Barbecues, Food Labelling And Bacteria

I've just watched an interesting programme on tv about the amount of food we waste. Apparently the average family in UK throws away one third of everything they buy,and 40% of that is fresh food. You know, that good stuff we are recommended to eat five portions of every day.

Somehow the makers of the documentary determined every DAY we bin –

2.8 million tomatoes
4.4 million apples
5.1 million potatoes
70 million slices of bread
1.2 million sausages
1 million slices of ham

This waste goes into Landfill sites, which creates methane gas and contributes to global warming. If you consider this is happening in all developed countries worldwide, the waste is enormous.

So, why do we throw so much food away?

Apparently it has much to do with our lack of knowledge on how to store products, and anxiety and confusion as to the meaning of the Best Before By, Sell By and Use By dates, which appear on the packaging.

It seems the Best Before By date is merely a guideline, and is more about the quality of the product rather than safety.

However, scientific studies have revealed the Use By and Sell By dates are more significant. There is a real health risk to some people if they are ignored.

Globally, ten children die every minute from malnutrition and yet supermarkets throw mountains of food away because of damaged packaging, lost food labels on tins, and expired Best Before dates.

These products may not be saleable to retailers, but someone, somewhere could use them. I'm sure the starving millions, or people on low incomes would be grateful for the goods.

The supermarkets say the proportion of food they throw away is minimal compared to the amount they carry, but is it too much? Collectively, each "minimal" combines to make a "substantial" amount over time, and are the supermarkets making us neurotic about the dates just to boost sales? After all, if we bin everything just past its Best Before date, won't we just go out and buy more?

No-one wants to get food poisoning and clearly certain foods like dairy and fresh meat, fish, and poultry need careful observation, but even then, provided the food is stored and cooked properly, much could be eaten.

One common cause of food poisoning is Campylobacter. This common bacteria causes fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea, but thorough hygiene, plus careful storage, refrigeration and cooking of food can prevent this affecting anyone who is fit and healthy. Susceptible people are the very young, the old and those with a lowered immune system.

Bacteria cannot withstand high temperatures so it is particularly important to cook food thoroughly, especially with barbecues. Many people manage to burn the meat on the outside and yet it remains uncooked in the middle. Another thing to watch out for is the cross contamination of raw and cooked food. You must NEVER use the same plate or chopping board, and also if you marinate the meat, leave it covered in the refrigerator rather than outside.

Also, you must ensure you wash your salad correctly.

Of course the absolute best way to ensure your health is not at risk from dodgy food is to boost your immune system by deliberately giving yourself bacteria. This time, however, you take a daily dose of good, friendly, healthy, probiotic bacteria. These are the good guys, which everyone needs.

The next time you go shopping, instead of wasting money on too much food destined for the landfill, might it not be wiser to invest in some active probiotics and your good health instead?

Probiotics For Health

Jean Shaw

www.jeanshaw.blogspot.com

Toilets, Bacteria, Probiotics and Health

I seem to spend half my life loitering outside toilets. No, I am not some sort of pervert, but I have an autistic son who has a penchant for cleanliness, especially where his hands are concerned. He just loves water and has almost missed a flight, and been late for a stage entrance because of it. Whilst everyone was waiting patiently in the wings, he was washing his hands in a manner which would make even the most demanding hospital matron proud.

My son has no sense of urgency and little empathy for other people, so when he does use the mens' toilet, he hogs the hand drier. Anyone waiting behind him eventually gives up and wipes their hands on their trousers.

Whenever possible I make him use the disabled toilet because that way I know he's safe. He goes in alone whilst I loiter outside. My friend once told me about a lady who'd taken her disabled nephew out for the day and allowed him to go in to the toilet on his own. He never came out. Someone had slit his throat.

I've never forgotten her words.

I know that's a bit extreme and highly unlikely to happen in my local supermarket, but I'm a mother and I worry. Daily on the news you hear of unprovoked mindless violence happening against innocent people, and knife crime is common. Just today the stabbing of a 15 year old girl in a lift made the evening news, and apparently 25% of patients on a trauma ward at a large hospital in Southampton are knife victims.

Like most people with disabilities, my son is vulnerable, but this article isn’t about knife culture.

As a small child my son had numerous ear infections. He also had numerous courses of antibiotics before he went on to develop autism. That's quite common. No-one told me if you take antibiotics, you MUST take probiotics to replenish the good bacteria so essential for a healthy immune system.

We are a nation obsessed with getting rid of germs using anti bacterial soaps, sprays and liquids. However, we do actually need a few germs around so our bodies can build up an immune system. It's no wonder our children have so many illnesses and allergies when their immune systems never get a chance to develop. We wipe out their good bacteria, then expose them to toxic synthetic chemicals with our cleaning materials and air fresheners.

Maybe there's a better way though. I know for a fact my son has improved tremendously since I started giving him a daily dose of good quality probiotics and started cleaning my house with bacteria.

Now I know that may sound weird, but think about it. The doctors are repeatedly warning us certain health problems are becoming resistant to antibiotics. These kill off ALL bacteria, so why not attack the bad pathonogenic bacteria in a different way. Why not over power them with good bacteria and make it a war of numbers?

You might not like the idea of your toilets and work surfaces being sprayed with bacteria, but the bad ones are there anyway. Personally I'd rather spray with good bacteria than toxic synthetic chemicals which are designed to kill. At least they won't do me any harm if I get them on my skin or breathe them in.

So as I hang around outside the toilets, I'm grateful my son washes his hands properly. He's rarely ever ill but I'm sure it's more to do with the probiotic bacteria he has on a daily basis than the amount of time he spends in the toilet.

If you're interested in your health and want to find out more about probiotics go to http://www.probioticsforhealth.com/

You can also watch my video