The Rural Voice, 2001-12, Page 35' by many people working with food,
gravy is a potential danger if not
handled properly, D'Alessandro said.
He described an incident at York
University in 1980 where 500
students got food poisoning in a
cafeteria because gravy had been left
out, neither properly cooled or kept
properly hot.
But there are other dangerous
foods people don't think so much
about, he said. For years health
authorities were encountering
problems with people who got sick
after eating at, Chinese restaurants
which offered buffets and for a long
time they felt it was from MSG used
to make foods stay fresh longer.
Finally officials started testing the
rice and found out that rice can
contain an pathogen which spreads
by spores. Under the right
temperatures, those spores spread,
then burst into growth. In many
restaurants the rice is cooked in large
quantities, then left out to cool. Now
restaurant staffs are urged to put the
large amount of rice into smaller
portions so it will cool properly, and
refrigerate it.
"Rice is a hazardous food,"
D'Alessandro said. "I wouldn't have
believed it."
Cooling, even in a refrigerator,
can be a problem for many
foods if the container is too
large. A large pot of stew put into a
refrigerator or cooler can take hours
to cool its core to a safe temperature.
During that long cooling process the
conditions may be perfect for
bacterial growth, he said.
Cool down large quantities
quickly by taking the food out of the
large pot it was cooked in and putting
it in pans less than four inches deep
to refrigerate, D'Alessandro advised.
An alternative is to put ice in a
plastic bag and push it into the centre
of the pot to cool interior
temperatures quickly. Once it has
cooled, put the food back in a big pot
to store in the refrigerator. When
reheating, make sure it reaches a
temperature of 74 degrees C within
two hours and serve as quickly as
possible.
Given the ideal conditions of a
moist environment in a protein -based
food with a neutral pH and a
presence of oxygen, time then
becomes the factor in the potential
danger of food. A food might start
At this special time of the
year, our entire staff wishes
to say Merry Christmas and
sincere thanks to
customers and friends.
our
Bus: (519) 528-2092 / 1-800-582-5669
Dealers in all types of Fax: (519) 528-3542
Grain & Seed e-mail: soybean@hurontel.on.ca
P.O. Box 29, 323 Havelock St., Lucknow, Ont. NOG 2H0
ontrol Valve
-o
U
'y.raulic Pum.
Hoses
Bearings
Hydraulic Pumps
Cylinders
Best Wishes
from all of us
to all of you - our friend;
and customers.
Happy Holidays
nil Thanks!
B
Distributed in the
north of Ontario by Barfoot's
BARFOOT'S
WELDING AND MACHINE INC.
517 Brown St., Marton (519) 534-1200 1-800-265-6224
w
03
0
N
DECEMBER 2001 31