When it comes to social issues I’m a bit of a libertarian hippie. I’ve looked the part (big bushy beard and longer thinning hair); used to play ultimate frisbee (poorly); and, our first-born was delivered at home.

The philosophy I’ve embraced around food safety is, let people eat what and where they want. The caveat, and challenge to extension and public health folks, is that eaters should have all the tools available to them to make risk-based decisions. Disclose the risk, have a compelling discussion about consequences and best practices and stand back – hopefully the choice results in the least amount of barf. 

Depending on the jurisdiction, the oversight over commercial food businesses and community-building fundraisers creates a two-tiered system: Professionals have the advantage of a set of regulatory standards and an environmental health specialist pointing out risks; amateurs are unregulated and left to their own devices.

According to the Topeka Capitol-Journal, Kansas legislators are looking to create a tiered system by exempting religious non-profit organizations from following food safety rules.

“Some of these churches have regular food sales just to keep the lights on,” [Rep. John] Alcala, [D-Topeka] said.

One such church meets in North Topeka. As of October, Sullivan Chapel Methodist Church had three regular attendees — all from one family — but the congregation’s monthly taco sales kept utilities paid.

Until, that is, a Kansas Department of Health and Environment employee stumbled upon the sale in 2012 and suggested the church needed several food safety improvements to stay in business.

Alcala’s bill would clarify that the taco sales, and other larger scale church-related meals, are exempt.

The need for the law was debated before it reached the House floor.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture, the agency actually in charge of commercial food safety said it doesn’t regularly license or inspect the religious organizations affected anyway. KDHE handles outbreaks of food-borne illness, which the bill doesn’t address.

Cindy Martin, one of the remaining Sullivan Chapel Methodist Church members, said she and her family were unaware of the bill, but had been told they couldn’t sell tacos because they didn’t have a food vendor’s license. 

Anyone working with food (whether in a business or a community dinner) should have some knowledge of risk as it relates to what they’re making –  and how to manage it. Exempting these organization should carry a big risk disclosure message for patrons: These folks making your tacos aren’t professionals, don’t have the benefit of inspector visits and don’t have a standard. Eat at your own risk.

I subscribe to the notion that there’s no such thing as bad pizza. It’s hard to mess up cheese, sauce and some sort of meat or veg. Often the best has some herbs like oregano sprinkled on top as well.

I’m not sure it’s a magical food though.

There’s been a lot of coverage to suggest it is magical, all in reference to a recent paper by Gilling and colleagues in the Journal of Applied Microbiology detailing the effects of oregano oil on norovirus. Some of the stories are particularly glowing:

University of Arizona researchers found an ingredient in pizza that could prevent suffering from winter vomiting disease, norovirus.

and

If you feel guilty after eating a slice of pizza, a new study may help you feel better. An ingredient in oregano has been found to boost immunity, at least in laboratory cells.

The authors of the cited study use murine norovirus (MNV) as a surrogate to human norovirus HuNV. There is some debate in the virology community as to whether MNV is a good surrogate (especially since isopropyl and ethanol shows a decent level of inactivation against MNV, which is not seen with HuNV). It’s not the same virus.

And I’m not sure about the practicality of throwing oregano oil (or it’s active ingredient carvacol) onto food contact surfaces or food.

The authors state,

In the present study, oregano oil and its primary active component, carvacrol, were evaluated for their antiviral activity against MNV as a surrogate for NoV for their use in potential applications such as surface disinfection (including use in clinical settings) or food sanitization. As such, a discussion of quantitative log10 reductions following various periods of exposure is relevant. Oregano oil and carvacrol both significantly reduced MNV titres within 15 min of exposure (0.95-log10 and ≥1.03-log10, respectively). Despite this, the infectivity of MNV treated with oregano oil remained stable over time (1.07-log10 reduction in infectivity within 24 h of exposure), whereas carvacrol was far more effective, producing ≥ 387-log10 reductions in MNV within as little as 1 h of exposure.

Exposing a virus that sort of acts like human norovirus, but but sort of doesn’t, to carvacrol (a component of oregano oil), for 15 min you can get get a 1-log reduction infectivity after 15 min. A bit of a stretch from pizza protects against norovirus (above, exactly as shown, courtesy of Gordon Hayburn).

Potential patrons of Mohawk Mountain, a ski resort in Connecticut, are calling to inquire about an outbreak happening 60 miles away – at Mohonk Mountain House. According to the Register Citizen, Mohawk Mountain staff are being asked about illnesses and clean-up.

The names do sound kinda similar.

Mohawk Mountain wants to ensure its customers that they don’t have to worry about a virus outbreak in their lodge. In a post on Facebook Saturday, Mohawk employees pointed out that they are often confused for a New York hotel called The Mohonk Mountain House.“We’ve been getting some confusing phone calls, but have figured out what the problem is,” the post stated. “The Mohonk Mountain House was struck with an outbreak of the norovirus, and had to close for a week.”

In related news, Mohonk Mountain House reopened in time for Valentines Day festivities.

“The Mountain House has been thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom and is looking beautiful,” Mohonk marketing director Nina Smiley said in an email Friday afternoon.

Ulster County Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith said he department had signed off on the sanitation effort, which the resort conducted voluntarily.

“They did everything we and state officials advised them to do to insure the facility was disinfected,” Smith said.