Ought Six
04-29-2009, 02:00 AM
I have been thinking about the flu and our food supply. A very large portion of the people who pick, process, cook, pack and serve our food are Mexican illegals. Some of them may be newly arrived in the country. Others may be hosting relatives recently arrived from Mexico, fleeing the epidemic. Other workers in the industry will be infected by them and from other sources. This includes food processing plants, restaurants, supermarkets and more.
So what foods present an unacceptable risk? Here are some of the ones I came up with:
- Baked goods. I think that I have already purchased my last loaf of bread, my last box of cookies and my last pastry until this thing is over. These items are handled after baking and cooling by people while being packaged. Even plants with fully automated lines have inspectors watching over the whole process, standing there as the food whizzes by on belts. I will instead be buying frozen bread dough and perhaps making bread from scratch. Frozen cookie dough is another good alternative. Those rolls in cardboard tubes are also an option.
- Meat. Pork is out for me. You have to cook it to an internal temperature of 160º, which is overcooked. Overcooked pork is nasty. Since pigs are subject to infection, that sort of cooking is needed. I will pass on that.
Beef is apparently not subject to infection, so cooking the outside should be adequate. But hamburger is another matter entirely. It is processed in meat packing plants, and would again have to be badly overcooked. So except for using it in baked casseroles, the only hamburger I will be using is that which I grind myself.
Chicken is also subject to infection. The only acceptable form I can come up with is chicken soup. That cooks it thoroughly enough to kill the virus.
I have never been a big seafood fan, and seafood seems to be the perfect breeding ground for pathogens. It also usually requires a lot of human hands-on handling. I am going to lay off the seafood until this is over.
- Prepared foods. These are out altogether. I will not be eating out or getting prepared foods at supermarkets again until the epidemic is over. The only lunches I will be eating is that which I prepared myself. No cold cuts from the deli or market; only meats I cooked and sliced myself.
- Frozen foods. Frozen foods that will be cooked should be okay. No more ice cream for me, unless I get an ice cream maker. No bag ice from the market.
- Fresh produce. Fresh stuff that is well cooked is acceptable. Steaming is good, as it is hot, but does not overcook the veggies and destroy the nutrition. Anything with a tough skin on it, I can rinse in a weak bleach solution and still eat raw. Lettuce is out, as it cannot be processed that way. I am going to have to start some potted lettuce. Bags of peeled baby carrots are out, unless cooked.
- Grains. Rice, pasta and flour all need to be cooked, and thus should be fine. Same with beans (except prepared bean salads). Raw grains in any form are out.
- Nuts and granola. These are all handled by people during their preperation and packaging, and so are out. I may be baking my own granola.
- Dairy. While all but raw milk is pasturized, I am going to stick with shelf stable milk from here on out. It is treated at very high temps to kill *everything* in it. I will only be using butter for cooking. I seem to recall that cheese is safe from pathogens because the bacteria that culture the milk give off natural pathogen-killing substances.
One other thing to think about it disinfecting the outside of packages, cans and bottles as you unpack what you bought at the market. They have been handled by a number of people, and perhaps coughed on. Stocking up on disinfectant wipes to use for this purpose would be a good idea. I am not sure how long the virus can live on surfaces at room temp. For this reason, I do not know if packaged or canned goods can be be considered uncontaminated on the outside if purchased by the case. Better safe than sorry.
So what foods present an unacceptable risk? Here are some of the ones I came up with:
- Baked goods. I think that I have already purchased my last loaf of bread, my last box of cookies and my last pastry until this thing is over. These items are handled after baking and cooling by people while being packaged. Even plants with fully automated lines have inspectors watching over the whole process, standing there as the food whizzes by on belts. I will instead be buying frozen bread dough and perhaps making bread from scratch. Frozen cookie dough is another good alternative. Those rolls in cardboard tubes are also an option.
- Meat. Pork is out for me. You have to cook it to an internal temperature of 160º, which is overcooked. Overcooked pork is nasty. Since pigs are subject to infection, that sort of cooking is needed. I will pass on that.
Beef is apparently not subject to infection, so cooking the outside should be adequate. But hamburger is another matter entirely. It is processed in meat packing plants, and would again have to be badly overcooked. So except for using it in baked casseroles, the only hamburger I will be using is that which I grind myself.
Chicken is also subject to infection. The only acceptable form I can come up with is chicken soup. That cooks it thoroughly enough to kill the virus.
I have never been a big seafood fan, and seafood seems to be the perfect breeding ground for pathogens. It also usually requires a lot of human hands-on handling. I am going to lay off the seafood until this is over.
- Prepared foods. These are out altogether. I will not be eating out or getting prepared foods at supermarkets again until the epidemic is over. The only lunches I will be eating is that which I prepared myself. No cold cuts from the deli or market; only meats I cooked and sliced myself.
- Frozen foods. Frozen foods that will be cooked should be okay. No more ice cream for me, unless I get an ice cream maker. No bag ice from the market.
- Fresh produce. Fresh stuff that is well cooked is acceptable. Steaming is good, as it is hot, but does not overcook the veggies and destroy the nutrition. Anything with a tough skin on it, I can rinse in a weak bleach solution and still eat raw. Lettuce is out, as it cannot be processed that way. I am going to have to start some potted lettuce. Bags of peeled baby carrots are out, unless cooked.
- Grains. Rice, pasta and flour all need to be cooked, and thus should be fine. Same with beans (except prepared bean salads). Raw grains in any form are out.
- Nuts and granola. These are all handled by people during their preperation and packaging, and so are out. I may be baking my own granola.
- Dairy. While all but raw milk is pasturized, I am going to stick with shelf stable milk from here on out. It is treated at very high temps to kill *everything* in it. I will only be using butter for cooking. I seem to recall that cheese is safe from pathogens because the bacteria that culture the milk give off natural pathogen-killing substances.
One other thing to think about it disinfecting the outside of packages, cans and bottles as you unpack what you bought at the market. They have been handled by a number of people, and perhaps coughed on. Stocking up on disinfectant wipes to use for this purpose would be a good idea. I am not sure how long the virus can live on surfaces at room temp. For this reason, I do not know if packaged or canned goods can be be considered uncontaminated on the outside if purchased by the case. Better safe than sorry.