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Q: Is frozen food safe?  Frozen Chicken A: Food stored constantly at -18°C degrees will always be safe. Only the quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage. Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage. Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness. Q: Is it safe to refreeze food that has thawed completely? A: Once food is thawed in the refrigerator; it is safe to refreeze it , although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through defrosting. Q: By law, must foods have a “use by” or “sell by” date? A: Except for infant formula and some baby food, product dating is not generally required by regulations. However, if a calendar date is used, it must express both the month and day of the month (and the year, in the case of shelf-stable and frozen products). If a calendar date is shown, immediately adjacent to the date must be a phrase explaining the meaning of that date such as “sell by” or “use before.” There is no uniform or universally accepted system used for food dating. Q: What does “fresh” on the label of a poultry product mean? A: For consumers, “fresh” means whole poultry and cuts have never been below -3°C. Below -3°C, raw poultry products become firm to the touch because much of the free water is changing to ice. At -3°C , the product surface is still pliable and yields to the thumb when pressed. Most consumers consider a product to be fresh, as opposed to frozen, when it is pliable or when it is not hard to the touch. Fresh poultry should always bear a “keep refrigerated” statement. Q: What are the labeling requirements for frozen, raw poultry? A: Raw poultry held at a temperature of -18°C or below must be labeled with a “keep frozen” handling statement. Q: What is the difference in quality between fresh and frozen poultry? A: Both fresh and frozen poultry are inspected by government Inspection Service. The quality is the same. It is personal preference that determines whether you purchase fresh or frozen poultry. Q: Should I use a wooden cutting board or a plastic one? A: You can choose either wood or a nonporous surface cutting board. Research shows that nonporous surfaces, such as plastic, marble, tempered glass, and pyroceramic are easier to clean than wood. Wood surfaces are porous. Once cutting boards become excessively worn or develop hard-to-clean grooves, you should replace them. Even plastic boards wear out over time. Thomas Foo, chairman, Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants, Restaurants and Bar-Owners Association, said: “If we get a fine of S$300, you can imagine how many cups of coffee we have to sell to earn it back. So all these costs will go back to the consumer. This is a fact.” But the coffee shop owners should also not forget the fact that its still the consumers who will decide whether to patronise them. Like what some big managements will say ” the customer is always right”. So its wiser for the food operators to start on the right footing and prevent a painful fall on the long run.  McCormick-French-Onion dip mix Some of the best selling products like McCormick French Onion dip mix, McCormick vegetable dip mix, McCormick onion gravy mix and McCormick corn bread stuffing, are being recalled by McCormick & Company. They might be tainted with salmonella, a bacteria, which can cause some serious and deadly ailments in young children and elders who have weak immune systems. The company said that no report of sickness has been reported so far. Similarly, Concord Foods Inc. has recalled its Vegetable Dip Seasoning Mix due to the same fear that it might be contaminated with salmonella. Old Fashioned Spinach Dip and Old Home Spinach Dip from Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen Inc. have also been recalled on the same pretext. The recalled products were sold and distributed to retailers and other supermarkets. Joining the horde, Fresh Food Concepts Inc. has also recalled some spinach dips like Delicioso, De la Casa, and Rojo’s. Publix brand Potato Cheddar & Bacon Soup from Neco Foods LLC have also been recalled from the markets. It may contain a milk allergen not stated on the label, which might cause an allergic reaction to those who are prone to allergies to milk and milk products. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has advised the public not to consume a french onion dip mix imported from the United States. McCormick French Onion Dip Mix is one of the products being recalled in the US because it contains hydrolysed vegetable protein, which has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. It carries “Best By” dates of between Oct 6, 2011 and Jan 23, 2012. The AVA has advised importers and retailers to recall the implicated product from the market immediately. Consumers who have any queries can call AVA’s hotline at 1800-226 2250.  Hawker Centre Horay! The health authorities in Singapore are now seriously considering stringent measures to ensure better food safety standards in our food establishments. From April, stall holders will face tougher penalties if they are caught flouting food hygiene rules. Thus for some food traders, time to clean up the act. And for the first time, the demerit points system will also apply to main operators of canteens, coffeeshops and food courts. Last year’s food poisoning outbreak at the Indian rojak stall at Geylang Serai sparked concerns over the hygiene at food centres. But figures by the National Environment Agency show that such incidents are rare with an average of four cases for every 1,000 food outlets since 2006. There are about 32,600 licensed food establishments in Singapore including 5,750 cooked food stalls at hawker centres. Still, authorities are coming down hard on stallholders who don’t keep clean. Currently, stallholders face a composition fine of S$100 for offences ranging from not using a plastic bag to throw away rubbish to preparing food on the floor. But from April, fines will go up to S$200 for a minor offence and up to S$400 for a serious one. And the buck doesn’t stop there. From the end of this year, operators of coffee shops, food courts and canteens will also come under the demerit points system. Offences include not keeping the toilets clean. And repeat offenders may be forced to shut down for three days to clean up their premises. This applies to those who chalk up 24 demerit points within 12 months. The penalties are intended to keep operators on their toes. But in the end, it may be the customer who ends up paying. Thomas Foo, chairman, Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants, Restaurants and Bar-Owners Association, said: “If we get a fine of S$300, you can imagine how many cups of coffee we have to sell to earn it back. So all these costs will go back to the consumer. This is a fact.” But the coffee shop owners should also not forget the fact that its still the consumers who will decide whether to patronise them. Like what some big managements will say ” the customer is always right”. So its wiser for the food operators to start on the right footing and prevent a painful fall on the long run. NEA will increase the number of hygiene inspectors, from 63 to 104. Dr Yaacob added: “The additional manpower will enable us to carry out more frequent inspections which together with efforts by licensees and food handlers will help ensure good hygiene standards are observed at foodstalls and foodshops.” Since January, school canteens have been required to hire a Food Hygiene Officer. And in future, all canteens, food courts and coffeeshops will also have to do the same. President Ma Ying-jeou said Monday that Taiwan did not exchange the safety of Taiwan’s people for any targeted benefit in opening the country’s doors wider to imports of U.S. beef and beef products. In an interview with weekly magazine The Journalist, the president said food safety was the top consideration in Taiwan’s handling of the U.S. beef case, and he insisted that the administration would never make a deal with the U.S. at the expense of the health of Taiwan’s people. Ma said the government agreed to import U.S. bone-in beef, ground beef and some safe bovine offal — which triggered an outcry from critics who raised fears that the cuts would bring mad cow disease to Taiwan — because Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). “Taiwan is not in a position to say no when WTO and OIE member countries make trade enquiries,” he said. He said Taiwan used the South Korean formula as a bottom line and adopted even harsher standards than South Korea’s in terms of importing U.S. beef and beef products. Taiwan did not make any compromises in negotiating the beef deal, the president said, but he indicated the opening would surely contribute to improving bilateral Taiwan-U.S. relations. Taiwan has substantially improved its relations with China during his time in office, and some have begun to worry that Taiwan is tilting toward China while distancing itself from the U.S., Ma said. “But by opening up to U.S. beef imports, we have removed a barrier between Taipei and Washington,” he argued. Taipei and Washington signed a protocol in late October that opened Taiwan’s market to most cuts of U.S. beef, ending a ban on bone-in beef that had been imposed because of cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in the United States. The U.S. had pressed Taiwan to open its market for bone-in beef and suspended talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in retaliation for Taiwan’s inaction on the issue. But while Taiwan has relaxed restrictions on U.S. beef imports, the president said the government had not responsibility to promote U.S. beef in Taiwan. Meanwhile, he said the administration has never said that the U.S. beef imports would come with “zero risks.” “Nothing in the world comes with ‘no risks,’” he argued. So long as the risks are within acceptable levels in the eyes of professional experts, the risks are acceptable for us, he said. On the impact of the beef deal with the U.S., Ma said it would only have a minimal impact on domestic beef producers, who supply a mere 7 percent of Taiwan’s beef demand. Bone-in beef cuts are not permitted for import in Singapore. The opening is more likely to affect importers of beef and beef products from Australia and New Zealand, he suggested. On January 12, 2004, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published new rules enhancing its BSE safeguards in order to minimize exposure to BSE infective tissues and better protect public health. These measures included: * Banning from the human food supply all tissues that science tells us could be infective in a cow with the disease. These are called specified risk materials (SRMs) and include the skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, portions of the vertebral column, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of cattle aged 30 months or older, and the tonsils and the distal ileum, (a part of the small intestine) of all cattle. |
Thursday, 11 March 2010  Shorten your shower Every minute you cut from your shower is roughly 5 gallons of water. The less time your shower takes, the lower your impact on the environment.   |
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