Dirty Foods

The food police is out in force again. I just read a list from Men's Health magazine of the top ten "dirty foods". Those ten are supposed to more often make you sick after eating. But I wonder if people really worry about such things, and if the risk of getting sick from these foods is a real danger. Why is this a trendy topic today and a non issue years ago? Of course number one on the list is one we always are wanted about, but a food just about everyone eats regularly- chicken.
In a study by Men's magazine, more than 40% of chicken samples contained bacteria that can sicken a person. This included some samples of the deadly E. coli bacteria. But doesn't washing the chicken thoroughly before cooking prevent most of the bacteria from living? Isn't cooking chicken properly a near fool proof way to kill the bacteria? Does not bacteria die at cold or frozen temperatures, eliminating this sickness risk????
Here are the other nine "dirty foods".
2) Ground Beef- They day because it is heavily processed it can more easily pick up E coli. Ha! I like my hamburger pink and am going to keep eating ti that way.
3) Ground Turkey- Turkey meat here is a common substitute for chicken since it is leaner and has fewer calories. But it is fowl, as is chicken. One in four packages of ground turkey tested by Men's Health contained harmful bacteria.
4) Oysters- The sexy food. eat them, they say, and you'll want sex after you clean your plate. Hehe We here in Louisiana, an oyster capital of the world know that raw oysters can indeed make one's tummy sore and that people with liver problems better not eat them because of Norvirus..
5) Eggs- They say never eat raw eggs, and to point out why Men's Health said there are more than 600,000 cases of food poisoning each year associated with eggs.
6) Cantaloupe- A surprise to me too, but that favorite breakfast fruit had trouble with the rinds. They contain bacteria that are hard to wash away. When you cut through your cantaloupe rind to get to the good stuff inside bacteria is transferred from the knife to the fruit.
7) Peaches- It seems that peaches can be sickening because the peach fuzz makes it difficult to clean off all the pesticides.
8) Pre-Packaged Tossed salads- These have become popular in the U.S. for those of us too lazy to actually make a salad ourselves. men's health say that they contain E coli far too often.
9) Cold Cuts- I love them. Often I buy sliced smoked turkey, ham or roast beef from the deli. But the bacteria Listeria can be spread by the deli slicer, and can then grow in the fridge when the meat is taken home. The experts say to transfer the cold cut meat to a fresh package when home form the grocery and only buy in small quantities.
10) Scallions. Yes, the best for last. Why would onions be harmful? Men's health says that uncooked green onions are a potential breeding ground for bacteria and have caused several fatal outbreaks of Hepatitis-A.
Gee, I hope I haven't ruined your appetite for your favorite dangerous food. Perhaps we should just arrest the food police, forget about their warnings and eat everything on their warning list. Guess what is a growing trends in eccentricity here in the U.S. ? It's the dog birthday party. That's right. Now that some dogs have their own designer line of clothes to wear, health insurance and even dog psychotherapists (The therapist in this instance is is human, not canine) and dog restaurants, their owners are giving Fido his own birthday party. Mostly in California (where else could this happen?), but now spreading elsewhere, more and more pet owners are hosting birthday parties for their dogs, cats and even birds that are complete with party hats, cake and guests, according to a survey that was conducted by Veterinarian Pet Insurance.
Fully 58% of Veterinarian Pet Insurance policyholders who responded to the survey say they hold those birthday parties for their dogs. The estimate from other surveys says that as many as 6 million American dog and cat households celebrate their pet's birthday that way. Three Dog Bakery, a specialty bakery in Newport, California for pets says it gets about 20 requests each week for pet birthday cakes. No..I have no idea what kind of cake they cut at those parties and dare not try to take a piece from those dogs.
Not only "does every dog have his day". He can have his birthday too.