[gardeners] Unsafe Foods Practices (long)

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I think the different cultural foods out in the world are neat and some I actually
like. Some I just can't handle with my system at all. I am sure that with all the
different cultures out there and their styles of food there MUST also be different
food handling practices. I hadn't thought about this until this thread popped up, I
had assumed that EVERYONE handled their foods in a recommended "Gov. Approved"  safe
manor. Ok, I am naive and haven't been around! LOL
     I  must admit that some of the items we call pets that others call food is
pretty yucky just to think about for me. I am sure that somewhere else thinks that me
eating that steak from the steer is just as bad because of their cultural
preferences. I am not in a area of many Asian type of eating places but I have
enjoyed what little I have tried. Now if for some reason one of the places I was
eating at may have served something other than what I thought it was I am glad I
didn't know! I have a terrible time ever getting, my husband to go with me to eat at
Asian restaurants. He says he doesn't trust them. What he is really saying is he is
aware of the food differences and is leery of consuming something different like
that. Not that he doesn't trust the people. Shoot for that matter he doesn't trust
me! You wouldn't believe how many interrogations I have gone through because
something tasted "Different"  I have cooked. Big Turkey! He is a meat and tators man
all the way though and getting anything different in him is a miracle indeed.
      As far as the handling of the food products go there are really strict
guidelines for any place serving or selling food to the public. These things have
been established from years of studies and even investigations of why a client became
ill after eating somewhere and that is why they are to be used to protect people from
becoming ill. Given all the knowledge that has been accumulated through this it would
only be wise to try to do this at home also.
     The days of grandma putting her eggs in the cellar because  that was the coolest
place she had or leaving the milk and cream in a can in the cellar or pretty much
over. I am sure we all had ancestors that ate food not prepared in the standard USDA
recommended ways for years and they did just fine without becoming sick.  Their food
was always fresh and not DAYS old like most of today's food we receive. Their food
was only handled by the family harvesting the food item not like today where it is
processed and handled by so many different people and places. The more handling the
more chances of contamination and the more reason to insure safe temperatures and
cleanliness habits to deter any growth of these bad items.
    As for the harvesting of the wild food this is a talent that has been lost by
many people and it has become weird to eat anything other than what you would
recognize in a grocery store! I am envious of this talent although I would definitely
steer clear of mushrooms considering I know nothing about them!  It is nice to know
that some people are trying to return to a more knowledgeable state concerning the
wild foods in the world but I am still chicken on much of that.  I still remember my
husbands 94 year old grandma walking around with a handful of clover in her pocket .
You would see her dip her gnarled up old hands inside and bring out a piece or two of
clover place it in her mouth and chew on it a bit. She said it was good for bad
breath and good for your digestion.
     Yes something's are very different and hard to accept in our food habits and
something we may consider to be unsafe that may be used in a public type of area are
but if you are talking about something you pick, you clean and use it the same day it
may not be the same problem due to the freshness of the item. There are a lot of
variables but I do hope that when I eat out ALL the recommended safety rules are used
since I had no control of the food itself.
     Isn't that why many of us garden? To have more control of the quality of food
that we consume? We loose that control when we eat other than our own food and just
have to put our trust in others. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and all
the left over food gets refrigerated quick! Holiday tummy upsets are not fun at all.

bsk@brightok.net
zone 7a
aka " Ranchmama "

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