Southeast students served raw onions as snack

No matter how you slice it, the days of milk and cookies are long gone as schools aim to provide students with healthy fruits and vegetables as snacks.
But raw onions?

That's what several classes of students at Southeast's Turner Elementary were fed Tuesday, instead of the zucchini slices the school's food provider, Chartwells, said it would serve as part of a federal initiative to provide healthy food to young learners.

When Trevor Rill picked up the snack bags from the cafeteria for his third-grade class, he found bundles of raw scallions -- those long, green stalks of onion usually reserved for cooking.

"I asked the cafeteria workers, 'Are you serious?' and they said, 'This is what they sent us,'" said Rill, one of nine City Year corps members assigned to Turner. "So I held them out and said, 'This is what we have,' and the kids went nuts. Two of them ate it in front of me and said, 'This is disgusting.'"

Turner Elementary is one of the District's 53 public elementary schools participating in the federal Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. Under the 2008 farm bill, the District received $1.2 million this school year to serve students a vegetable or piece of fruit outside of breakfast and lunch hours. The program is likely to expand to more schools next year as funding increases to $1.7 million.

The school system contracts with three food providers, but Chartwells serves the majority of schools, including Turner. Chartwells' executive director and dietician did not return calls from The Washington Examiner seeking comment.

Sandra Schlicker, director of wellness and nutrition services for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, said Chartwells officials confirmed that the scallions were intended as a lunch ingredient, but because of a mix-up, were packaged as the day's snack. Turner's principal intercepted the onions before they reached all classrooms, but "some of the scallions were served to students," Schlicker confirmed.

D.C. Public Schools also acknowledged the incident, saying "school administration took quick action" and that "ultimately students were served apples." As for Chartwells, DCPS "is confident that this was an isolated event," spokeswoman Safiya Simmons said.

Because he "grew up in the sticks of Maryland," Rill said he took a few bites. Some of the kids brought the scallions home for their parents to cook with dinner.

But "A lot of the teachers were outraged and frustrated," said Rachel Dougherty, who assists a first-grade classroom.

Dougherty's class did not receive the snack bags -- but when she took a student out in the hall to discuss his behavior, the student found a discarded bag of scallions in the hallway. "He picked it up and started chewing on them and made these really gross-out faces, and said, 'I'm so glad we didn't get a snack today."

CDC releases new foodborne illness estimates

ATLANTA — New figures published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 48 million Americans get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die each year from food-borne illness. The agency said the new figures are more accurate than previous estimates due to better data used. The findings were published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The C.D.C.’s new estimates are lower than those published by the agency in 1999, when it estimated 76 million people fell ill due to food-borne illness, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. The difference is largely the result of improvements in the quality and quantity of the data used and new methods used to estimate food-borne disease, according to the C.D.C.
For example, it is now known that most norovirus is not spread by the food-borne route, which has reduced the estimate of food-borne norovirus from 9.2 to approximately 5.5 million cases per year. Because of data and method improvements, the C.D.C. said the 1999 and current estimates cannot be compared to measure trends.

“We’ve made progress in better understanding the burden of food-borne illness and unfortunately, far too many people continue to get sick from the food they eat,” said Thomas Frieden, director of the C.D.C. “These estimates provide valuable information to help the C.D.C. and its partners set priorities and further reduce illnesses from food.”

The report noted Salmonella is the leading cause of estimated hospitalizations and deaths, responsible for about 28% of deaths and 35% of hospitalizations due to known pathogens transmitted by food. About 90% of estimated illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths were due to seven pathogens: Salmonella, norovirus, Campylobacter, Toxoplasma, E. coli O157, Listeria and Clostridium perfringens. And nearly 60% of estimated illnesses, but a much smaller proportion of severe illness, was caused by norovirus.

Manor district creates high-tech school kitchen

Decker Elementary School's kitchen has gone high tech.

A computer system paid for with a federal stimulus grant has given the kitchen staff a swifter way to organize menus, keep track of daily work and inventory, and monitor ovens and other appliances. Because of the system, installed in August 2009, the kitchen manager has reduced her paperwork and can focus more attention on food safety and efficiency, officials said.
Manor school district officials took U.S. Department of Agriculture officials on a kitchen tour at the eastern Travis County school Tuesday .

George Townsend , the district's food service director, said that not only has the technology made kitchen management more efficient, it also has given employees a greater sense of purpose.

"I think they enjoy their jobs more," Townsend said. "By having healthier food and putting an emphasis on how important nutrition is, it makes them feel like their job is more important."
Money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 paid for the system and new ovens. Decker received $16,000 for the revamped kitchen, Townsend said.

Decker needed a secondary oven after removing its fryer to comply with the 2004 Texas Public School Nutrition Policy, which required that all schools eliminate the use of deep fryers in their daily meal preparations in an effort to fight child obesity.

About 20 percent of Texas children ages 10 to 17 are obese, a recent report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found. That rate ties Texas with Arkansas in seventh place for child obesity, according to the report, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010."

Janey Thornton , USDA deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services , toured Decker on Tuesday to see the government's money in action. She spoke about the need to solve the childhood obesity problem in the United States.

"We recognize that schools are only a small part of the issue," Thornton said. "We need to be teaching kids at school how to eat and then have parents reinforce it at home."

Decker's new computerized kitchen and convection ovens have inspired the kitchen staff in the year since they were installed, Decker Principal Leslie Whitworth said.

"The food is fresh and made from ingredients in the kitchen rather than just something packaged," Whitworth said. "Preparing food and watching the children enjoy it makes them a stronger part of the Decker community."

Teachers at Decker push students to try new foods and learn good eating habits, which some kitchen staff members say is working.

"I think the children like what they are eating," said Susan Covington , Decker's PTA president. "I've never seen as many people get involved in the nutrition program before."

E. coli fears prompt 1 million lb. ground-beef recall

WASHINGTON – Valley Meat Company, Modesto, Calif., is recalling (Class I Recall-Health Risk High) approximately 1 million lbs. of frozen ground-beef patties and bulk ground-beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (F.S.I.S.) announced on Aug. 6.

On July 15, F.S.I.S. became aware of the problem when the agency was notified by the California Department of Public Health (C.D.P.H.) of a small E. coli O157:H7 cluster of illnesses with a rare strain as determined by P.F.G.E. sub-typing. Six patients with illness onset dates between April 8 and June 18 were reported at that time. After further review, C.D.P.H. added another patient from February to the case count, bringing the count to seven. F.S.I.S. is continuing to work with the C.D.P.H. and the company.

Products subject to recall bear the establishment number "EST. 8268" inside the U.S.D.A. mark of inspection, as well as a production code of 25709 through 01210. These products were produced between Oct. 2, 2009 through Jan. 12, 2010, and were distributed to retail outlets and institutional foodservice providers in California, Texas, Oregon, Arizona and internationally.

When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on F.S.I.S.' Website at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FSIS_Recalls/Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp. Concerns exist that some product may still be frozen and in consumers' freezers. F.S.I.S. strongly encourages consumers to check their freezers and immediately discard any product that is the subject of this recall.

U.S.D.A. finalizes ground-beef standards for lunches

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has finalized what it is calling tougher new standards for ground beef purchased by the Agricultural Marketing Service for federal food and nutrition assistance programs including the National School Lunch Program, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced. "It is one of my highest priorities to ensure that food provided to the National School Lunch Program and other nutrition programs is as safe and nutritious as possible," Mr. Vilsack said. "The new standards guarantee our purchases are in line with major private-sector buyers of ground beef. We will continue to apply the best scientific knowledge to increase the safety across the board of our nutritional programs."

In February, Mr. Vilsack announced a series of initiatives to improve the safety of food purchased for nutrition assistance programs. The final standards are the result of a detailed, ongoing review by U.S.D.A.'s Food Safety and Inspection Service (F.S.I.S.) and Agricultural Research Service (A.R.S.). These new requirements will be applicable to A.M.S. ground beef contracts awarded on or after July 1. The A.M.S. released a draft of the plan in May with a request for comments. Based upon comments and data submitted by the Department of Agriculture's F.S.I.S. and A.R.S. and members of the general public, revisions were made to the final specification that will be used for purchases beginning in July.

The new A.M.S. standards, in addition to continuing a zero tolerance for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella: (1) tighten microbiological testing protocols; (2) tighten the microbiological upper specification and critical limits; (3) increase microbiological sampling frequency for finished products to every 15 minutes; and, (4) institute additional rejection criteria for source trimmings used to manufacture AMS purchased ground beef. A.M.S. will also consider any vendor classified by F.S.I.S. as having a long term poor safety record as an ineligible vendor until a complete cause-and-effect analysis is completed.

Reusable grocery bags present food safety risks: study

TUCSON, Ariz. – Reusable grocery bags, which are being widely touted in the growing "green" movement, can serve as a breeding ground for dangerous food-borne bacteria and pose a serious public health risk, according to a joint food-safety research study issued on June 24 by University of Arizona (Tucson) and Loma Linda University (Loma Linda, Calif.) researchers.
Randomly testing reusable grocery bags carried by shoppers in the Los Angeles area, San Francisco, and Tucson, the study also found consumers were almost completely unaware of the need to regularly wash their bags.

"Our findings suggest a serious threat to public health, especially from coliform bacteria including E. coli, which were detected in half the bags sampled," said Charles Gerba, Ph.D., a University of Arizona environmental microbiology professor and co-author of the study. "Furthermore, consumers are alarmingly unaware of these risks and the critical need to sanitize their bags after every use."

Bacteria levels found in reusable bags were significant enough to cause a wide range of serious health problems and even lead to death — a particular danger for young children, who are especially vulnerable to food-borne illnesses, he said.

Awareness of potential risks was very low, the study also found. Ninety-seven percent of those interviewed have never washed or bleached their reusable bags, said Mr. Gerba , who added thorough washing kills nearly all bacteria that accumulate in reusable bags.
This study was published at a time when some members of the California State Legislature, through Assembly Bill 1998 (Brownley), are seeking to promote increased consumer use of reusable bags by banning plastic bags from California stores.

"If this is the direction California wants to go, our policymakers should be prepared to address the ramifications for public health," said co-author Ryan Sinclair, Ph.D., a professor at Loma Linda University’s School of Public Health.

"A sudden or significant increase in use of reusable bags without a major public education campaign on how to reduce cross contamination would create the risk of significant adverse public health impact," the study noted. Sinclair said geographic factors also play a role. He noted contamination rates appeared to be higher in the Los Angeles area than in the two other locations — a phenomenon likely due to that region’s weather being more conducive to growth of bacteria in reusable bags.

The study, Assessment of the Potential to Cross Contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags, offered the following policy recommendations for lawmakers, as well as tips for consumers who use reusable grocery bags:

States should consider requiring printed instructions on reusable bags indicating that they need to cleaned or bleached between uses.

State and local governments should invest in a public education campaign to alert the public about risk and prevention.

When using reusable bags, consumers should be careful to separate raw foods from other food products.

Consumers should not use reusable food bags for such other purposes as carrying books or gym clothes.

Consumers should not store reusable bags in the trunks of their cars because the higher temperature promotes growth of bacteria.

"As scientists, our focus was not on the relative merits of paper, plastic or reusable grocery bags," Gerba said. "Our intent was purely to provide relevant data to better inform consumers and lawmakers about the public health dimensions that could arise from increased use of reusable bags. With this knowledge, people will be in a better position to protect their health and that of their children."

Romaine Lettuce Recalled Over E. coli

Contaminated Lettuce Used in Salad Bars and Restaurants in Eastern States
By Daniel J. DeNoonWebMD Health News
Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
May 6, 2010 -- Romaine lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia may be contaminated with dangerous E. coli O145 bacteria and has been recalled.
So far, 19 cases of E. coli O145 illness have been reported in Michigan, Ohio, and New York. Twelve people have been hospitalized, including three with life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by the bacterium.
Several lines of evidence -- including detection of bacteria in an unopened package of Freshway Foods shredded Romaine lettuce -- point to Freshway Foods wholesale Romaine lettuce products.
Freshway Foods has recalled all products containing Romaine lettuce with a use-by date of May 12 or earlier. These products were sold wholesale to restaurants and supermarkets under the Freshway or Imperial Sysco brands.
The recall does not include bagged or prepackaged Romaine or lettuce mixes containing Romaine. However, the lettuce may be found in supermarket salad bars and delis.
Freshway Foods is advising consumers not to eat "grab and go" salads sold in store salad bars and delis at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets, and Marsh stores.
Symptoms of infection with harmful E. coli may range from none to mild diarrhea to severe complications. The acute symptoms include severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea, which may be bloody. Patients may progress to serious complications, such as kidney damage. The FDA and the CDC encourage anyone with these symptoms to contact his or her health care provider immediately.
The states in which the lettuce was sold are Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.