This week in safety: Talking turkey about food safety

The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to make sure everyone has a food-safe Thanksgiving and is offering guidelines for thawing, cooking and storing the turkey.

Thawing

• In the refrigerator: Leave the turkey in its original wrapper and place it on a tray to catch any juices that may leak from the package. Bacteria in poultry juices can cross-contaminate other foods. Allow 24 hours per 4 to 5 pounds of turkey. For example, a 16-pound turkey would take 3 to 4 days to thaw. A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before cooking.
• In water: If you don't have the time or space to thaw the turkey in the refrigerator, don't panic. You can submerge the bird in cold water and change the water every 30 minutes. Allow about 30 minutes defrosting time per pound of turkey. Cook immediately after thawing.
• In the microwave: Check the manufacturer's instructions for the size turkey that will fit into your oven, the minutes per pound, and the power level to use for thawing. Cook immediately after thawing.

Cooking

• Don't even think of pulling an all-nighter with your turkey. It's not safe to cook a turkey all night at 200 °F. The minimum oven temperature is 325 °F to ensure any bacteria are destroyed.
• If you plan to stuff your turkey, mix the wet and dry stuffing ingredients just before placing the stuffing inside the turkey cavity or into a casserole dish. The stuffing should be moist, not dry, since heat destroys bacteria more rapidly in a moist environment. Stuff your turkey loosely and place it in the oven immediately.
• Use a food thermometer. A cooked whole turkey is safe at a minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout the bird and stuffing. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh, wing, the thickest part of the breast and the stuffing. When the turkey is removed from the oven, let it stand 20 minutes before removing the stuffing and carving the turkey.

Leftovers

• After dinner, but within two hours of cooking, cut the leftover turkey into small pieces. Refrigerate the stuffing and turkey separately in shallow containers. Use leftover turkey and stuffing within 3-4 days or freeze these foods. Reheat thoroughly to a temperature of 165 °F or until hot and steaming.

More safety headlines
Instant recall: Are do-it-yourself quick fixes safe?
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In this era of mass recalls, more and more companies are taking the quick-fix approach to dealing with faulty, malfunctioning or unsafe products: they're sending a repair kit. Read more ...

515 chemicals a day on a woman’s face
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Six facts you can’t ignore when babyproofing your home
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This editor recently invited Allison Rhodes aka “The Safety Mom” to her friend’s home to do a mom-safety evaluation.  She reported on her findings on the “Today” show and wants to share them with parents everywhere. Read more ...

Dangerous counterfeit electronics a growing problem
KOMO News.com
It's a hidden hazard that could set your house on fire or electrocute you. Counterfeit electronics are downright dangerous. "These things can kill you," says the president of the Electrical Safety Foundation. "A purse or a CD isn't going to hurt you. But a counterfeit electrical product will hurt you. It's pretty scary." Read more ...

Senate panel OKs giving FDA more power to police food safety
The Wall Street Journal
A key Senate committee approved sweeping legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration more power to police food safety and reorient its efforts toward preventing food contamination instead of reacting to outbreaks of food-borne illnesses. Read more ...

Listeria found in Eggo Waffles prior to shortage
ConsumerAffairs.com
It appears there's more to the story behind the nationwide shortage of Eggo waffles. Kellogg's has blamed the shortage of its popular breakfast foods on flooding and equipment changes and repairs at the company's bakery in Atlanta, Georgia. But the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) in September found Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of Eggo Buttermilk Waffles made at the plant. Read more ...

Agriculture chief promises better food alerts to schools
USA Today
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pledged Tuesday that the government will do a better job alerting schools across the nation when it suspects that food for school lunches might be contaminated. "We understand and appreciate that there has been a … gap in communication, which results in school districts not getting information on a timely basis," Vilsack told lawmakers during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing. Read more ...

Senate bill would require E. coli testing
The New York Times
Citing public concern that meat companies and federal regulators are not doing enough to make ground beef safe, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, has introduced legislation that would require companies to test for a deadly E. coli strain. Read more ...

Don't miss these recalls

• 17,000 Century 21 children’s hooded sweatshirts and jackets (strangulation hazard)
• 641,000 “Bobby Chupete” pacifiers (choking hazard)
• 10,000 Salomon USA alpine ski bindings (fall hazard)
• 600 Three Sisters Yayita baby hammocks (fall and strangulation hazard)
• 300 Cost Plus stainless steel cookware (burn hazard)

Population declines on the Island of Misfit Toys

We won’t soon forget the millions upon millions of defective toys recalled in 2008 and 2007 due to lead hazards that can cause developmental problems, small magnets that can block or perforate intestines, and toxic chemicals that can put kids in comas. Consumers, as well as Consumers Union, lost confidence in the safety of toys in the marketplace. But a few items in the news recently gives us hope that things are turning around in Toyland.

At a town-hall style meeting in New York City's Times Square,  Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, hailed the significant reduction in toy recalls this year. So far there have been 38 toy recalls, down from 162 in 2008 and 148 in 2007. Tenenbaum attributed the decline to increased enforcement at the ports, cooperation with other countries, consumer awareness and education, and compliance by the toy industry with new federal safety rules.

The new rules have tightened restrictions on lead, made formerly voluntary toy-safety standards mandatory, and required that toys for children under 12 be tested and certified before they're sold. “CPSC has worked hard this year to give parents and grandparents greater confidence that the toys they seek to purchase have enhanced safety protections for children,” said Tenenbaum. We agree.

Another factor that could boost consumer confidence is the Toy Industry Association’s Toy Safety Certification Program. Launched last month, the program adds an extra level of scrutiny to make sure toys are manufactured to comply with safety standards. Qualifying toys will eventually bear a safety certification mark. Although we don’t think the program requires enough randomized sampling of the final product, it’s a start. This week the association announced the first products that have been certified under the program including a Radio Flyer push toy.    
 
The third piece of toy news this week wasn't so cheery. The CPSC's annual report on toy-related deaths and injuries showed that toy-associated injuries are on the rise while fatalities have dropped over the past few years. There were 172,700 toy-related injuries that sent children under 15 to the nation's emergency rooms in 2008. That’s the highest injury level since 2001. But the number of fatalities for children under 15 has declined to 19 from 28 in 2006 and 22 in 2007, according to information the CPSC has collected so far.

With the busiest toy-buying season upon us, it's good to know that care is being taken to ensure that what's on the shelves is safe.—Don Mays

Jon minus Kate tempts fate

You’d think that a guy who thrives on attention would seek a bit less of it when he’s doing something unsafe. Especially when it also endangers his children. But no. Jon Gosselin, star of TV’s former reality show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," didn’t seem the least bit concerned about putting one of his five-year-olds on an ATV. The fact that 20 percent of those killed by ATVs and 30 percent of those injured are kids must have escaped him.
 
Gosselin risked having his son become one of the 40,000 kids who are sent to emergency rooms each year in accidents related to ATVs. Plus, neither the elder nor the younger Gosselin was wearing essential safety gear—a helmet.
 
Children under 16 should not be riding on adult ATVs. Anyone who rides an ATV should don a helmet. And guess what single-rider ATVs were designed for. Yes, a single rider. That means one. 
 

To read more about the safest way to use ATVs, see the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s dedicated Web site.

Photo: INFPhoto.com

This week in safety: Buggy recall hits bumps abroad

After recalling one million umbrella strollers in the U.S. earlier this week, Maclaren took a lot of heat for the way it handled the recall overseas where it also sells strollers—or pushchairs as they're called in England.

"The British company founded in 1965 by Owen Finlay Maclaren, the inventor of the “umbrella-fold” buggy, told non-Americans they would be treated differently," reported the Financial Times. "Instead of a formal product recall, it was simply issuing warnings to owners not to let children stick their fingers in the folding mechanism as they opened the pushchairs. Repair kits to cover the hinges would not be automatically dispatched to every Maclaren owner, as in the U.S."

And that was a glaring example of how not to handle a recall, wrote John Gapper on his business blog. Lessons learned in this recall, he wrote, are: Be prepared, empathize, be polite and don't discriminate.

The U.S. recall was made following reports of 12 fingertip amputations here. Since then there have been reports of at least two amputations in England, according to The Independent newspaper.

We will continue to watch and report on the Maclaren recall. Also in the news this week:

Five of the craziest Chinese drywall stories we've heard
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E. coli outbreak traced to company that halted testing of ground beef
The New York Times
A deadly outbreak of E. coli has been traced to a large producer of ground beef that stopped testing its ingredients years ago under pressure from beef suppliers. A facility in Ashville, N.Y., owned by the company, AFA Foods, recalled more than 500,000 pounds of ground beef on Oct. 31 after it was linked to an outbreak that has killed two people and sickened an estimated 500 others. Read more ...

Each year, more than 20,000 children are injured by shopping carts
The Kansan
Falls from shopping carts are among the leading causes of head injuries in young children, with one- and two-year-olds having the highest incidents of shopping cart-related injuries in the U.S. While the shopping cart might seem like the safest place for a child in the store, simple safety precautions are necessary to ensure a quick trip for groceries does not end in injury. Read more ...

Which cities are the safest for pedestrians?
The Christian Science Monitor
Some of the most dangerous places to walk or ride a bicycle in America are in the South—in fast-growing metropolitan areas that have built their streets mainly for automobiles. In fact, four of the five worst metro areas for walking or biking are in Florida: Orlando-Kissimmee, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville. The other metro area in this group of five is Memphis, Tenn. Read more ...

Beyond Nokia chargers: A brief history of recent technology recalls
Network World
While there are plenty of products customers probably wish had been recalled (OK, it's time to stop piling on Windows Vista), Nokia's recall Monday of millions of faulty cell phone chargers got us thinking about other recent technology recalls. Read more ...

Toyota is sued over concerns of sudden acceleration
The Los Angeles Times
A lawsuit filed this week by two Los Angeles County residents claims that the majority of Toyota and Lexus vehicles made since 2001 contain defective components that can cause unintended acceleration. Read more ...

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The five most hazardous products for babies and toddlers

Over the past few years millions of cribs, play yards and bassinets have been recalled because they pose a hazard to children. So we weren't surprised to see these three products—along with bath seats and car seats/carriers—on the list of nursery products most hazardous to children under five.
 
The list was just released by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in its annual report  “Nursery Product-Related Injuries and Deaths Among Children under Age Five.”  The report is based on hospital-treated injuries associated with nursery products during 2008, and fatalities for those products from 2004 to 2006.  The difference between the years covered for injuries and fatalities is due to the extra time it takes to receive and analyze death certificates following a fatality.
 
If there was any good news in the report it was that the statistics remain essentially unchanged from last year.  Unfortunately, there were 247 deaths—an average of 82 per year—between the years of 2004 and 2006 and more than 63,000 estimated hospital-treated injuries associated with nursery products in 2008.

The products that accounted for the most deaths in 2004-2006 were:

1. Cribs/Mattresses 31
2. Baby Baths/Bath Seats/Bathinettes 12
3. Playpens/Play Yards 11
4. Bassinets/Cradles 11
5. Infant Carriers / Car Seat Carriers* 8 (* excludes car accidents)

Our Take: There are far too many deaths and injuries associated with theses products. Although some products can pose inherent risks, better design and tougher safety standards can help mitigate these disturbing statistics. As required by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, we look forward to the CPSC’s writing of strong regulations for these products in the future, and hope to see strict enforcement of the regulations to make sure all products in the marketplace are in compliance. —Don Mays

Industry reacts to Consumer Reports' BPA report

Consumer Reports’ recent article on the presence of Bisphenol A in canned food drew widespread interest after it was published this past week. It also quickly drew critical comments from industry groups representing companies that manufacture or use BPA, a chemical whose safety is currently being reassessed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The groups took exception to some parts of the report that found nearly all of the 19 name-brand canned foods we tested contained this chemical, which is used in the linings of most food and beverage cans. They did not dispute the test findings of the BPA levels we measured in canned food. Rather, the discussion focused on our risk assessment of the effects of BPA, which was based on the scientific literature that has become available over the past 20 years.
 
Here’s a sampling of those reactions, along with a more detailed discussion of some of the research involved in the debate:
             
1. The American Chemistry Council issued a press release contending that our experts’ recommendations, which include calling for a ban on the use of BPA in all materials that come in contact with food, is “inconsistent with the conclusions of expert regulatory bodies worldwide, all of which have confirmed that BPA exposure levels are low and well within safety standards.”

That is exactly the issue. As our story makes clear, food safety experts at Consumers Union believe federal regulatory guidelines—which are the same as those set by the European Food Safety Authority—are outdated and fail to adequately protect consumers. The FDA’s own scientific advisory board also concluded that the agency’s assessment of BPA’s safety is inadequate. Hundreds of scientific studies have shown harm in animal studies from extremely low levels of BPA—levels that are ten to twenty thousand times lower than what the FDA considered as the basis of its safety assessment in 1988. And even some human studies show a link between elevated BPA levels and harmful effects such as diabetes and cardiovascular risk. Our test results show that consumers may be exposed to potentially harmful levels of BPA that could be reached through a few or multiple servings of the canned foods we tested.

Two deaths linked to large ground beef recall

Two deaths have been linked to the recall of 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The beef was produced by Fairbank Farms in western New York, which recalled the meat on Saturday.

The meat was packaged between September 14 and 16 and may have been labeled with a sell-by date from Sept. 19 through Sept. 28. Because those dates have passed, the meat is no longer on store shelves but health officials fear it may still be in people's freezers. The meat was distributed to retailers in eight states -- Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia -- but Fairbank Farms said on its Web site that some of its customers may have redistributed ground beef to other states.  The stores receiving the meat include ACME, BJ's, Ford Brothers, Giant Food Stores, Price Chopper, Shaw's, and Trader Joe's, Lancaster and Wild Harvest. Each package bears the establishment number "EST. 492" inside the USDA mark of inspection or on the nutrition label.

The Associated Press reported that one of the deaths was an adult from Albany County, N.Y., who had several underlying health conditions, according to the New York State Health Department. The other fatality was reported by New Hampshire, where health officials said a patient died of complications.

For complete details on the recall including the weight and labels of the recalled packages of meat, read the recall notice from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. Consumers can contact the Fairbank Farms’ toll-free hotline at 1-877-546-0122.

Testing for BPA: Concern over canned foods

Consumer Reports recently tested a variety of canned foods to determine whether they contain Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in the epoxy resin linings of most food and beverage cans. We found that even samples of canned food we tested from manufacturers who aim to reduce consumers’ BPA exposure by using non-epoxy based can linings had measurable amounts of the chemical.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently is reassessing what it considers a safe level of exposure to BPA, which some studies show is linked with increased risks of certain cancers, diabetes, reproductive abnormalities, and heart disease. Federal guidelines currently put the daily upper limit of exposure at 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight. But that level is based on experiments done in the 1980s rather than hundreds of more recent animal and laboratory studies indicating that serious health risks could result from much lower doses of BPA.

Mounting scientific evidence of the chemical’s health risks prompted Eden Foods President and Chairman Michael Potter more than a decade ago to search for BPA-free cans for the canned foods produced by his Ann Arbor, Mich.-based natural foods company. In an interview with Consumer Reports, he explained that he eventually negotiated a deal with Ball Corp.—famous for its glass jars—to manufacture BPA-free cans starting in 1999 for Eden’s bean products, including chili. The inner coating of those cans is an oleo-based material originally known as “corn enamel,” which was commonly used in food can linings prior to the 1960s. That’s when epoxy resins took over the market because they helped extend shelf life without affecting flavor, according to Scott McCarty, spokesman for Ball Corp.

Potter says that finding a supplier of cans that weren’t lined with BPA-containing epoxy resin was a difficult and frustrating process. “I made hundreds of calls to can manufacturers trying to find out what was in their can linings and I always ended up talking to an attorney in the Beltway who informed me to my amazement that it was a trade secret and I had no right to know,” says Potter.

The Ball Corp. eventually agreed to produce custom runs of cans with oleo-based C-enamel linings for Eden. It’s also doing research to develop BPA-free can coatings that could work for more acidic foods such as fruit, which Eden now markets in glass containers. “It’s costing me 14 percent more for these BPA-free cans, but I said I have to do this because not only do I eat canned foods, but so do my kids and grandkids,” Potter says.

Even so, the samples of Eden Baked Beans in our tests were found to contain an average of one part per billion of BPA. That’s far below many other food products we tested, which ranged up to a high of 191 ppb for a single sample. The fact that the Eden Baked Beans we tested still had any measurable amounts of BPA—even though our tests confirmed the cans did not have epoxy-based linings—suggests that food can have multiple sources of exposure.

BPA is now one of the highest-volume chemicals in the world, with more than 100 tons released into the atmosphere per year. Various studies have found BPA in dust and water samples from around the world. This unavoidable environmental exposure makes it all the more important to eliminate the use of BPA in can linings and all materials that come in contact with food. Consumers Union is calling upon manufacturers and government regulators to do just that.

This week in safety: Treat yourself to an extra hour of sleep

Things may still be going bump in the Halloween night but when the clock strikes 2 A.M. Sunday, daylight saving time comes to an end. Halloween revelers and those running the New York City Marathon on November 1 may appreciate the extra hour of sleep they’ll get when the clocks fall back.

At this time of year, we like to remind people to replace batteries in their smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms with fresh ones. It’s also a good time to replace any smoke alarm that’s 10 years old or more and any CO alarm five years old or older with a new model. You’ll find the manufacture date on the alarms.

And now that it’s getting dark earlier, you may want to check the lights on your car to make sure they are aligned correctly and working properly.

Don’t be haunted by burn and laceration hazards this Halloween
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Incidents involving burns from flammable costumes and lacerations related to pumpkin carving lead the list of Halloween-related injuries. Read more ...

N.F.L.’s influence on safety at youth levels is cited
The New York Times
More than 1.2 million teenagers play high school football every fall, and hundreds are seriously injured by concussions and other brain trauma. Many of the injuries occur because the players are unaware of the seriousness of brain injuries, because trained medical personnel are too costly and because the culture of football up through the N.F.L. demands that players play through pain. Read more …

Taking the fear out of food
Florida Sun-Sentinel
When you stop and think about all the food stored in your kitchen, it's hard not to get a little freaked out. The news is full of food safety stories as frightening as any Halloween horror story. To make matters worse, just about every package you buy is stamped with dates and times, like a goblin among your groceries just waiting to attack. Read more …

How to make sure you're giving safe toys
The Chicago Tribune
It's prime time for toy-buying. But how to do you know that what you're putting under the tree isn't putting the kids you love in danger? Read more …

ATV deaths rise, some safety tips before jumping on
KTHV (Little Rock, Ark.)
This month, at least four Arkansans have died from ATV related accidents. Two of the victims were kids, one 16 and the other 4. Nationally, more than 150,000 people are rushed to emergency rooms across the country for ATV related injuries. Read more …

A fire risk that clears security
The New York Times
Battery fires in personal electronic devices can be scary. But if a battery ignites on a plane, the risks are much greater. With more people traveling with an assortment of portable electronics—sometimes a plane has more devices than passengers—fires are occurring on airliners with increasing frequency. Read more …

How safe are carnival rides?
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Nationally, thousands of people among the millions who visit amusement parks and carnivals are injured on rides each year. In Georgia, 28 injury incidents have been investigated by state regulators since 2005, according to reports on file at the Georgia Department of Labor, which inspects carnival rides. Read more …

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Long anticipated Chinese drywall report short on answers

Homeowners affected by tainted Chinese drywall were likely disappointed today by a report issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that said, in effect, tests are still inconclusive.

The long-awaited multi-agency report said more information is needed before the CPSC can consider a recall, ban or other solutions to help homeowners. Additional results are due to be released next month.

"The expansive investigation and scientific work that has been done and continues to be carried out is all aimed at providing answers and solutions," Lori Saltzman, a director in the CPSC's Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction, told the Associated Press. "No connections have been made yet."

Saltzman said the agency, which has so far spent $3.5 million on the studies, has received nearly 1,900 homeowner complaints during one of its largest consumer product investigations in its history. "We understand this problem has literally driven people from their homes," she said.

According to today's report, here is what was found in three tests:

Elemental and chemical testing
The study of the elemental and chemical composition of 17 drywall samples shows higher concentrations of elemental sulfur and strontium in Chinese drywall than in non-Chinese drywall.

Chamber studies
Preliminary results of ongoing testing to detect gases emitted from drywall in laboratory chambers show higher emissions of total volatile sulfur gases from Chinese than from non-Chinese drywall.

Indoor air studies
Indoor air testing of 10 homes in Florida and Louisiana was conducted to identify and measure contaminants and to develop a drywall home indoor air testing protocol. This data from a small sample of homes allows preliminary observations of certain chemicals in the indoor air. The tests did not detect the presence or found only very limited or occasional indications of sulfur compounds of particular interest—hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide, and carbonyl sulfide. Concentrations of two known irritant compounds, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, were detected in homes with and without Chinese drywall, and at concentrations that could exacerbate conditions such as asthma in sensitive populations. The levels of formaldehyde were not unusual for new homes, however, and were higher when the homes were not air conditioned.

Next steps
In November, the results of a 50-home indoor air testing study will be released as well as preliminary engineering analyses of electrical and fire safety associated with corrosion. A study of long-term corrosion issues, that seeks to simulate decades of exposure and corrosion, will not be completed until June of 2010.

That leaves homeowners continuing to grapple with builders, insurance companies and less-than-ideal living conditions. "So many of us have been really waiting on these results released today to offer us encouragement, but in fact, we're quite disappointed," Holly Krulik, of Parkland, Fla., told the Associated Press. The Krulik family moved out of their home earlier this year.