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Date: 2015-08-14
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| Questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| A few questions please: (1) Can you give us a few examples of the misconceptions/lies about the food industry you speak of? (2) GMO foods...good or bad? (3) Pink slime in hamburgers...good or bad? (4) What do you think of the Moody Blues? (5) Is it ok to make a bolgna sandwich with Hellman's mayo for lunch at work, yet not refrigerate it, then consume it? (6) Are we all being paranoid by the handling of raw chicken and cross contamination? (7) Is it true about being able to leave McDonald's food out in the open for over a year and it doesn't decay much? (8) Worst date you've ever been on? (9) Should I use painter's masking tape or just be very careful when I paint a room with a lot of windows? (10) Do we wash our hands too much? - Thanks!! | GMO is the biggest topic I see brought up today. PERSONALLY, I believe GMO is the future. The problem associated with GMO from a SCIENTIFIC stand point are not negative with consumption; it is a POSSIBLE negativity with environment and business practices. People talk about how Monsanto wants to ruin the world with their death food. That most certainly is not the case. If you want to argue their business practices are horrible that's one thing, but from eating the food stand point study after study shows its safe. The question arises from releasing and removing common species of plants in the environment. Take a tomato for example. You have hundreds of different tomato species now. If a virus hits and wipes out 10-20% of those species, you still have a good amount of viable tomatoes left. This MAY NOT be the case in using a single, GMO tomato (is the argument). We could potentially wipe out entire lines of food crops through one disease that can spread rampant. This is just one example. However, with proper handling and upkeep I doubt this will be an issue, but it is ALWAYS good to look into the future. Bill Nye is a perfect example of this. |
| 3.) Pink slime: well the name itself... horrible. We didn't do ourselves any services by calling the stuff that. The truth is, this is a good thing. Basically, what happens with the beef these days is everything is processed separately (not like 100 years ago). These items are added back into the meat to give them things like flavor, protein, texture and organoleptic additions. They make the overall product you are used to. The problem with this was how the media handled it. No one complains when you mix a bunch of things into a sausage and stick it in a natural casing (i.e. intestines). But take the media saying "pink slime" and all of a sudden its a HORRIBLE thing. | |
| 5.) The bologna question is a hard one to answer. The real question is how long has the bolgna been sitting out, how old is the bolgna to begin with, what temperature is it sitting at and for how long? There is ALOT. I would always gear towards safety and heres my thought: If its a risk, why try it? Everything may be fine, or you may end up blowing up a toilet for the next week. I prefer to stick it in a fridge! | |
| 6.) Cross contamination is a VERY real thing. BUT, cook your chicken and you will be fine! | |
| 7.) The McDonald's food question is a yes and no. Yes, McDonald's takes EVERY precaution possible to ensure its food is safe and because of this it limits the growth of organisms. Even if its not decaying by sight, it doesn't mean its safe to eat! | |
| 8.) Worst date: A girl asked my friend for me to take her to dinner. It was so bad I ended up calling him directly after to tell him I'm never taking her out again and she was boring and even though she was super hot, it wasn't worth it... while she was in the car with me still... while he was on Bluetooth. It made it... awkward. | |
| 9) ALWAYS use painters tape. The extra hour can really make the difference on you either spending 4 hours doing touch ups, or just being overall unhappy with your work! | |
| 10) I am an over-hand washer, but I don't use Antibiotic handsoap. | |
| (5) Is it ok to make a bolgna sandwich with Hellman's mayo for lunch at work, yet not refrigerate it, then consume it? I feel like your answer to this missed what I wanted to know which is about the mayo being unsafe, not the bologna. | The mayo has a high amount of vinegar. It will probably be safe to eat in that time, but again, why risk it? |
| But, seriously, are the 5 hours of unrefrigerated time really that concerning? I ask because I have office thieves that raid the refrigerator. I've seen them do it! I would much rather keep a sammich at my desk. | The normal assumption is anything held at room temperature for 4+ hours is the "danger zone". |
| Would you then say foods that are label Organic or Chemical Free are just marketing points, which really doesn't make a difference in people's health vs foods that may have had pesticides sprayed on or sausages with niacin(other "bad" additives)? | IMO there is no such thing as a good or bad additive in that sense. Chemical free is a choice for consumers. What most consumers don't realize is what does the term Organic mean?? Organic what? Who's organic? There is also a sub category of organic that never gets talked about publically (90%, 95% or 100% organic). Just because its organic doesn't mean its 100% organic. |
| This is 100% a marketing thing, but that doesn't mean its bad or good. Everything is marketed. I personally don't buy organic or chemical free. | |
| Lets talk about ecoli in the beef industry. What's the deal, can we not not get shit in our beef? | Here's the problem with that exact question: This is a COMMON pathogen associated with cattle. On top of that, not all E.coli is dangerous. But to the main point you're probably asking is why is it there. I believe we need to view the issue in a different manner: Since it commonly is found in live cattle, it is nearly impossible to assume you can kill it all. Because of this we should find ways to help minimize the RISK associated with illness. People hear e coli and freak out (rightfully so) since non-pathogenic versions are hardly every worried about. |
| The beef industry goes through GREAT measures to reduce this risk. They add processing aids to help kill bacteria (like PAA, ASC and so on). Odds of completely eliminating it are VERY low. But, odds of reducing the risk greatly between proper handling and cooking should keep it safe for consumption! | |
| I like that you're saying everything is okay in moderation - how many energy drinks is within moderation? If I love Monsters, could I drink them on a daily basis? | Ummm.. So Monsters/ redbulls are probably not an everyday thing. Mainly the high amounts of sugar and stimulants involved. This will become additive in the sense that you may become sluggish or have a "hazy" tired feeling when not consuming them. That being said, I drink redbull and monster. Just not daily. I use them as a "last resort" for the extra kick I need when I'm just exhausted. |
| Maybe 1-2 a week. But that is more the stimulants than anything! I always prefer to never be DEPENDENT on an item. A great example of this is coffee: studies have shown coffee gives you cancer, prevents cancer, leads to a longer life, kills you at a young age and so on. Again. Moderation is almost always the key! | |
| Would you say that the labeling of things is getting out of hand (e.g. Eggs in the shell as "Gluten Free", when obviously that is going to be the case), and what should be done about that? | The problem with that labeling is people aren't sure what is and isn't actually gluten free. You may know, but that doesn't mean the average consumer does. So the companies label it. Whether it is to give them a competitive edge in sales or to make the consumer aware. |
| Why does organic milk have a significantly longer shelf-life (sell-by/use-by date) than your run-of-the-mill milk? | I am not 100% certain all organic milk has a longer shelf life than normal milk. Milk is one of the most regulated food products in the world. The main problem with milk pasteurization is that it kills everything. This allows a completely clean slate for new bacteria to come in and grow. This may be what you are experiencing. There is not competition between organisms so anything that drops inside your run of the mill milk will usually grow. It has all the requirements for bacteria. Water, a food source etc. |
| What does your typical work day look like? "Food Scientist" is kinda vague, what are your responsibilities? | I do A LOT! I help with RnD of new products, I help design and follow guidelines, I help with shelf-life testing and microbiology. Basically a company may call me for advice, for science tests or for anything inbetween. A typical day varies based on that. |
| But most of the time a company will call me with a product and ask me to help formulate the product to meet their needs (salt, shelf life, flavor, etc). From there I will fly to their plant, review their process and make any changes or variations I see fit. I am a BIG believer in the statement "One scientific test is worth more than 1000 expert opinions" So I ALWAYS prefer to test scientifically. | |
| I don't know if this pertains to what you do, but it's a question about the food industry. This is true across the board; oven fries are just my example. Why so many additives in American food when, as the European food supply proves, they are not necessary and are just an added expense? | The next question you are asking about is lifestyle more than anything. Most Europeans shop 2+ times a week. Their food is designed around this. Also, Americans spend DRASTICALLY less of their income on food. The systems are different so this is like comparing apples to oranges. |
| When we lived in the UK, all the frozen oven fries contained nothing but potatoes, salt, and oil. It's all you need, really. Here in the US, you CANNOT get frozen oven fries without some additives, generally preservatives and coloring, besides that. Even organic oven fries have apple juice concentrate added for color. I thought the baking was supposed to make the fries brown? And the darn things are frozen, why do you need preservatives? Even if you don't believe they are unhealthy, the additives cost something; why not just leave them out? | The apple juice concetarte for color isn't to change the color of the product, its to KEEP it from changing. They are using this as an antioxidant in order to keep the flavor from going rancid and the color of the potato from turning brown. Just because they are frozen on your end doesn't mean that it came out of the ground that way. They normally use these products in between the freeze and after the wash. Although a brown potato is Perfectly safe to eat, people avoid it because its brown. |
| TRUST ME. When it comes to food safety it is 100% a cost!!! If the ingredient's didn't do something they most certainly WOULD NOT be put in. I deal with companies who will turn down an additive based on a fraction of a penny. | |
| Fraction of a penny on one bag can equal serious funds after a shit-ton are sold. | Yup. Example. Large poultry processors can handle over 30 million birds a WEEK. Times that by 0.005... cha-ching. |
Last updated: 2015-08-14 16:30 UTC | Next update: 2015-08-14 16:40 UTC
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Submitted August 14, 2015 at 09:46PM by tabledresser http://ift.tt/1HLB0P1 tabled
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