Yay! The sour cream at Chipotle will no longer contain artificial dairy growth hormones.

Recombinant bovine somatotropin, rBGH, is a synthetic hormone often given to dairy cattle to stimulate milk production. rBGH works by increasing levels of Insulin Growth Factor (IGF), a naturally occurring hormone.

I always buy rGBH-free milk for Baby A, but it's harder to avoid the hormone in restaurant foods. Here's another reason—in addition to the fabulous food—to go to Chipotle.

It's wonderful when a restaurant company is out to prove that you can serve awesomely delicious food quickly, relatively cheaply, and in a natural, sustainable fashion. It can be done. Thanks, Chipotle.

Posted by QSMama at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When some high-school-aged Quicksies got out of control at their local McDonald's, the restaurant closed its doors to all students from the nearby school.

An employee at the restaurant, who identified herself in the news as a manager but would not give her name, told the Greely Tribune the students would be allowed back in the restaurant when they could learn to act like respectful young adults—as early as next week.

Reportedly, the teenagers have shut off the restaurant's water, cut holes in the walls, and pushed pregnant women around.

Three cheers to that restaurant's management from QSK!

Posted by QSMama at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Funny—this time last year, I was scrambling to write a quick-turn story on the threat of avian influenza, or bird flu.

Now the press is asking where bird flu has gone.

I'm not saying it's totally gone—not by a long shot, as that AP story makes clear. And while there was understandably a lot of drama as the press and the restaurant industry followed that outbreak, I never feared for the safety of our food supply. Thanks to another bug, salmonella, everyone knows you've got to handle and cook chicken safely, and chances are very tiny any one of us is handling chicken carcasses or excrement.

Just saying it's strange, and maybe a little scary, how quickly things can change. Let's just be happy we're dealing with an ebb, not a surge.

Speaking of surging, there are more cases of E. coli poisoning, this time in Iowa. The Taco John's chain has been implicated in many, but not all, of the Iowa cases. Responding quickly, Taco John's discarded all food from one franchised location, sanitized the restaurant and kitchen, and restocked. The company also issued a public statement right away.

Posted by QSMama at 07:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Ever thought much about food irradiation—zapping foods briefly during the harvesting or packaging process to kill harmful bacteria and viruses?

The notion used to really turn me off. Why do such an artificial and, uh, nuclear thing to our food? Why not fix the problem at the source? Plus, tests couldn't prove irradiation is absolutely safe, and supposedly it can alter tastes, textures, and nutrients.

But all this news of sicknesses is starting to get to me, now that I've got a little one to worry about. Back during Spinach Crisis 2006 I posted about a friend who was very sick with E. coli poisoning, most likely from alfalfa sprouts. How can I be sure the foods that are healthiest for Baby A are also safe?

This much I do know: Our family isn't going to stop eating yummy things like green onions, spinach and other greens, and, yes, ground beef anytime soon. We do try to make many of our meals local—that is, vegetables from local farms, meats from small producers who follow natural, sustainable standards.

But the fact is we do eat at chains, and we do buy some processed or convenience foods. (I do love me some Taco Bell, though I've never taken Baby A there.) And I don't believe even local foods are safe as long as there are things like cattle feedlots in fields nearby.

So how do we find a way out of this mess—one that's safe and reliable for us and our families? Is it time to look again at irradiation? Comment and let me know your thoughts. Me, I'm still not sure. And the bureaucrats who repeat, "The U.S. food supply is among the safest in the world" are sounding a lot like the ones who say, "We've turned the corner in Iraq." In other words, they're not seeing the very real problems on the ground.

Some related links:

* Jamba Juice says it might have served contaminated strawberries in certain Southwestern locations.

* Green onions are now off the menus at all 6,000 Taco Belll locations nationwide. Some samples of green onions in the Taco Bell system have shown traces of E. coli bacteria. The company contracted for private testing, alongside state testing.

* New Jersey asks all Taco Bells in the state to throw out their food. The same directive asked Taco Bell to better train workers in hygiene and food handling.

* Newsweek interviews a food safety expert about how consumers can keep themselves safer. She's pretty even-keeled, which I appreciate. Example, when asked if she'll at at Taco Bell again: "I would just wait until everything cleared up, but this wouldn't stop me from going back there in the future."

* Salon published a great Q & A piece on food safety and modern food processing.

Posted by QSMama at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Taco Bell president Greg Creed released this statement about the apparent E. coli outbreak in New Jersey:

"As soon as we learned of an E.coli issue, we immediately began working with state and county health officials to assist in their investigation. As a precautionary measure, we voluntarily closed one restaurant in Middlesex County, New Jersey, and four in Suffolk County, New York. As an extra precaution, we are in the process of sanitizing these isolated restaurants and replacing all the food ingredients before reopening

these five restaurants. We are unsure what has occurred, but health officials have indicated that there is no immediate threat and whatever may have occurred has most likely passed through the system since there have been no new cases since November 29. Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our customers and employees. We are obviously very concerned about the well-being of all those who have been affected by this incident and will continue to work closely with health authorities to get to the root cause of the issue."

Posted by QSMama at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Wade D. sent this in as a comment on this post, but I think the link deserves an entry of its own...just for fun.... Wouldn't your kids be impressed if you could order like this?
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Speaking of McDonalds, check out these guys ordering with style at the drive-thru.

I love that the person working the drive through takes it so seriously—"number nine with what, you didn't say what kind of drink you wanted."

Posted by QSMama at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)