Food Safety Talk 46: The mother of all messy epidemiology

Published: Aug. 23, 2013, 11:41 a.m.

b'During their podcasting foreplay don and Ben discussed their breakfast choices, their love for guacamole (despite the risks associated with cilantro), and the challenge of separating work from private life. The guys then got onto the recent IAFP annual meeting (abstracts are here), which clearly was a huge success. Ben was impressed by Michelle Danyluk\\u2019s deconstruction of the FSMA Fresh Produce rule to create a really convincing story, which included work Don and Michelle had published. Ben then talked about the symposium on Farmers markets[AK1] , which he\\u2019s done work on. He really enjoyed Erin Jobe\\u2019s talk about the realities of the Carrboro Farmer\\u2019s Market, which reminded Ben of the need to expose food safety nerds to the world of small food producers. Lastly, the guys talked about the round table discussion on \\u201cBridging Gaps between Scientific Assessment of Risk and Public Perception\\u201d which was reported on Barfblog and Food Safety News. And of course, IAFP would not be a great meeting if there wasn\\u2019t Karaoke involved. Moving on from IAFP, Don noted that he\\u2019s following John Gruber and Merlin Mann\'s advice and is podcasting for just one person, Chuck Hass. Turns out that Chuck also sent an email about an upcoming publication on the dose-response curve for Helicobacter pylori (see FST 45). Ben then recalled the conversation about the Salmonella outbreak associated with the Holiday Inn and the article he wrote on Barfblog. Ben queried why employees wouldn\\u2019t tell management that they were sick but would tell the health department? Both Don and Ben concluded that it\\u2019s surely related to not getting paid while being off work! The discussion then turned to the Cyclospora messiness and that there is disagreement between the epidemiologists. While there is lots of bad advice out there, the most recent information indicates a link to prewashed salad mix to Taylor Farms de Mexico, though this information wasn\\u2019t available when ACSH reported that the \\u201cmystery was solved". The guys also noted Bill Marler\\u2019s interesting thoughts about disclosure as well as why naming a product too early can have consequences. The guys also re-iterating that washed fresh-cut salads don\\u2019t need additional washing. To finish off, Ben wanted to talk about Jimmy John\\u2019s who are looking at bringing back sprouts, but that they are considering this warning sign. Don felt that this approach was nonsense and that the risks of eating still outweigh the risks of not eating. Instead Don wanted to know about Jimmy John\\u2019s food safety program, such as Bob Sanderson\\u2019s approach at Jonathan Sprouts. However, from a risk communication perspective Ben wasn\\u2019t against the label though he felt that it could be improved. In the after dark the guys talked about Don\\u2019s video call with IFT, his appearance on SSKTN\\u2019s Show me your Mic (including the After Show me your Mic), preschool and the Food Safety Talk newsletter.'