disease, thrush, infections)
  
• Eye Doctor (Yearly: retinopathy)
  
• Podiatrist (Yearly: neuropathy, vascular disease, infections, ulcers)
  
• Dietitian (Several visits up front then as needed: macronutrient intake, weight management)
  
• Mental Health Professional (Psychosocial screening (eating disorders, mood disorders, therapy compliance, etc.) should be be conducted by your physician with follow-up by specialist as needed. The rates of dysthymia and depression with diabetes are high and may be linked to the disease.)
  
• Diabetes Educator (Several visits up front then as needed: disease self-management, lifestyle)

Office visits are only part of the expense pie. There are also:

• Pharmaceuticals (oral, injectible)
  
• Medical Supplies (testing meters, lancets, strips, batteries, syringes, insulin pumps)
  
• Specialty Items (glucose tablets, skincare products, software, socks, logbooks)

Most of the above are just basics. They can help people successfully manage blood glucose and other aspects of their disease (foot care¹, skin care, wound care, eye care², sick days, etc.) and stave off diabetic complications. Once a complication sets in, say neuropathy, kidney disease, or heart disease, your schedule for office visits, lab tests, and procedures gets even more crowded. Diabetes provides a non-stop revolving door to the healthcare arena.
________
All those visits and supplies cost.

Two studies I came across recently that attempted to document those costs:

1. Health Care Expenditures For People With Diabetes, 1992, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism:

"Per capita expenditures for confirmed diabetics ($11,157) were more than four times greater than for non-diabetics ($2,604)."

2. Economic Costs Of Diabetes In The US In 2002, in the journal Diabetes Care:

"Per capita medical expenditures totaled $13,243 for people with diabetes and $2,560 for people without diabetes."

That last figure is useful as a stand-alone amount but a little misleading in a comparison since people in their study who had diabetes tended to be older than people who didn't. Still, after adjusting for age, sex, and race/ethnicity they found people with diabetes were spending about 2.4 times as much as those without the disease.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has an Inflation Calculator:


It can convert that $13,243 (2002 dollars) to 2007 dollars. It's based on the Consumer Price Index though, and healthcare costs have risen faster than the cost of consumer goods (and wages) in the last 5 years.

When it comes to diabetes, the saying "Take a walk or take a pill." could be more aptly worded, "Take a walk or take an expensive pill."
________¹ Diabetes is the leading cause of lower-limb amputations in this country.
² Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in this country.

Priorities in Life

While watching the BBC's Planet Earth series¹, I learned there are three priorities among life in the wild:

1. Eating.
   
2. Avoiding being eaten.
   
3. Chatting up the babes.

A depiction of #1 and #2 (3:00 minutes):

And one of #3. This one shows a possible 4th priority - house cleaning (2:50 minutes):

________¹ If you missed it: DailyMotion - Plant Earth

Curried Beluga Lentils

Low in calories, low in carbs, good source of protein, full of antioxidants (both the lentils and the spices), and really, really good when coating a piece of spicy grilled chicken.

To be frank, this recipe has a lot of unnecessary words. If you find yourself alone with a bag of lentils - and you don't know what to do - just boil them, spice them, and you've got a meal.

This recipe makes about 3 or 4 small servings but can be multiplied.

Ingredients

1/4 cup dry Black Beluga or French Green lentils (not the more common brown lentils)
1 1/2 cups water
1 small red or yellow onion, diced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil

Spice Blend (Be creative, or replace everything with a few teaspoons of your favorite curry.)

1/8 teaspoon each of:
turmeric
ground ginger
onion powder
garlic powder
paprika
ground ancho pepper
ground chipotle pepper (hot, use discretionally)
red (cayenne) pepper flakes (hot, use discretionally)
ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon each of:
ground coriander
dried thyme
dried oregano
dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon each of:
ground cumin
kosher salt (or to taste)

Wet Ingredients
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon miso paste (I like mugi or hatcho.)
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon unrefined toasted sesame oil

________
1   Rinse beans (no soaking needed) and place them in a small pot with 1 1/4 cups of water. Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar.  A small Dutch oven works well. Turn the heat to medium-low until you just see a simmer, about 5 minutes. Simmer at the absolutely lowest setting for about 20-25 minutes. Turn off heat and cover.

Notes: Photo on the right above is of Beluga lentils. When wet, these lentils resemble Beluga caviar which can be seen in the photo to the direct right.

These lentils (Beluga or French) are very forgiving. They won't break apart or turn to mush if overcooked, as will their brown and pink cousins. Also, because they keep their shape, they lend themselves to cold salads.

After about 15 minutes check the water level. Depending on how loose your lid is, the water may have evaporated away or been absorbed. If so, add another 1/4 cup of water, cover, and continue simmering until the beans are soft.

2   Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil. Cook on low heat to just wilt them, or turn up the heat until they brown slightly, your choice. Allow to cool for a minute or two in the pan before adding them to the beans.

3   Add about 1/4 cup water (or wine) to the pan the onions and garlic were cooked in, swirl to dislodge brown bits, add to beans. Gently stir in the spices and the last 5 wet ingredients. Bring to a simmer again and heat at lowest setting for about 5 more minutes with lid off.

Notes: You may add a little more water if you like a slightly soupy texture (as seen in the photo above), or you can keep the water to a minimum and serve a drier side of beans.

I served these lentils with grilled chicken and a sautéed red pepper and zucchini side dish. De-lish!

________
Tip: This recipe can be converted to a lentil soup easily by adding a few cups of stock (chicken or vegetable) when the beans are done but before you add the spices. (You could cook the beans in stock but they will take longer to soften.) Chopped raw vegetables, previously sautéed or not, can be added and simmered with the stock (e.g. diced carrots, celery, peppers, broccoli, green beans, etc.). Always add the spices and those last 5 wet ingredients at the very end. Some spices will turn bitter if cooked too long (e.g. turmeric). And acids like lemon juice and vinegar can turn green vegetables like broccoli an unappealing shade of grey.

Name That Food*

* Answer: Beluga Lentils________Photos: Homegrown

One Presidential Candidate Is Calling For Food Safety Reform

Of the 30 or so declared candidates for the White House next year, so far only one has chosen to make food safety part of their campaign platform:

"There are countless problems with our current monitoring program including outdated practices, internal fragmentation and inadequate resources that have resulted in a situation where we simply do not know what kind of food or feed material is coming in from overseas and what kind of risks it poses to our livestock and our safety. It is tragic that we have seen again and again how vulnerable our nation's food supplies are without proper regulation and inspection and yet we haven't learned any lessons from our past mistakes. I am extremely concerned about the recent instances of food contamination and I strongly urge the FDA and the USDA to create a proper food safety program, especially when it comes to imported food and feed materials."¹

The candidate, in a telephone interview with a New York Times columnist:

"We've had a long history of problems with food safety because of the divided system. ... We need a new system of food safety prevention."²

This candidate would:

• Double the FDA's budget over five years.
  
• Double their number of inspectors.
  
• Mandate a minimum frequency for inspections.
  
• Provide mandatory recall authority.

There are a number of issues I care about, but food safety has been elbowing its way to the top lately. I'm not being altruistic here; I care for selfish reasons. I care because I and my family eat peanut butter, spinach, tomatoes, and seafood. We eat eggs, cheese, and the flesh of run-of-the-mill (if only) factory-farmed livestock (which includes so called "organic" brands such as Horizon, Aurora, and private-labeled products from these dairies).

Those statements up there? They're one way to get my vote.
________¹ Senator Clinton Urges Administration to Strengthen Food Safety
In her May 4th letter to USDA Secretary Mike Johanns and FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, she reveals another new (for me) fact in the melamine case:

"With respect to melamine tainting, the FDA has admitted being unable to ascertain how long the United States has imported food and feed materials from China with melamine or other chemicals not meant for consumption. In fact, the USDA also cannot tell us the degree to which the contaminated feed has entered the food chain through livestock consumption. The fact that it has taken more than a month to uncover even the most basic facts about the melamine tainting, including where the tainted products have been consumed, is troubling."

² Who’s Watching What We Eat?, Marian Burros, May 16, NYTs.

Peanut Butter From One Plant Reached 47 States

Coincidentally, the CDC's latest issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) addressed the peanut butter-related salmonella outbreak that I discussed in my previous post.¹ There were two facts of interest for me:

1. The number of known cases of infection has ballooned to over 600 (but is receding):

"As of May 22, 2007, a total of 628 persons infected with an outbreak strain of Salmonella serotype Tennessee had been reported from 47 states since August 1, 2006." (Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Utah had no reported cases.)

2. That minimum 628 cases in 47 states all derived from peanut butter manufactured in one plant.

"Illness was strongly associated with consumption of either of two brands (Peter Pan or Great Value) of peanut butter produced at the same plant."

They included a cases-by-state map:


The CDC summed up this new risk:

"This outbreak demonstrates the potential for widespread illness from a broadly distributed contaminated product, one that has not been previously implicated in a foodborne illness outbreak in the United States."

I see nothing misguided about having a food safety agency institute a regular inspection schedule, one that includes sampling (especially in light of these new risks). I see nothing adverse about requiring a manufacturer to disclose their safety records to that food safety agency. Both of these requirements are spelled out in the, as yet unpassed, Safe Food Act 2007. Had these regulations been implemented, ConAgra would have been obligated to disclose their records in 2005, an action which may have stemmed much human suffering. I'm for that.
________¹ MMWR, June 1, 2007, Multistate Outbreak Of Salmonella Serotype Tennessee Infections Associated With Peanut Butter