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Dirty Foods ?

9K views 28 replies 13 participants last post by  SoOkay 
#1 ·
10 Dirtiest Foods That Can Make You Sick

Open your refrigerator. Take a good look inside. Chances are you have some of the dirtiest--and most dangerous--foods in there. Eat them and you could get very sick.

"Men''s Health" magazine has identified the 10 dirtiest foods--from bad burgers and dangerous deli meats to hazardous health foods.

The Dirty 10:

1. Chicken
In one study cited by Men''s Health, more than 40 percent of chicken samples contained bacteria that can sicken, including E. coli.

2. Ground Beef
Simply because of the way ground beef is made through heavy processing, it has the potential to be loaded with deadly E. coli bacteria and more.

3. Ground Turkey
One in four packages of ground turkey tested by Men''s Health contained bacteria. This becomes a greater concern as more people substitute ground turkey for ground beef thinking it''s a healthier alternative.

4. Oysters
Beware of raw oysters! Many are tainted not only with bacteria, but also the Norovirus.

5. Eggs
The incredible edible egg is also associated with more than 600,000 cases of food poisoning each year and more than 300 deaths. Cook eggs completely and never eat them raw.

6. Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe rinds often contain dangerous bacteria that are hard to wash away. Cut through that rind with a knife and the bacteria can be transferred to the fruit.

7. Peaches
This favorite juicy summer fruit is dangerous because the peach fuzz makes it difficult to clean off all the pesticides.

8. Pre-Packaged Tossed Salads
These bagged salads are one of the greatest conveniences of the past decade, but they can also be one of the biggest sources of food poisoning since the contents are often contaminated with E. Coli, according to Men''s Health.

9. Cold Cuts
It looks like delicious shaved ham or turkey to you. But it could contain the dangerous bacteria Listeria, which is especially risky for infants and the elderly. Listeria can be spread by the deli slicer, and it can even grow in a cold refrigerator. What can you do? Experts advise you to transfer the deli meat to a fresh package when you get home and only buy enough for one week at a time.

10. Scallions
If these green onions are left uncooked, they have the potential to become bacterial breeding grounds. They''ve also been linked to fatal outbreaks of Hepatitis-A.
 
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#4 ·
I dissagree strongly

All the flesh products can make you really sick.... agree
but the vegetable "Bacteria" ??? There is no basis to be worried about rotten vegetable matter because it tasts "rotten" ... Nature has given us this sense. Pro Biotic bacteria and flora in the gut of individuals who haven't killed theirs off with anti biotics are quite able to handle "vege germs". Poisons are another story.... :eek:
Cheers
Darryl
 
#25 ·
All the flesh products can make you really sick.... agree
but the vegetable "Bacteria" ??? There is no basis to be worried about rotten vegetable matter because it tasts "rotten" ... Nature has given us this sense. Pro Biotic bacteria and flora in the gut of individuals who haven't killed theirs off with anti biotics are quite able to handle "vege germs". Poisons are another story.... :eek:
Cheers
Darryl
Well... sorta true. My better half is a microbiologist which means I am frequently reminded of what is lurking on the surface of EVERYTHING. Vegetables can sustain all kinds of funky bacteria and fungii, and long before they have processed enough vegetable matter to produce the waste product that triggers the "smells or tastes rotten" response in us, they can be in a sufficient concentration to colonise, well... us.

But the reality is, as you point out, most of us have a healthy pile of "good" bacteria living in us which eat the "bad" ones we INEVITABLY ingest EVERY DAY. Not that there is anything wrong with taking reasonable precautions - especially in the case of meat - but people have gotten too anal about this. As you also pointed out, the deluge of anti-biotics being used inappropriately is a big part of the problem. Unless someone is already immune-compromised, most of this stuff at worst is going to give you the same reaction you'd get from eating a big bowl of kimchi.
 
#5 ·
Actually? Chicken, beef, pork, turkey...practically any meat and especially processed meat can kill you with salmonella and e.coli and listeria. Our bodies have evolved nothing that protects against the more virulent strains of these, they survive the acid bath in our stomachs (stronger than battery acid) and often our immune systems as well. Some estimates are that there are 5000 deaths from food poisoning per year in the US alone, and well into six figure for food posioning where folks recover, one way or another.

Cantaloupe is notorious, as is most "field grown" imported produce, because of contamination from fecal matter. From chicken excrement used as fertilizer, and human waste that the migrant pickers have no choice about leaving in the fields. Yes, a melon can kill you--because of what is on the skin.

Oysters? Shellfish and some fish are all known to concentrate toxins from algea in the water. We have no defense against these, any more than we do against any other venoms. Ciguatera in fish is normally undetectable, locals know enough to just not eat certain species that often have it.

Considering the number of antiobiotic-resistant germs out there, washing all produce with soap and water for a mere 30 seconds is cheap insurance. Eatting rotting food? A great idea, a great way to ensure Darwinian evolution.

Not for me, thanks.
 
#8 ·
There is caffine in the coffee, cholesterol in the eggs, too much salt in the bacon, too much sugar in the cereal, sacherin causes cancer, pesticides in the fruit....

looks like the only safe breakfast is a cigarette and a beer.
 
#10 ·
"Cantaloupe rinds often contain dangerous bacteria that are hard to wash away." Salmonella and often fecal contamination since the workers relieve themselves in the field.

On cold cuts or sliced meats, all the deli provision companies say to buy no more than 3-4 days supply, after that it is in doubt unless the deli kept it fresh and cold, and you kept it cold afterwards. If I had to stretch seven days, I'd stick to hard salami.

And let's not forget why WC Fields said he never drank water.<G>
 
#11 ·
School of Common Senses

If it looks dirty, wash it. (Scrub that canalope the night before and then take it so you do use extra water on the boat!)

If it looks rotten, don't eat it.

If it smells bad, don't eat it.

If it tastes bad, don't eat any more.

If it feels too soft or too hard, don't eat it.

If it sounds bad....then you should go for psych help.

Take only very fresh items with you (not the lunch meat you've already had in the fridge for two days) and eat the most unstable first.

Everything is dangerous, that's called being alive in planet earth.

I grew up on a small farm. We raised our own live stock, grew our own veggies, harvested wild foods like berries and greens, etc. We canned, dried, cured, and froze those foods. Our tap water came from a mountain spring. There are still issues with contaminates, bacteria, and infestation no matter how hormone free your free range chickens are.

I say DRINK BEER!!!
 
#12 ·
This is life--get used to it.

I don't care how paranoid you get, how compulsive you are about food cleanliness, or how determined you are--in the end we are all going to die. I think the point is to enjoy to the max whatever our allotted time is. Life is short and I have no time to worry about how many illegal aliens crapped in the cantaloupe patch!
 
#13 ·
What is the point of this?

GordMay said:
10 Dirtiest Foods That Can Make You Sick

Open your refrigerator. Take a good look inside. Chances are you have some of the dirtiest--and most dangerous--foods in there. Eat them and you could get very sick.

"Men''s Health" magazine has identified the 10 dirtiest foods--from bad burgers and dangerous deli meats to hazardous health foods.

The Dirty 10:

1. Chicken
In one study cited by Men''s Health, more than 40 percent of chicken samples contained bacteria that can sicken, including E. coli.

2. Ground Beef
Simply because of the way ground beef is made through heavy processing, it has the potential to be loaded with deadly E. coli bacteria and more.

3. Ground Turkey
One in four packages of ground turkey tested by Men''s Health contained bacteria. This becomes a greater concern as more people substitute ground turkey for ground beef thinking it''s a healthier alternative.

4. Oysters
Beware of raw oysters! Many are tainted not only with bacteria, but also the Norovirus.

5. Eggs
The incredible edible egg is also associated with more than 600,000 cases of food poisoning each year and more than 300 deaths. Cook eggs completely and never eat them raw.

6. Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe rinds often contain dangerous bacteria that are hard to wash away. Cut through that rind with a knife and the bacteria can be transferred to the fruit.

7. Peaches
This favorite juicy summer fruit is dangerous because the peach fuzz makes it difficult to clean off all the pesticides.

8. Pre-Packaged Tossed Salads
These bagged salads are one of the greatest conveniences of the past decade, but they can also be one of the biggest sources of food poisoning since the contents are often contaminated with E. Coli, according to Men''s Health.

9. Cold Cuts
It looks like delicious shaved ham or turkey to you. But it could contain the dangerous bacteria Listeria, which is especially risky for infants and the elderly. Listeria can be spread by the deli slicer, and it can even grow in a cold refrigerator. What can you do? Experts advise you to transfer the deli meat to a fresh package when you get home and only buy enough for one week at a time.

10. Scallions
If these green onions are left uncooked, they have the potential to become bacterial breeding grounds. They''ve also been linked to fatal outbreaks of Hepatitis-A.
I'm sorry, but what is the point of this? Is there anyone out there that doesn't know you can get sick from eating food that has been handled, prepared or stored improperly? It is really expensive and inconvenient to move into a sterile bubble to live one's life, yet from reading all of the overblown scare tactics that magazines love to print (makes for juicy stories), one would think that the only way to live our lives safely is to lock ourselves in our homes and hide cowering under our beds from all of the horrors of the outside world. I honestly get a little tired of constantly being confonted with yet another sensationalistic report on how unsafe everything in our lives are. How on earth have I lived this long eating ground meats, coldcuts, eggs, oysters, bagged lettuce, green onions, and fruits? Use a little common sense, don't eat raw chicken, and wash the manure off your veggies.

IMHO, too many people spend too much time worrying about what can go wrong in life instead of enjoying life (and yes, sometimes we will get sick from eating an unwashed lettuce leaf, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, or a fragment of an underdone potato...

Antiseptically yours,

Leff
 
#14 · (Edited)
"If it sounds bad....then you should go for psych help."
But I see talking fruit punch boxes and ice cream on TV all the time. Don't tell me, they faked those shots just like the moon landing?<G>

Leff-
Apparently everyone didn't get the memo.
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in the United States alone, food poisoning causes about 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and up to 5,000 deaths each year."

Proving that probably some 10% of US humans are less intelligent than the average racoon, perhaps?
 
#15 ·
HS-

It is probably a bit lower a number than that, as some of the food poisoning is due to repeat customers who are too dumb to learn their lessons the first half-dozen times around... ;)
 
#17 ·
hellosailor said:
Hey, there are an awful lot of smart racoons out there.<G>
Lol...smart but fat.

Numbers alone are a bit misleading. There are certainly a large number of people who get ill from foodborne pathogens, but in the grand scheme of things, the numbers are quite insignificant. The top ten causes of death in developed countries are (in order): heart disease, cerebrovascular (stroke), lung diseases, respiratory infections, lung cancer, accidents, stomach cancer, high blood pressure, tuberculosis, and self-inflicted (could knowingly eating tainted egg salad fall into this category?). This web site does a pretty good job at summarizing these stats (http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/cause.php). The CDC does a good job at breaking things down in the US (similar story, but with slight differences in the category rankings). I apologize for being a bit USA-centric, but these are the stats I happen to have most readily available at the moment. The total of all deaths from just the top five on the list in the US is >1.5 million, and the number one killer is still heart disease at a whopping 652,000 deaths in 2004.

I would agree, however, that we need to be careful of food, but I would crusade against what people are eating and how much they are eating rather than worrying about a little bit of bacteria here and there. I would argue that the bang for the buck on educating people about foodborne pathogens is a case of diminishing returns compared to the impact of eating healthier diets and maintaining better weight profiles (5,000 deaths from food poisoning, while tragic, is but a drop in the bucket when we consider how many lives could be saved every year from eating healthier food and less of it).

Heck, there are 4-7,000 drowning deaths every year, so we could have as big an impact by simply eliminating boating as we could from avoiding foods with high food poisoning risks. (NB: I am being a bit facetious since only about 10-15% of these drowning deaths are boat related) ;)

Mortally yours,

Leff
 
#18 ·
1) Most of you are ignoring the fact that the bugs will win in the end. They can mutate faster than we can develop drugs to kill them. We are ahead of the curve for now, but for how much longer?

2) This is my 1,000th post. Only 7,110 more to catch Dawg. (I think I'll go sailing instead.)
 
#21 ·
sailhog said:
One bad slice of cantelope and I could get a stomach ache. I'm not taking any more chances. From now I'm on a strict diet of cocaine and prostitutes.
Sailhog
Exactly how is this a change from your normal diet??:rolleyes:
 
#24 ·
Turning this back around, it is one of the reasons I am spending the money for a watermaker. So I know what I'm drinking.
 
#26 ·
I wouldn't worry too much. We didn't evolve with forks in hand - our ancient ancestors just grabbed up some big ass spider, wiped it on a leaf to get off whatever moose snot or whatever was on it, and chewed the belly off the damn thing before they did a chaser of mushrooms and charged off through the forest. Be happy.
 
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