Tag Archives: marinade

Crabs, marinade and pathogens

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Knowing the survival characteristics of foodborne pathogens in raw ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood is the key to predicting whether they pose a microbiological hazard. The present study examined the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, Vibrio parahaemoliticus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aure- us in raw RTE crab marinated in soy sauce.

cartooncrab_1_jpg103a1464-d351-465e-90ed-f6ab47e3c8bboriginalInoculated crabs (initial bacterial population = 4.1–4.4 log CFU/g) were immersed in soy sauce and then stored at refrigeration (5 °C) or room temperature (22 °C) for up to 28 days. At 5 °C, all bacteria (except V. parahaemolyticus) survived in crab samples until Day 28 (counts of 1.4, 1.6, 3.1, 3.2 log CFU/g for E. coli O157:H7, S. Typhimurium, L. monocytogenes, and S. aureus, respectively). Howev- er, at 22 °C, all tested bacteria were more susceptible to the antimicrobial effects of marination. Regardless of tem- perature, foodborne pathogens attached to crab samples were more resistant to marination than those suspended in soy sauce samples; however, the survival pattern for each species was different. Gram-positive bac- teria were most resistant to marination conditions (high salinity, low pH), whereas V. parahaemolyticus was ex- tremely susceptible.

Marination is the only antibacterial step in the manufacturing processes; however, the results presented herein reveal that this is not sufficient to inactivate foodborne pathogens. In particular, the survival of pathogens on crabs at refrigeration temperature may pose a major hazard for the consumption of raw RTE seafood. Thus, appropriate decontamination methods and implementation of safety management practices are needed.

This study provides predictive microbiological information of foodborne pathogens in raw RTE seafood with margination.

Survival of foodborne pathogens (Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus) in raw ready-to-eat crab marinated in soy sauce

International Journal of Food Microbiology 238 (2016) 50–55, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2016.08.041

TJ Cho, NH Kim, SA Kim, JH Song

Suitable for dog poop: don’t marinate chicken wings in plastic newspaper bags

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Mike Much in Upper Saucon Township, apparently saves the bags in which his newspapers are delivered for marinating chicken wings.

Irene “Toilet Lady” Zalutsky, who shared her homemade concoction for clearing a clogged toilet in 2009, responded, “I just wanted to make a comment about the guy who marinates his chicken wings in the newspaper bags. No way. Uh-uh. Not for me. Even if he cleans it out, it’s still unsanitary.”

Newspaper-Bag-300x199Lewis Gaines of South Whitehall Township responded that, “While this frugality is nothing if not amusing, the use of non-food-grade plastics in this application is a bit extreme as food-grade plastics are processed using a more limited range of chemical-grade polymers and processing aides. General-use polymers can have contaminants that should not be ingested. While the risk is low, I strongly recommend that newspaper bags be used only for newspapers or perhaps for retrieving items such as dog poop.”

Lauren Sucher, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration responded her mother used to store used plastic bags beneath their kitchen sink in an empty milk jug to use in trash bins. (I do that too).

“In this case, a bag containing a newspaper may have mineral oil used in the ink from the newspaper on the inside surfaces of the bag,” Lauren said. “The oil would be expected to migrate to the food and be consumed. The type of mineral oil used for printing is generally not safe as a food additive due to the higher levels of carcinogenic aromatics present. Plastics not specifically made for food contact may contain other substances that are not suitable for contact with food.”

Is it legal to eat a cat in the U.S.?

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Depends on the state, according to Brian Palmer of Slate Magazine.

When police in Western New York pulled over Gary Korkuc for blowing off a stop sign on Sunday, they found a live cat in his trunk, covered in cooking oil, peppers, and salt. Korkuc told authorities that his pet feline was "possessive, greedy, and wasteful" and that he intended to cook and eat it. Korkuc has been charged with animal cruelty. …

Few states have specific laws barring the use of pets for food. The ones that do typically ban the slaughter or sale of dog and cat meat. The state of New York expressly prohibits "any person to slaughter or butcher domesticated dog (canis familiaris) or domesticated cat (felis catus or domesticus) to create food, meat or meat products for human or animal consumption." It’s not clear whether the eating itself is outlawed or only the butchery. If you managed to buy dog or cat flesh from someone else who broke the anti-slaughter law, you might be OK. The law also doesn’t cover ferrets, gerbils, parakeets, or other less familiar pet species. (Although the general anti-cruelty law might protect exotics.)

California’s anti-pet-eating law has a broader reach. It bars possession of the carcass, so having bought your cat steaks from someone else wouldn’t be a useful alibi. The California law also protects "any animal traditionally or commonly kept as a pet or companion," rather than just Fido and Fluffy. The statute is somewhat untested, though, so no one really knows which animals are included.

Pigs are not, even though they are commonly kept as pets, because they are farm animals. Horses are specifically covered by a different section of the code. There’s no precedent on iguanas, goldfish, or boa constrictors. …

Authorities won’t have any trouble prosecuting Korkuc, the Western New Yorker who was marinating his cat in the trunk. Whether or not he really intended to eat his feline, keeping a companion animal in a motor vehicle without proper ventilation is illegal. Rubbing the cat with chili-infused oil, while not specifically addressed, is also a violation of the state’s general cruelty law, which prohibits torture.