More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Just in time for Sunday. Plainly the USDA realizes that the Ricochet crowd -- along with all their fellow Americans -- simply is not equipped to put on a Super Bowl party without their help. This Politico story reports on a recent press release:
"When it comes to the Super Bowl, defense matters. When it comes to planning a Super Bowl XLV party, a good defense against foodborne illness matters even more."
"Avoid penalties for 'illegal use of hands.' Unclean hands are one of the biggest culprits for spreading bacteria, and finger foods at parties are especially vulnerable."
"Think of your party fare as two different teams—uncooked versus ready-to-eat foods."
"Call a 'time out' and use a food thermometer to be sure meat and poultry are safely cooked."
"'Holding' may be one of the most likely offenses your referee encounters if your party lasts late into the night. Never hold foods for more than two hours at room temperature."
"When it comes to foodborne illness, there is no opportunity for an instant replay. To avoid these infractions, make sure you understand the rules completely."
As Politico notes, this is one bureaucrat who at least has a sense of humor.
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Comments :
Dec '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
"'Holding' may be one of the most likely offenses your referee encounters if your party lasts late into the night. Never hold foods for more than two hours at room temperature."
So get those chips and crackers right back into the refrigerator!
He forgot "illegal contact," when a chip that's made contact with a person's mouth touches the dip a second time. Or is that a "personal foul"?
Nov '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Good grief, and here I was thinking that the USDA was a useless, New Deal-era bureaucracy that needs to be eliminated. Phew, looks like I was wrong.
It makes you wonder how the human race survived for thousands of years without an enormous, vastly expensive government agency badgering us about washing our hands before we eat.
May '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Also, don't eat so much that you cough it up and lose possession.
Jul '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Oddly, there's no mention of what to do with Yer bowl of chips after Yer football lands in it.
And with "rolling blackouts," some peoples' "room temperature" could be twenty degrees.
May '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Let's penalize these dumb USDA jocks for being offsides and out of bounds then get them off the field and out of the game!
Who are they addressing, anyway, fourth-graders? Whoever wrote that patronizing finger-wagging prose ought to be red-shirted for the rest of his career.
Jul '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
I expect the same pieces of advice are printed on the place mats at each State Dinner.
Nov '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Yes!!
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
This is excellent intel, Bill, thanks for posting it.
Now that I've read the federal guidelines for enjoying the Superbowl, I'll be sure to encase myself in a plastic HAZMAT suit and serve my guests individually-wrapped snacks with at least a month or two left on their expiration date stamps.
It's going to be such fun.
May '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Let's stuff these people in a lockerroom with an empty can of Lysol.
Sep '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
I hope they also issued guidelines for how to enjoy a Halal or Kosher superbowl party.
Jul '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
I'm always too busy beating my wife on Super Bowl Sunday to attend to my dietary needs.
Jul '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Just be sure to wash Yer hands and wear plastic gloves.
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Once the Department of Transportation issues guidelines on how to drive after the Super Bowl, I will share here so you can all get home safely.
May '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Cross contamination is, by far, the #1 cause of food poisoning. This is caused by people carrying bacteria from food to food (salmonella or E. coli), or introducing contagious bacteria from person to food (staph infection, hepatitis A)
I am a food service professional, and one of the worst things about the business is that people always blame their food poisoning on the last place they ate. Sure there are plenty of legitimate cases of negligence in restaurants, but the facts are:
-almost nobody knows how to properly prepare food.
-food poisoning can have an incubation period of anywhere from 4 hours to 14 days.
-almost all food poisoning is caused by food prepared at home
-when you get the flu chances are you actually have food poisoning (very similar symptoms: bowel issues, vomiting, aches, fever, chills, etc.)
We don't need the government to tell us this, but you may want to know...
Jul '10
Re: More Dietary Help from Your Federal Government
Okay, USDA goes to the top of the annihilation list. What a nice way to moot all of those brain dead Supreme Court decisions FDR got through. A farmer, using his own straw to floss, is engaged in interstate commerce and must receive permission in triplicate from his designated kangaroo rat.
What was that? I must caution you, intolerant speech directed at protected rodents is hate speech, and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If you are in the country legally.