CDC.gov-As of 1 PM (ET) September 17, 2006, Sunday, 109 persons infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported to CDC from 19 states.

Among the ill persons, 55 (50%) were hospitalized, 16 (15%) developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), and an adult in Wisconsin died. Eighty-one (74%) were female and 6 (6%) were children under 5 years old.

Dates of illness onset ranged from August 2 to September 9, 2006. The states that have reported cases are California (1 case), Connecticut (2), Idaho (4), Indiana (8), Kentucky (4), Maine (2), Michigan (6), Minnesota (1), New Mexico (5), Nevada (1), New York (7), Ohio (10), Oregon (5), Pennsylvania (3), Utah (14), Virginia (1), Washington (2), Wisconsin (32), and Wyoming (1).

The following is advice for consumers about this outbreak:

Currently, the FDA has advised to not eat any fresh spinach or salad blends containing fresh spinach that are consumed raw.
E. coli O157:H7 in spinach can be killed by cooking at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds. (Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.) If spinach is cooked in a frying pan, and all parts do not reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit, all bacteria may not be killed. If consumers choose to cook the spinach, they should avoid cross-contamination of the fresh spinach with other foods and food contact surfaces, and wash hands, utensils, and surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after handling the spinach.
Persons who develop diarrhea after consuming fresh spinach or salad blends containing fresh spinach are urged to contact their health care provider and ask that their stool specimen be tested for E. coli O157.
Persons who ate fresh spinach or salad blends and feel well do not need to see a health-care provider.
For more information about the outbreak, about the investigation, and for prevention guidance, see E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak from Fresh Spinach.

A recipe for those brave souls out there. Please let us know how how this tastes.

Kraftfoods.com

Recipe Rating:
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 15 min
Makes: 12 servings, 1 bar each

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 pkg. (2.8 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Real Bacon Recipe Pieces
4 tsp. TANG Orange Flavor Drink Mix
3 cups POST HONEY BUNCHES OF OATS Cereal, any variety

MIX sugar and syrup in large saucepan. Bring just to boil on medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
ADD peanut butter; stir until well blended. Stir in bacon pieces and drink mix. Add cereal; mix well.
PRESS evenly into greased 8-inch square pan. Cool completely before cutting into 12 bars to serve.

By Marla Cone, LA Times Staff Writer

In a rare move to phase out a widely used industrial compound, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it was asking all U.S. companies to virtually eliminate public exposure to a toxic chemical used to make Teflon cookware and thousands of other products.

Although the effort is voluntary, the federal government has rarely taken such a sweeping, accelerated action against an industrial compound. The eight major companies that use it to make an array of nonstick and stain-resistant products are expected to comply, cutting releases from their plants and products by 95% over the next four years and completely soon after that.

The first post here will be a short one. The project shown here is of a very difficult and lengthy one. The time frame has been longer than eight months. Eight months is just the length of time between the time the photos were taken. The planning of this kitchen began at least 9 months before the first picture was taken.
To date, the job been in excess of 18 months. I will try to explain a little of what goes on in the world of commercial food service and what occurs behind the scenes in this blog. I will explain and post more photos of this particular job in the future.

What you see here is one of the two kitchen/vault entry doors, before and after. The kitchen had been a bank vault and this led to some interesting challenges in the design and construction of this project. Perhaps the easiest part was that all the kitchen equipment had to fit within the doors as they were the only way in. The ceiling, walls and floors of this room are all 24" thick reinforced concrete. I have never seen concrete with so much and so varied reinforcing steel. No one ever broke into this room.

Fax: 718.596.5366

Address: 453-A Henry Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Email: info@sherefkin.com

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