Food Safety with FATTOM

“FAT TOM” is a mnemonic device used to represent the six conditions that support bacterial foodborne growth. “F” stands for food. Foodborne bacteria needs carbs and proteins to grow. Foods like meat, eggs, fish, and dairy products are potentially hazardous for harvesting bacteria because bacteria grow quickly in moist areas. Bacteria is always present in food.

“A” stands for acidity. The pH scale measures how acidic or alkaline something is. It ranges from 0-14. If a food has a pH between zero and 6.9 it is acidic. If it stands at 7.0 exactly, it is a neutral food. Bacteria like to grow in a slightly acidic pH, which is a pH between 7.5 and 4.6. Vinegar, pickles, and citrus fruits are acidic and can kill bacteria because of its acidity. Foodborne bacteria typically does not grow in alkaline foods like crackers.  

http://www.edu.pe.ca/gulfshore/Archives/ACIDSBAS/phscale2.jpg

“T” stands for temperature. Foodborne bacteria grows well between 41 degrees and 135 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is extremely cold, bacteria will not grow, and if conditions are extremely hot, bacteria will be killed. That is why we refrigerate foods, to slow the growth of bacteria and preserve the food. (There are some bacteria that grow regularly in cold temperatures, it just depends). You should be careful with your food while cooking it after it is frozen to ensure that these bacteria do not infect your food.

The second “T” stands for time.  Foodborne bacteria needs time to grow. If a food is in a bacteria’s growing temperature for longer than four hours, it will have grown enough to cause illness.

“O” is for oxygen. Aerobic bacteria require oxygen to grow. Anaerobic bacteria do not require oxygen to grow, like the bacteria in our gut, or the bacteria at the bottom of a soil ecosystem. Foods like cooked rice and baked potatoes have been associated with types of bacteria that grow without oxygen. Foods preserved in cans and jars limit the amount of oxygen exposed to bacteria, also limiting their growth.

“M” is for moisture. As said above, most bacteria requires moisture to grow. The amount of moisture in food is called water activity. Potentially hazardous foods have a water ativity of .85 or higher. Foods that are kept dry or preserved with salt and sugar deprive bacteria of water. This water activity is measured on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0, with water having the value of 1.0.

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Waste Treatment Systems

If you go to the Ohio Department of Health website, you can learn about septic systems. A septic system is a wastewater treatment system. They disinfect and cleanse household wastewater and are more economical than centralized sewer systems. Almost twenty five percent of American households use septic systems to treat the water they use. But a malfunctioning septic system can lead to backups, malfunctions, and failure. Septic systems are costly and annoying to have repaired. If you have a septic system working for your household, you use well water, you aren’t charged a sewer water bill, and the waterline coming into your home does not have a meter. To find your septic system, check your yard for the lid somewhere in the grass. If you cannot find it, you can contact a septic inspector or check your homes “as built” drawing.

http://www.clallam.net/hhs/images/SMWasbuilt_exp_000.JPG

Maintaining your septic system saves you money. Repairing it could cost between three thousand and seven thousand dollars. If you just keep up with it every few years, it costs two to three hundred dollars each time. Keeping up with your septic systems health also keeps your health, you neighbors health, and your property value up. Basically, have your septic system inspected, pumped every few years, waste efficiently by not flushing items down the toilet other than human waste.

http://www.teambusschers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/septic_system.jpg

The EPA’s “SepticSmart” program educates homeowners about system care and maintenance with six steps. To plan for a sewage treatment system, one needs to contact their local health district for information regarding planning for land development. The health district needs to visit your home to approve the soil and the site to do this. The soil needs to be evaluated to see how much of it is present, usable and where it is located; because natural soil is the most commonly used media for final treatment in the system. Other site conditions like slope and nearby water supply are evaluated during this inspection also. Homeowners will work with a sewage treatment system designer and that designer will determine the possible types of systems available for their land. Once a system contractor is chosen and installation begins, the homeowner should pay attention to the work being done to their home. The health district should give a final inspection of the new water treatment system and approve the installation if everything is correct. Each homeowner should have a contract with the contractor.

Sources:

https://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhprograms/eh/sewage/sewage1.aspx

https://www.epa.gov/septic/how-your-septic-system-works

Water Quality- Coliforms

Ohio Department of Health (ODOH) regulates private water systems. Private water systems are considered “private” when they offer water to fewer than fifteen service connections; and they do not regularly provide water to more than twenty five people in a sixty day period. Private water systems include everything from springs, ponds, water storage tanks to wells and cisterns.  These systems give water supply to things like toilet flushing and laundry machines. ODOH private water systems program gives instruction and training on the construction and maintenance work these water systems need to operate properly. 

It also investigates if there is contamination in the water, and what might be in that water. E. coli is a popular water contaminator, because the pipes that run clean water run very close to the pipes that run sewage water. If one of those pipes were to break, the water would quickly become contaminated with E. coli or coliforms.  A coliform is a gram negative, facultative anaerobe that grows and lives in soils, plants, and in the intestines of humans and animals. Coliform aids in the digestion of food.

E. coli is a type of fecal coliform. It’s an easy indicator of water contamination because it does not live in wet areas for a long time.  E. coli 0157 has been in the news for its potentially dangerous outbreaks, and its associated illnesses. For example, E. coli 0157 has been spoken about in regards to Haiti, with all of the destruction in Haiti, there is a lot of E. coli illness outbreaks. You can contract E. coli contamination by drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food. You will not always become ill from it, but if E. coli is present in your water, there may be other contaminants in it too. E coli causes diarrheal infections and urinary tract infections.  

Properly constructed underground drinking water systems should not have contamination problems. There should be 0ppm coliform bacteria when the water is tested. If you use cisterns, springs or ponds as a drinking water source, you should have treatment devices disinfecting the water. 

sources: 

https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/general-health/e-coli-infection.html

http://www.odh.ohio.gov/default.aspx

Ohio EPA- Air Quality Index

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, is a leader when it comes to keeping the environment and public safe by ensuring complete compliance with environmental laws and encouraging environmental stewardship. The Ohio EPA is a state agency aiming to protect Ohio’s health by following Ohio’s environmental laws and policies. These regulations help the EPA make decisions about activities that go on throughout the state. Ohio EPA also makes standards for water, air, waste management, and hazardous substance cleanup. There is one central office that is located in Columbus and there are district offices scattered throughout the rest of Ohio. Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency does not deal with food safety, pesticide application, or animal feeding operations. The Department of Health is frequently confused with the EPA because it concerns indoor air pollution, water bacteria levels, and lead poisoning, which is easily confused with Ohio EPA.

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/Portals/_default/Skins/EPA2012/Images/epaheader_new.png

The EPA website offers information regarding different divisions of the EPA like air pollution control, drinking and ground waters, and waste management. The website also offers information about current trending topics like harmful algal blooms, fish consumption, Marcellus, and drinking water. I really like how there is a section of the website that informs the reader how to get your vehicle tested, recycle better, waste batteries, aerosols, appliances, household hazardous wastes and electronics. You can compare different cities and their quality of air, water and pollution. For example, if you want to see the air quality in Cincinnati, you can select the “current air quality” map and search for Cincinnati.

 The map on the Ohio EPA website shows that the AQI is 50.  In Cleveland, the AQI is 8. An Air Quality Index ranging between 0 and 50 is considered good. 51 to 100 is moderate, 101 to 200 is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and 201 to 300 is very unhealthy. 

http://www.earthzine.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Airquality.jpg

Cleveland’s air quality is much better than Cincinnati’s air quality

sources:

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/

https://www.odh.ohio.gov/

RoundUp

http://www.monsanto.com/Style%20Library/Images/logo.png

Monsanto is a Fortune 500 company whose headquarters are based in St. Louis, Missouri. In the United States, Monsanto has 10,277 employees that work in 146 facilities in 33 of the states. Globally, the company has 21,183 employees in 404 facilities in 66 countries. Monsanto prides itself on being a sustainable agricultural company that delivers products into the farming world that support small and large farmers. Its goal is to have farmers produce more with their land while conserving water and energy. Monsanto hosts agricultural and vegetable seeds, crop protection chemicals, and plant biotechnology traits. Monsanto wants improve farmer’s lives, produce more, and conserve more.  Monsanto sells corn, soybean, cotton, wheat, canola, and sugar cane seeds. Other Monsanto products include insect repellent, weed killers and general farm-productivity increasers. 

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RoundUp use and popularity has increased vastly since 1996. As Monsanto’s most well-known product, RoundUp is used to restore and protect habitats by killing unwanted vegetation in everyday habitats and refuge areas, but it is mostly primarily by gardeners and on farms by farmers to kill all plants that are not the targeted growing plant. RoundUp is the product name for glyphosate, which is an active, broad-spectrum herbicide. Monsanto advertises that glyphosate is water-plant-environment friendly, highly effective on more than 190 species of weeds. This includes many types of grasses, weeds, and sedges. Glyphosate degrades over time in soil and natural water and is withstood by even genetically-engineered plants, so it is more common to find glyphosate embedded in a GM crop than it is in an organic plant. RoundUp contains glyphosate, water, and a soap-like surfactant blend that has changed throughout the years since RoundUp’s first debut in 1974.

                Glyphosate is a controversial ingredient. Monsanto claims RoundUp can produce better, more nutritious food that resists climate change and can help decrease pesticide use. All seventeen experts from the World Health Organization InternationalAgency for Research on Cancer (IARC) meeting agreed that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”  The effects of the widely used RoundUp in America are soaring. For example, butterfly population in the Corn Belt has decreased intensely due to RoundUp killing Milkweed, a staple in a Monarch butterfly’s diet. In response to IARC’s findings, Bermuda, Sri Lanka, and Colombia halted the use and import of glyphosate.

                In 2009, a French court found Monsanto guilty of lying and advertising its RoundUp as “biodegradable” and “eco-friendly.” Studies are beginning to link glyphosate to cancer, autism, gastrointestinal diseases, obesity, allergies, depression, infertility, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease. Residues from RoundUp remain in our food and enhance the effects of other chemicals. Glyphosate affects beneficial bacteria in our body, allowing certain pathogens to overgrow once they enter our body.

http://www.monsanto.com/products/pages/monsanto-product-brands.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/09/monsanto-roundup-herbicide.aspx

http://www.monsanto.com/products/pages/roundup-custom.aspx

http://www.monsanto.com/glyphosate/pages/does-glyphosate-cause-cancer.aspx

http://www.monsanto.com/glyphosate/pages/default.aspx

Nuclear Power

Using nuclear energy to power things is increasingly becoming a more popular choice. With global warming awareness on the rise, politicians have never spoken more about it. But what really is nuclear power?  It is generated using Uranium, a metal mined in different parts of the world. Although nuclear power plants run generally in the same way that fossil-fuel burning power plants do, the difference between the two is that heat is generated by nuclear fission instead.

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Nuclear power has its advantages and disadvantages. Some people support the use of nuclear power because of how efficient it is in terms of energy production, cost, and reliability. Nuclear power also does not produce smoke or carbon dioxide; therefore, it does not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. On the other side, although it does not produce much waste, it is very dangerous due to the radioactivity involved in production and possibility for accidents. For the radioactivity to die away, it must be stored and buried for thousands of years. It also is not considered renewable. There is a general concern for the possibility of nuclear accidents to occur, because nuclear disasters are exactly that: detrimental when they happen.

Animals are susceptible to radiation exposure, making the effects dangerous to animals in the same way humans are affected by radiation. The Chernobyl nuclear explosion disaster, which occurred on April 26, 1986, affected species of animals in the surrounding area of Pripyat, Ukraine. Studies have found a decreased amount of species in the area and a direct impact on their genetics due to the explosion. For example, more than 1 in3 boars in Saxony, which is 700 miles from Chernobyl, are too radioactive to consume for food.

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Plants have also been affected by nuclear power. Waste from nuclear factories harms the surrounding environment, including plants, soil and water. Soil contamination due to the Chernobyl accident has been discovered in France.

Sources: http://energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/nuclear

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/TP.asp?id=440&tid=77

                http://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx

http://www.livescience.com/39961-chernobyl.html

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/animals-and-radiation/

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/305042

Zika Virus

      The Zika virus is a virus commonly known to cause brain development issues in newborns. Before it was known to affect babies, the Zika virus spread through contact between mosquitoes and monkeys.

      It originated in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1946 and 1947, but was only present in countries between Africa and Asia for a long time. Zika is believed to have initially infected humans due to an invasion of mosquitos in surrounding areas where people lived. More recently, Zika has spread to other countries outside of that region, including South and Latin American countries and the United States, due to an increase in travelling and trading in those countries.

 

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                Zika virus starts out as a minor infection in the body that involves symptoms that last from two to seven days! Symptoms can include fever, rashes, joint and muscle pains, and headaches. Although there is no current vaccine to prevent the virus, Zika symptoms can still be treated. Doctors suggest staying rested, staying hydrated with healthy fluids, and taking anti inflammatory medicines. About 1/5 of the people who contract Zika infection end up becoming sick with the actual virus. Scientists have begun to develop a vaccine for Zika, but a vaccine will take at least two years to create, and another ten to twelve years on top of that for the vaccine to be approved for public use.

       Zika is currently affecting more people than it has previously on record. In 2016, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requested that a pregnant woman, planning on travelling to a country that carries Zika Virus, postpone her trip until a later date to reduce the chances of her developing Zika. Some of the countries with a larger presence of Zika even asked women to postpone becoming pregnant altogether until Zika is under more control.

sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/02/10/cdc-confirms-link-between-zika-microcephaly-brazilian-babies-who-died/80179898/


http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00385.asp

Environmental Sustainability

            Sustainability is defined by Dictionary.com as the ability for something to be supported indefinitely. So, when asked what environmental sustainability is, one can assume that resources and tactics that are being used in our environment on a daily basis for production in our economy support long-term ecological health and balance. Environmental sustainability is difficult to create in the world that we live in today. The production of any type of good or service in today’s world harms the environment in some way. After World War II, the Industrial Revolution, and the Baby-Boomer generation, the economy needed to compensate and provide for the increase of working people. Large-scale businesses and mass production of food took over the production industry, while local farmers and clean harvesting tactics were then a thing of the past, all with sustainability for the people in mind.

            But decades later, the change in production in our country has impacted our environment in ways people never expected. The current production industry is not sustainable or healthy for Americans to live with anymore. Nonrenewable natural resources are running out. America may need to change it’s ways, sooner than anyone thinks. 

            Some people may argue that changing to a more sustainable environment may cause disruption in America’s economy because it will impact employment amounts in a negative way by switching to smaller scale farming and cleaner techniques, which would then cost more money.

            Although it may take some time for changes to be made, efficient use of raw materials would reduce the production of waste. If more people purchased food locally, local economies would grow, and the food would be produced in a healthier environment. This would also add to the surrounding environment being treated with healthier practices. Cars and factories have cleaner alternatives available. For example, battery-operated and hybrid cars use less material and are better for the environment.

 Also, switching to resources like wind and water are much cleaner and long-term are a cheaper option.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sustainability

http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/EnvironmentalSustainability.htm

Stress

For most people, being "stressed" is a part of everyday life. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines stress simply as a "state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life." Stress causes large amounts of worry and anxiety and can truly impact someone’s happiness.

Poorly managed stress throughout your lifetime can lead to bad side effects involving a person’s overall health. Increase in heart rate, breathing, decrease in hunger, sleeping problems, headaches, fatigue, muscle tension, and overall unhappiness with life are effects of being “stressed out,” but what some people fail to realize is that large and untreated amounts of stress in a person’s lifetime can lead to serious health conditions like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, types of cancer, migraines and asthma.

            The hypothalamus in the base of the brain is in charge of the body’s stress response system. When proposed with a stressful situation, the pituitary gland and adrenal cortex are activated and the human body goes into Fight or Flight response mode. Then, a stress hormone called Cortisol is released.

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            For some people, stress is so common as a part of their everyday life that they don’t even recognize the fact that they are stressed. Stress can build up in your body and give you muscle tensions or sleeping issues. Once you know to look out for them, you can help your body when you are aware! Listen to your body and try to notice changes!

            You can also recognize stress impacts on your emotions. Stressing out makes it hard to concentrate, stay happy, and keep interest in activities you typically enjoy. Maybe your body feels drained, you feel guilty taking time off of work and other pressing daily activities.

            Although by now, it may sound that stress is present and unavoidable in life, but there are ways to combat it. Incorporating workouts into your daily routine is an awesome way to keep your body at its healthiest and happiest.

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            Physical exercise alleviates much of the body’s muscle tension and can help you think clearer, therefore reducing overall stresses. Making sure that although you may be overwhelmed lately, you are still engaging socially with people you care about. Socializing can be the quickest and most effective way to decrease feelings of stress because communicating with people who understand you and make you feel safe is instantly comforting, and maybe they can offer some advice on what they would do, given they were placed in your stressful situation. Another simple tip to avoid unnecessary stress in your life: accept things that you cannot change. Everyone has heard this line before, but stressing about uncontrollable things around us, like the behavior of other people, will not help a person’s happiness in any way. Instead, maybe focus on controlling your reaction to those people’s behavior can provide you with a sane mind

Sources:

http://www.medicinenet.com/stress/page9.htm#conclusions_about_the_effects_of_stress

http://www.simplypsychology.org/stress-biology.html

https://www.healthylifestylesliving.com/enlighten-the-soul/stress-management/how-do-you-know-if-youre-stressed/

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

        Carbon Monoxide is an invisible threat to humans. CO is a toxic gas produced by burning a fossil fuel in car engines, fireplaces, stoves and furnaces, without burning the carbon completely out of it. Once in the air, it will remain for about two months. Carbon Monoxide or “CO” is odorless, colorless, tasteless and most importantly poisonous gas for the human body to breathe in. It can be in outdoor or indoor air. Breathing too much CO can cause Carbon Monoxide poisoning; resulting in flu like symptoms like dizziness, weakness, fatigue, vomiting, headache, and passing out. If exposed to too much carbon monoxide, you could die.

         To avoid CO exposure, each homeowner should have a carbon monoxide detector in wall unit form installed somewhere that they can hear it if it were to sound while they are sleeping.

http://www.lowes.com/projects/images/how-tos/Hardware/install-a-carbon-monoxide-and-smoke-detector-inline-where.jpg

The most convenient place for a wall unit to be placed is outside the bedroom door. Each time a new appliance is purchased for your home, you should check for a seal from a national gas-testing agency that guarantees safety from emissions. All appliances that are inside your home should be service checked annually by a technician.  Take precautions like never burning charcoal inside, refraining from using portable gas stoves and back up generators indoors.

         To prevent CO poisoning, the Center for Disease Control  (CDC) engages in CO research activities related to prevention and human behavior regarding precautions involving CO. For example, they determine a recommended safe distance for portable generators to be placed in yards.

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They also try to influence the public’s attitudes and behavior to be safer and take more precautions to ensure safety and minimal exposure.

         Studies through the CDC found that 15%-49% of CO poisoned people have long-term health problems. In Ohio, there were 76 deaths since 1999. North Carolina and Pennsylvania had 83 and 82 deaths, respectively.

Sources: 

http://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showIndicatorPages.action?selectedContentAreaAbbreviation=CO&selectedIndicatorId=39&selectedMeasureId=

http://www.cdc.gov/co/studies.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/co/default.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm

Poison

The American Association of Poison Control Centers or AAPCC is health organization and resource that people can turn to for public education in poisons and attempting to decrease sickness and mortality rates that are due to poisonings. These center’s mission is to prevent poisonings, conduct scientific research, treat infected people that are exposed to poisonings. These poisonings can come from plants, animals, medications, household cleaners and other products. There are 55 Poison Control Centers in the United States that offer free and confidential medical help all hours of the day, but , but their main address is 3201 New Mexico Avenue, Suite 330, Washington D.C. 20016. You can contact them at 1-800-222-1222. This 24/7 advice line helps in-home treatment of poisonings to keep you from spending time at the hospital.

(http://www.consumermedsafety.org/assets/assets/otc/safe-medicine/poison-help-logo.png)

 People can also become certified through the American Association of Poison Control Centers as specialists in poison information. These specialists are always available to the public and private businesses for help. Along with the specialists, there are doctors and physicians that also work for the  Each December, AAPCC publishes their National Poison Data System, which is the only poison information database in the United States. Categories when you call the 1-800 number range from human and animal poison to general information calls. The database can be downloaded for free from the AAPCC website under the National Poison Data System page. The database generates a Current Annual Report that is updated every eight minutes by each of the 55 poison centers with recent poison call-ins. This report gives a large amount of information on the poisoned, including their age and gender distributions, exposure reasons/routes, exposures in pregnancy and other topics.

(https://aapcc.s3.amazonaws.com/images/library/Data_graphic_1.jpg)

According to the Poison Center Data Snapshot, in 2014, almost half of poison exposures taken care of by a poison control center involved children under the age of six! Following young children, adults ages 20-59 were exposed to the second most amount of toxins. Adults 60 and up were exposed to the least amount of poisons, only taking up 6% of the data taken.  Also in 2014, a poison center was called “about every 11 seconds” the snapshot claims. 57% of poison calls revolved around prescribed medications. Most of the poisons that occurred last year took place in a household and were also treated in a household; therefore, saving those households medical expenses.

Heuristics

            The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines heuristics as a proposition that connects an event with an action. Heuristics in advertising, for example, usually make decision making easier for the decision-maker because the advertisement influences the decision-maker in a way that convinces them to purchase the advertised good or service; whereas before, they may not have wanted or needed that good or service in any way.

            As you can see in this advertisement, soda drinks are ten bottles for ten dollars. If you are walking around in a grocery store and see a sign for ten soda drinks for ten dollars, and you then see the price is $1.50 for each soda drink purchased individually, you would know that if you bought ten of them, you would save fifty cents on each drink! That would save you five dollars total, making you think that the ten for ten deal is your best bet, when in reality, you probably do not need ten soda drinks nor would you have even purchased soda drinks in the first place if you had not seen such a bargain on the price!

            This second advertisement in the link above does the same type of convincing that the soda bottle does. In this Duluth (Men’s boxers) advertisement, the comfort, style, fit, support and overall quality are measured. The advertisement doesn’t compare Duluth Men’s boxers with other competing brands, nor does it really tell the viewer much about the boxers at all, but it is convincing enough so that the viewer feels like he needs to purchase his own pair.

            Heuristics in marketing and advertising are meant to be persuasive. They convince the shopper or average person that they need the product, even if the shopper does not indeed need the product or want the product at all in their life prior to seeing the advertisement. Another example could be Mcdonald’s Dinner Box. You receive two cheeseburgers, four small fries, and a ten piece chicken nugget ALL for $9.99. No person needs that much food to fill their stomach.



sources:  https://www.ama.org/resources/Pages/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=H

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/180/2/decision-making-factors-that-influence-decision-making-heuristics-used-and-decision-outcomes