Extension News: July 2007 Archives

Update August 6, 2007
Lakeside recalls green beans
On the heels of the Castleberry's canned-food recall last month (see below), the federal Food and Drug Administration recently posted a notice of recall for canned French-style green beans processed by Lakeside Foods, Inc. The company recalled the beans out of concern that a production error in May might have left beans in some cans undercooked or leaking.

Although no illnesses have been reported and no botulinum toxin has been found in any cans tested to date, Lakeside Foods initiated a voluntary recall of 15,000 cases of 14.5-ounce French Style Green Beans.

Consumers should return identified cans unopened to the place of purchase. Consumers are also warned not to use the product even if it does not look or smell spoiled.

Although New Hampshire was not listed in the state distribution list, consumers should check Lakeside's website for specific can codes. Anyone with questions may contact the company at 1-800-466-3834 Ext 4090. Code and label information will also be posted on their Web site www.lakesidefoods.com.

If you have severely dented cans of food, or cans dented on the bottom or side seam, discard the can. Also discard any cans with severe rust, bulging lids or leaks. Don't open or puncture cans that need to be discarded. Wear rubber or latex gloves when handling open containers of food that you think may be contaminated. Wash hands with soap and running water for at least 2 minutes after handling food or containers that may be contaminated.

Dispose of cans by placing in a sealable bag, wrapping another plastic bag around the sealable bag, and then taping tightly. Place bags in a trash receptacle for non-recyclable trash outside the home and out of reach of humans and pets.

When a foodborne illness makes people sick, the media quickly spread the word. This rapid communication helps protect public health by making consumers aware of the food to avoid.

The most recent headlines featured botulism, a very rare but serious illness caused by the toxin produced by the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. Improperly prepared home-canned foods cause most cases of botulism.

In the recent botulism outbreak, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed that two of the cases and two potential cases involved individuals becoming sick after eating products canned by Castleberry's Food Co.

By July 25, the product recall had widened to more than 80 canned goods for people and four products for pets. All of those products, which include brands of chili sauce, chili, beef stew, and corned beef hash, are made by Castleberry's Food Co., but they bear various brand names.

Although investigation of the contamination is still underway, under-processing of the canned foods is a possible cause. As a result, Castleberry's has shut down a production line and recalled all products produced on it.

Symptoms of botulism
The botulinum toxin is highly toxic and can cause life-threatening illness and death. Symptoms of foodborne botulism usually appear 18 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food, but they can begin as early as six hours or as late as 10 days.

Classic symptoms include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. If untreated, muscle weakness caused by the botulinum toxin can lead to paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk and respiratory muscles.

Paralysis of respiratory muscles can cause a person to stop breathing and die, unless the victim receives help breathing from mechanical ventilation.

Proper canning destroys botulinum spores
Clostridium botulinum grows best in low-oxygen, low-acid environments and at temperatures between 40°F and 120°F. Commercially canned foods or home-canned foods that haven't been processed correctly provide a perfect environment for botulism to grow.

The canning process removes oxygen from the container and allows their contents to reach a temperature high enough to destroy the spores formed by the botulism bacteria. If canned foods are under-processed and the spores survive, the spores will have the low-oxygen, low-acid environment they need to grow into vegetative cells, eventually producing the deadly toxin.

To prevent botulism:

• Discard all cans or jars of food with bulging or swollen ends, or bulging lids.
• Don't eat food from severely dented cans.
• Don't taste food from swollen containers, even if the food doesn't look or smell spoiled.
• Discard food that is foamy, moldy, or that has a bad odor or an off color.
• Follow current USDA canning guidelines when canning food at home.
• Can low-acid foods (low-acid vegetables and meats) in a pressure canner (to reach temperatures above boiling) for the recommended time for the size of jar you are using.
• Don't can low-acid foods in the oven, or in a water-bath, open kettle or vegetable cooker.
• Before eating home-canned, low-acid foods, heat to a rolling boil, then cover and boil corn, spinach and meats for 20 minutes and all other home-canned low-acid food for 10 minutes before tasting.
• When in doubt, throw it out. Follow CDC instructions for safe disposal of contaminated food.

Use a safe pressure canner for low-acid foods
If you have questions about safe home canning, using a pressure canner, or having the gauge on your pressure canner tested, call the Family & Consumer Resources educator in your county Extension office, or the Family, Home & Garden Education Center at 1-877-398-4769, Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

For more information:
Safe home canning
Questions on the Castleberry's product recall

By Alice Mullen, UNH Cooperative Extension Family & Consumer Resources educator

John Saturley’s simple lifelong motto, “Help people” served him well during his half-century in the lumber business. It has also served generations of Granite Staters, especially 4-H’ers, exceptionally well.

A native of Pembroke, where he lived for 65 years before moving to Chichester, John signed on as a 4-H leader in the depths of the Great Depression in the late 1930’s, "even before I was married and had children of my own.” John’s club members raised vegetables and chickens that helped feed their families. "There really wasn’t much else you could do in those days," he says.

This summer, John celebrates his 90th birthday in a unique way. On July 25, he is inviting all his friends and the public to a birthday celebration at Bear Hill 4-H Camp in Allenstown from 1:30-3 pm. John has requested that in lieu of gifts, friends help celebrate this occasion with donations to the 4-H Foundation of New Hampshire, specifically for 4-H Camp.

John developed his Help people philosophy during his years at Concord Lumber. “We had plenty of big customers, so we could afford to do the 10-minute jobs, take care of people’s small needs.” he says. John eventually married and had four children. Three of them joined 4-H and attended Bear Brook 4-H Camp. (After graduating from business school, John took a secretarial position with Concord Lumber Company in 1937 and stayed for 47 years, eventually rising to head the company as general manager and president.)

John always worked part-time helping his father on the North Pembroke dairy farm and describes his connection to 4-H as “just one of those things, something that went with my life.” His agricultural roots “attracted me to 4-H and kept me at it.”

Active with in the Grange, John rose to become New Hampshire Grange Master in 1968. In the early 1970’s, he served four years as a University of New Hampshire Trustee. As a longtime Rotarian, he represented the Concord Rotary on the board of Camp Spaulding, a camp for Merrimack County low to moderate income children, operated by NH Child and Family Services. The Concord Rotary Club just gave $1,500 in honor of John for projects at the 4-H camp.

John heard 4-H Program Leader Wendy Brock speak at the Foundation’s annual meeting. "She talked about Bear Brook camp needing some electrical work, and I figured I could do something about that." John solicited his own electrician, a former 4-H'er, to donate his labor, then “I asked a few friends I knew had a little money to spare.” He recently raised $5,000 for the projects and necessary supplies.

“When my electrician and I went out to the camp, I noticed four of the lodges needed some screen doors at both ends for cross-ventilation,” he says. On his own initiative, John also bought five new screen doors, fitted and installed them himself.

John says he gave up membership and leadership positions in formal organizations a few years ago, “because my wife and I wanted more time and freedom for our own projects.”  What sorts of projects? "Oh, painting and carpentry," he says. "My children are always calling me up for help with one project or another. Oh, yes, and we do a little vegetable gardening. I never did get away from the land.”

If you’d like to help John celebrate his 90th birthday at Bear Hill Camp on July 25, call UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program Leader Wendy Brock at 603-862-2187 or email her at wendy.brock@unh.edu

The summer growing season is nearly in full production, including home gardens. Whether you planted the entire backyard or have a few tomato plants in containers, it’s important to consider the safety of food when you garden.

To help home gardeners weave food safety into gardening practices, UNH Cooperative Extension has been participating, along with Cooperative Extensions in three other New England states, in a grant-funded project led by the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension. Home gardeners were surveyed and interviewed to determine food safety knowledge.

Using the results as a guide, the Garden to Table program was developed to help home gardeners keep food safe, the Garden to Table program focuses on five simple steps to help you reduce the risk of foodborne illness when you grow fruits and vegetables in your home garden. These steps are listed below.

Step 1 - Prepare the Garden for Planting

• Locate your vegetable garden away from manure piles, well caps, garbage cans, septic systems and areas where wildlife, farm animals or the family pet roam.
• Use compost safely. To be safe for gardening, your compost must reach a temperature of at least 130 degrees F. Check the temperature with a compost thermometer. Don’t use animal waste, including pet waste, meat scraps or dairy product waste in your compost bin.

Step 2 - Maintain the Garden

• Be familiar with the quality and safety of the water source you use in your garden. If you get your water from a municipal or public water system, you can be sure it’s safe and drinkable. If you use well water, be sure to test your water at least once a year to make sure it meets the Environmental Protection Agency standards.
• During the gardening season, keep cats, dogs and other pets out of the garden.
• Curtail nesting and hiding places for rats and mice by minimizing vegetation at the edges of your garden.
• Don’t feed wild animals, even birds, near your garden.

Step 3 - Harvest Garden Produce

• Use clean, food-grade containers. Food-grade containers are made from materials designed specifically to safely hold food. Garbage bags, trash cans and any containers that originally held chemicals such as household cleaners or pesticides aren’t food-grade.
• Use clean gloves (that have not been used to stir compost or pull weeds) or clean hands when picking produce.
• Brush, shake or rub off any excess garden soil or debris before bringing produce into the kitchen.

Step 4 - Storing Garden Produce

• If you choose to wash fruits and vegetables before storing, be sure to dry them thoroughly with a clean paper towel. Be sure to wash berries immediately before eating or cooking.
• If you choose to store without washing, shake, rub or brush off any garden soil with a paper towel or soft brush while still outside. Store unwashed produce in plastic bags or containers.
• Keep fruit and vegetable bins in your refrigerator clean.
• When washing produce fresh from the garden, the rinse water should not be more than 10 degrees colder than the produce. If you are washing refrigerated produce, use cold water.
• Fruits and vegetables needing refrigeration can be stored at 40 degrees F. or less.
• Fruits and vegetables stored at room temperature (onions, potatoes) should be in a cool, dry, pest-free, well-ventilated area separate from household chemicals.

Step 5 - Preparing and Serving Fresh Garden Produce

Delicious garden produce is often eaten raw so it’s important to prepare raw fruits and vegetables with food safety in mind.

• Always wash your hands before handling raw fruits and vegetables.
• Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under cool, running, clean water even if you don’t eat the skin or rind.
• Never use soap, detergent, or bleach solution to wash fruits and vegetables. These products can affect flavor and may not be safe to ingest.
• Avoid cross-contamination when preparing fruits and vegetables. Clean work surfaces, utensils, and hands before and after handling fruits and vegetables.
• If you have leftover produce that has been cut, sliced, or cooked, store it in a clean, air-tight container in the refrigerator at 40 degrees F. or less.

If you want to preserve your garden produce to enjoy throughout the year, be sure to go to the National Center for Home Food Preservation web site for tested techniques and recipes. Contact UNH Cooperative Extension’s Family, Home, and Garden Education Center Info Line at 1-877-398-4769 from 9 am to 2 pm Monday through Friday for answers to your food safety and food preservation questions or for more information about the Garden to Table program.