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Common Dreams reports
[April 17] the Food and Drug Administration issued a report[PDF] based on inspections of Rose Acre Farms from March 26-April 11, and a review of facility records from September 2017. On [April 13], Rose Acre Farms announced a recall of 206 million shell eggs after federal investigators found that illnesses in multiple states were linked to a strain of Salmonella that was found at the company's facility in North Carolina. The FDA report shows an "ongoing rodent infestation" at the facility and "insanitary conditions and poor employee practices" that allow for the spread of pathogens. The FDA had also previously found "alarmingly high rodent populations" and salmonella contamination at another facility owned by the company in 2011.
In response, Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter issued [a statement which included}:
"This most recent Salmonella outbreak resulting in a massive recall is another example of how the ultra-consolidated factory farm system can have major consequences for food safety. That one facility can so quickly supply so many stores with tainted food shows that we need more regulation, not less, of our food supply. And repeated violations over the years show that the company continues to act recklessly where food safety protocols are concerned."
Note that the recall is for "shell eggs".
It appears that processed foods in which eggs from this source have been used are not covered.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:10PM (6 children)
Shouldn't cooking kill off the salmonella?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:37PM (1 child)
You're right, but this isn't about salmonella (it was probably the thing that got the investigation started). It is about food safety, the four page PDF report basically reads as a horror story for food safety.
Eggs from that farm are more or less flagged Biohazard, that's why they are recalled.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:48PM
"Employees were observed touching ... intergluteal cleft."
Also what is with the (b)(4) images everywhere?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:46PM (2 children)
Check out the sous-vide stuff, thats how I cook beef tenderloins. Delicious!
Anyway 7.0-log-lethality for salmonella is a sliding scale of a bit more than a half hour at 135F up to a millisecond at 165F.
Given the wide variation in times based on temp I wouldn't push your luck, assume the thermometer is reading 5 lower by accident and you're not temping the actual coldest part of the cut.
I googled for internal temperature of baked cake, and get 210F. Yeah... uh that would be salmonella-proof. The idea of temping a cake is interesting and I might try that.
This BTW is why you can eat somewhat undercooked cookie dough or somewhat undercooked brownies and not get sick, "raw-ish" cookie might be 190F which is way the heck hotter than salmonella can survive.
I'm convinced most casual salmonella infections come from poorly cleaned cutting boards and general lack of sanitation (washing hands) rather than simple under cooking.
A 130F egg looks and textures as raw, for custard making, and you can sous vide the egg for a several hours (certainly more than three) at perhaps 133F and it'll be pretty well pasturized. Definitely not worse than it would be unpasturized Or for homemade mayo making.
Note that you could pasturize chicken shit to 7.0-log lethality if you wanted to eat it and it would be safe. So this is another factor of safety if your meat (eggs in this case) are not utterly filthy, merely cooking to 6.0-log lethality doesn't mean certain illness if the meat isn't contaminated to begin with.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:44PM
Page 5 of the shows the pasteurization curves for salmonella. I like my eggs at 65C, then poached in simmering water for about 20secs.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.cookingissues.com/uploads/Low_Temp_Charts.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwitpf3lusbaAhWPnFkKHXHnDugQFjAAegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw26cEQnH0B01LTD5IV8mX1C [google.com]
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:12PM
Safe from the bio-hazard perspective, chemically I think you're still in potentially lethal territory.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by datapharmer on Thursday April 19 2018, @05:36PM
Sure, but what about your hands that held the egg to crack it and then didn't fully wash them (I mean you put them under the water, but did you really scrub?) and then you touched the dishes or used the spatula.
Oh, you did wash them and it WAS really really well? Well then you didn't make any mayonnaise for that burger or Bearnaise sauce for your steak Oscar or Hollandaise sauce for your Eggs Benedict or a nice Meringue for your pie did you?
These recalls are for a reason.