Chef Debbie Talks about Salmonella

Jalapeno Madness????
FDA: Don't Eat Fresh Jalapenos!

Most of us associate salmonella with raw chicken, and many other farm animals naturally carry salmonella, as well. The problem for us is that sometimes people handling fresh meat and dairy, or who have been sick with salmonellosis can transfer this bacterium to fresh produce. If we eat that contaminated produce without cooking it, then we get sick, too.

This morning the FDA announced that it has found an example of the bacteria responsible for the latest infections on one of the thousands of pieces of produce it has tested and issued a warning to the general public not to eat fresh jalapeno peppers.

Now, I love jalapenos. LOVE them! The recipe I posted yesterday for Summer Rice & Mango Salad used jalapenos. I slide them into scrambled eggs in the morning, braise them with beef and pork, stuff them into chicken breasts and yes, I even eat them raw in a hundred different versions of salsa.

Am I going to stop using jalapenos? No, and you don't have to either if you cook them first by sauteing (as in my summer salad recipe from yesterday) or if they are cooked in a dish (such as my braised beef). If you are a healthy person and see that the risk of contamination is minimal, then it's up to you to decide whether to eat raw jalapenos. For extra precaution, wash your fresh jalapenos in water with a small amount of dish detergent or use vegetable sanitizing spray.

If you want more information about Salmonella or Salmonellosis, visit this FDA FAQ site.

If you are a jalapeno fan, too, enjoy Jalapeno Madness and let me know what YOUR favorite jalapeno recipe is!

Food Safety & Salmonella

Jalapenos? Tomatoes? Cilantro? The panic is on!

Nobody really knows what is spreading the salmonella infection, but these three are the most likely suspects today according to the FDA. What's a person to do?

Well, you can always avoid these foods, but my take on this action is that it's not necessary as the number of people infected really is very low considering the level of consumption, and a healthy person infected with salmonella may get very sick, but it is usually not a life-threatening experience. (Although you might be ready to ask someone to put you out of your misery as quickly as they can figure out a legal way to do that.)

If you choose not to panic and delete these delectable foods from your diet, here are some other things you can do to reduce your risk of eating those bad little "bugs."

1. Purchase your produce from your local farmer's market. Fewer people have handled it and it hasn't been washed in a huge vat with 600 lbs. of other produce, everything jumping in the tub together and sharing possible contaminants.
2. Use a vegetable cleaning spray on all vegetables and fruits. Even watermelon and cantaloupe. When you run your knife through the skin, your knife will pull any contaminants present on the skin through the flesh, so scrub first.
3. For leafy greens and herbs, hold them under a fine spray of water to rinse off all surfaces. The method used to be to throw them all in a big tub of water and swish. See #1.
4. Tomatoes+ jalapenos+ cilantro=SALSA! Buy a good quality jarred salsa such as Herdez (my favorite!). Jarred salsa has been heat-processed to kill anything bad that might be present.

And finally:

5. Don't sweat it because next month it will be something ELSE!

Bon Appetit!