Archive for the ‘Meats’ Category

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup picante sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
additional picante sauce

Place each chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten chicken
to 1/4−inch thickness, using a meat mallet; cut into 1−inch pieces. Place in
a shallow container. Combine next 7 ingredients, mixing well. Pour over
chicken; cover and chill 1−2 hours. Thread chicken onto skewers; cook over
hot coals 6−8 minutes or until done, turning occasionally and basting with
remaining marinade. Serve with additional picante sauce.

According to a report on CNN.com, a recent study found that red meat and processed meats can raise the risk of certain types of cancer.

What the study found was that people who consume high amounts of red meats (all beef, pork and lamb) and processed meats (bacon, red meat sausage, poultry sausage, luncheon meats, cold cuts, ham and most hot dogs) were more likely to have esophageal, colorectal, liver, or lung cancer.

During the eight year study, 500,000 men and women between the ages of 50 and 71 participated and 53,396 cases of cancer were reported.

Looks like fish and poultry are the best choices for your meat fix

Tags
red meat ,cancer

Related News
Study: Red meat, processed meats raise cancer risks – Xinhua
Study: Red Meat Compounds Tied to Cancer – NPR
Meat-rich diet good for men: CSIRO – Stuff.co.nz
High Meat Consumption Linked to Heightened Cancer Risk – Washington Post

It seems that every week there is some food supplier recalling their food. On November 1, General Mills had to recall many of its frozen meat pizzas because of an E. coli O157:H7 contamination; November 3 saw Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. recalling ground beef with Century Farm, Giant, Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, Wegmans, Weis Premium Meats and Price Rite labels due to a possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

This is a second recall in just a month and a half for Cargill. And really, it’s not just meat products that are recalled. Everything that we consume has the possibility of being recalled because most of what we eat is processed.

So, why all the recalls? Well, for one thing, food safety issues are handled by a number of agencies. The FDA is in charge of Seafood, Fruits, Vegetables, Shell Eggs, and all other Non-Meat Foods; the USDA is in charge of meats and poultry. For example, if a frozen pizza has cheese and pepperoni on it, then both the FDA and USDA has jurisdiction. How confusing! Who has the authority to call a recall?

According to a report from the Associated Press, our food safety programs are too fragmented and divided.

Critics of the nation’s food safety system say that it is too fragmented and marked by overlapping authority, and they say that may help explain why dangerous foods keep slipping through and why contamination scares are handled in sometimes inconsistent ways.

“One of the underlying problems is the bifurcation of the regulatory system,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s food safety division.

Critics also complain that the food safety system suffers from a shortage of money and inspectors and inadequate enforcement powers.

All I can say is we might as well get used to the recalls; they maybe happening for a while. What Americans should be doing is growing some of their own vegetables or buying from a local farmers’ market. That way they can wash the food themselves and know that it is safe.

Related News
Food recalls likely to become more common – Baltimore Sun
Cargill recalls beef after USDA test – Taipei Times
Vermont’s Hannaford stores participate in meat recall – BurlingtonFreePress.com
Frozen pizza recalled over e-coli contamination – Boston Globe
General Mills Recalls E. coli Tainted Pizzas – Dog Flu Diet and Diseases

I love to eat a good hamburger, but after two E.coli scares in one week ( and a particularly nasty strain I might add ) not to mention mad cow disease, methane gas from cows, etc. I am starting to wonder if beef isn’t more of a problem then it is worth.

Friday, Oct. 5, was not a good day for meat lovers. The first recall in its 67-year history proved to be the last for the Topps Meat Co. Later that same day, Sam’s Club announced that it was pulling frozen hamburgers made by agribusiness conglomerate Cargill Inc.

Topps Meats claimed to be the largest distributer in the world and has now shut their doors, gone out of business in a flash of Escherichia coli .

Wikipedia says:

(E. coli), is one of many species of bacteria living in the lower intestines of mammals, known as gut flora. When located in the large intestine, it assists with waste processing, vitamin K production, and food absorption. Certain strains of E. coli, such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Escherichia coli O121 and Escherichia coli O104:H21, are toxigenic (some produce a toxin very similar to that seen in dysentery). They can cause food poisoning usually associated with eating unwashed vegetables and contaminated meat (contaminated during or shortly after slaughter or during storage or display).

Relevant pics from Flickr

By Friendly Joe

By jeffreywithtwof’s

Related News
E. Coli Scares: A Bad Week for Burgers – Newsweek
Indiana E. coli outbreak unrelated to hamburger recall – WLFI.com
Lawsuit Filed Against Meat Plant After E. Coli – FOX News
The Great E. Coli Panic – NPR

Yahoo Answers
can u get E. coli from hamburger meat?
What Do You Think Of The E. Coli Hamburger Recalls?
Will I get e coli from eating a hamburger with pink in the middle?
when it comes to the sexual abuse question: The safest place to eat a hamburger after the initial E-Coli?
If E-Coli means that we are eating cow feces, how can we get agribusiness to clean up their crap?

You’ve seen the commercials, ads and infomercials, but have you ever had the opportunity to use one?

Several years ago, I received a George Foreman Grill as a housewarming gift. I didn’t think that much about it and just left it on a shelf in my kitchen. Well, one day (several months later) I decided to give it a try.

And am I ever happy that I did! It cooks food very quickly and even has a bun warmer on the top. I have used to the most to cook fish (it does a much better job than the oven). I love how the grease just slides down the grill into the plastic catcher.

It is very easy to clean up afterwards too. Since the grills themselves are non-stick, you don’t have to send a lot of time trying to “scrub” it clean. It cooks food very quickly, so you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen.

There are newer and better versions of the Grill on the market today and I have considered buying a new one just to try it out. The new George Foreman G5 has interchangeable plates, giving this grill alot more food options. It has 84 inches of cookable surface and as always, it is non-stick.

Even though the newer grills are much larger and have a lot more options available, I am still happy with my original Grill and will continue to use it with pride.