Food Safety Talk 178: Search for the Word "Vomit"

The guys want to let everyone know up front that they will be recording a special frozen food themed episode next week with the sponsorship of the American Frozen Food Institute. The audio recording of the show will appear in the regular podcast feed, but if you want to listen and watch in real time you can register on the AFFI website at the link below. The regular show opens with a discussion about Ben's upcoming relay race across the state of South Carolina, and the reason for the early-morning reporting of the podcast. From Palmetto relays to palmetto bugs, the show dips quickly into food safety, Ben's favorite thermometer, and how smells can make both of your hosts feel queasy. There's a brief musical interlude while Ben goes to look after his dog, and after he returns he shares his adventures with a chainsaw. The food safety starts in earnest with a remembrance of Pete Snyder, and then Don talks about pesticide food safety. Then brings things back to microbial food safety by talking about a recent botulism outbreak in New York City. From there the guys transition to listener feedback where they talk about blanching versus cooking, how the FDA model food code and the food code Annex are developed. The next bit of listener feedback the guys revisit microbiological safety of citrus rind, as well as the effect of ethanol on microorganisms. There's a brief technical digression into pushing and pumping things off of stacks before a return to food safety. The guys talk a little bit about gluten-free flour, and its microbiological risks and how they might be controlled before wrapping up quickly to mention a novel technique for not spitting on your birthday cake.