Dozens of People Stricken Ill After Eating ‘Fizzy, Moldy’ Yogurt

woensdag 11 september 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Adriana Velez 2 hours ago

Remember that Chobani yogurt recall we told you about? Well, they weren't calling it a recall recall, at first. They just "pulled" the yogurt from shelves. Then the company got a professor to say that the mold found in the contaminated cups should "not pose a health risk for most consumers." Key word there being "most." Well, "most" is relative, isn't it? Because since the recall, the FDA has received 89 reports of illness linked to Chobani yogurt. People are complaining that after eating the yogurt, they experienced nausea and cramps, and yes, they specify it was the yogurt manufactured in the Twin Falls factory where the contamination originated. Ruh roh, yogurt eaters.

To be fair, last week the company admitted that the "mold can act as an opportunistic pathogen for those with compromised immune systems." So ... maybe 89 people with compromised immune systems happened to eat the contaminated yogurt. Maybe they didn't notice the fizzing, either. That or they considered it an exciting new feature. Shouldn't ALL yogurt fizz like that? Fizzing is the new 3D for yogurt. Or something.

Anyway, no one wants to spark a yogurt panic, but I think it's better to err on the side of caution. It's official: The contaminated yogurt can make you sick. So don't be all cavalier and say "meh, I've got a solid immune system!" and dig in. Be afraid. Be very afraid. And check the label. The contaminated batch has the code 16-012 and expiration dates between September 11 and October 7. The more you know!

Of course, some of these symptoms could be psychosomatic. Can't you just see it? You eat some yogurt, and then you find out about the recall. You dig the container out of the recycling (because you recycle, right?) and see it's part of the contaminated batch. And THEN you start feeling sick. Hell, I feel a little nauseated right now myself just writing this! Regardless, you have been warned.

Have you ever gotten sick from eating contaminated food?

Image via Provisions/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.  

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12-Year-Old Boy With Scary Brain Eating Amoeba to Be Taken Off Life Support

maandag 26 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Sasha Brown-Worsham 6 hours ago

In a horrifying story out of Florida, a 12-year-old boy has lost his battle to fight the brain eating amoeba he caught while swimming in a ditch this summer. Zachary Reyna of LaBelle, Florida was diagnosed with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, which is a form of meningitis caused by the amoeba naegleria fowleri. He never recovered.

The amoeba infects people when they take in contaminated water through the nose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although it is rare, when it strikes, it is often deadly. 

Heartbreakingly, Reyna is never going to recover and though he is on a ventilator for today, his parents plan to take him off tonight. As a parent, it is something that just sends chills down your spine. How could this happen?

Apparently Zach was infected while knee boarding with friends in a ditch near his family's home on August 3. Earlier this month, a girl contracted the same deadly illness and managed to survive it, but it is rare to survive once infected.

For parents, it's important to know the initial symptoms. They are vomiting, fever, nausea, and stiff neck. As it progresses patients exhibit confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. Death can come between one and 12 days.

This infection is more common in the Southeastern United States and can best be avoided by wearing a nose plug. Of course, it can also be avoided by never allowing children to go into the water, but how realistic is that option?

Sadly, there are many dangers we can't see and we can't anticipate. As parents, our job is to keep our kids as safe as we can by playing the odds. While I would likely not play in a ditch, I can imagine to a 12-year-old boy, that would look like a great time. Never in a million years could anyone have imagined what horror might come from it.

It's a tragedy, to be sure. But it's rare. And while we can talk about nose plugs and what to look out for, the reality is, we can't avoid every danger in the world.

Reyna's parents plan to donate his organs in the ultimate act of generosity. My heart is broken for them and I hope they can find strength in this horrible time.

Do you worry about this amoeba?

Image via Mike Fisher /Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sasha Brown-Worsham

can't decide whether she is a mother, writer, or runner, but is usually all three at some point each day. She has written for dozens of print magazines, newspapers, and websites. She rarely ever writes on bathroom walls.

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Why I'm Telling My Daughter About My Eating Disorder

zondag 25 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota

We adults spend a lot of time editing our life stories for our kids, making them child-friendly. Honesty is one thing, but kids don't need to know everything. And when it comes to little girls, they certainly don't need to hear their moms talking about weight issues.

Just about every study out there will tell you that's a surefire way to raise a daughter with an eating disorder. But how much editing should we really do? One expert says our daughters should hear absolutely nothing about weight matters, nothing about diets, nothing at all.

And yet, I'm going to tell my daughter about my eating disorder.

Not today. Not tomorrow. Probably not for awhile, in fact, but it will happen sooner rather than later.

Because I disagree with Dr. Leslie Sim, clinical director of Mayo Clinic's eating disorders program and a child psychologist, when she says that the answer to raising a healthy daughter is:

Zero talk about dieting, zero talk about weight.

Never acknowledging the elephant in the room can be just as dangerous as moaning about your weight.

Take it from me, a recovering bulimic whose parents never mentioned the long hours I'd spend in the bathroom, the retching noises. Maybe they never noticed; I don't know. 

But they also never talked about eating disorders with me, never warned me against them. I won't make that mistake with my daughter.

More From The Stir: 7 Truths About Eating Disorders Every Parent Needs to Know

She needs to know that she is beautiful and that her body is perfect. She needs to know about eating healthy foods and exercising. But she also needs to know the truth about eating disorders.

Because she will hear about them. I did. I had friends with whom I bonded in no small part because we shared a secret -- we threw up our meals. We would exchange tips about throwing up. And although I was smart enough to know I probably shouldn't be doing it, there was no one telling me why, no one with any authority presenting a convincing argument against bulimia.

This is my duty to my daughter: to prevent her from making the mistakes I made as a kid, to be the voice of reason on all matters rather than letting her take another kid's advice (because we all remember getting some particularly bad advice on the school bus, don't we?).

We talk about other issues with our kids, other things they shouldn't do. We warn them against the dangers of drugs and alcohol, warn them not to smoke cigarettes or ride in a car without a seatbelt. And we start it all pretty young. Thanks to an uncle who smokes, my daughter was getting the "no cancer sticks" talk when she was a mere toddler.

So why not talk to her about eating disorders? Because they relate to weight, and weight is a no-no?

Unfortunately, weight exists, and kids talk about it.

And at times in a girl's life, your weight changes. You want to know why, you want reassurance. You want to know what to do about it -- if you have to do anything. 

Right now my daughter is 8, all slim hips and non-existent thighs. But she's getting so close to puberty, that I went out and bought her one of those books on a girl's changing body to prepare her for what will happen -- for acne and body odor, for her period.

I don't want her to be alarmed or scared. I don't want her making poor choices -- such as skipping the deodorant or pretending that blood isn't real, mistakes that are easy to make when you're a kid who doesn't understand why these things are happening and just wants to go back to the way things were. Nor do I want her to feel bad about the weight that often packs on as you gain hips and breasts, to do something drastic to try to reverse it.

This is why I'll talk to my daughter about my eating disorder. So she knows that it's the wrong choice but also so that she knows she's not alone as her body changes.

How do you talk to your daughters about weight? Do you have a 0 weight talk policy or do you talk about some things?

Image by Jeanne Sager

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The Secret Behind Kimchi Will Scare You Into Eating It

vrijdag 23 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Adriana Velez 15 hours ago

Let me start by saying kimchi is for the brave. You've probably heard of it by now. Most people know kimchi as spicy, Korean-style fermented cabbage. But actually, kimchi can be made with all kinds of vegetables, like radish, cucumber, or even pumpkin. Now that kimchi has hit the mainstream, you'll see it topping everything from ramen to hot dogs. It adds a pungent heat to whatever you're eating. But did you also know it's mad healthy, too? You may not want to face another cold season without kimchi.

Kimchi is loaded with vitamins A, B, and C. But the real powerhouse is its healthy bacteria, called lactobacilli. Some studies show that the bacteria can help prevent yeast infections, ladies. It's also supposed to be good for your digestion. And many say that it's excellent for your immune system, thanks to both the bacteria and the chili. It's powerful stuff.

You can make kimchi yourself, but I'll warn you: It's famous for stinking up a kitchen. I'm sure there's a way to prepare and store it so your whole house doesn't smell like funky cabbage, but I've never been brave enough to try. Maybe you are? If so, here's how to make "easy" kimchi at home.

Now ... what to do with the stuff? Here are 11 things you can make with kimchi:

Hot dog. I'm serious, I top my dogs with kimchi all the time. It's great.Burger. As long as you're open to kimchi on hot dogs, you should try it on hamburgers.Ramen. The ultimate cold-fighting duo! Once you've already prepared your ramen, top with kimchi.Tacos. Extremely trendy right now. We also like kimchi quesadillas.Ruben sandwich. Use kimchi instead of sauerkraut, you rebel, you.Stir fry. Top a mild stir fry with kimchi to give it an extra kick.Eggs. Fried, omelette, or scrambled, kimchi is great on eggs.Summer rolls. Here's a recipe for kimchi summer rolls.Pancakes and waffles. I hear kimchi is a popular pancake topping in Hawaii. Maybe skip the maple syrup?Stew. There are SO MANY kimchi stew recipes out there. Here's a kimchi stew recipe from the Momofuku cookbook.Pizza. Yeah, people are doing that. I'm not sure they should (what's next, kimchi cronuts?), but maybe if you add it as a topping after baking, it works, who knows.

Image via Steven Depolo/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.  

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Baby Dies After Eating Laundry Pod: What Every Parent Should Know

zaterdag 17 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Adriana Velez 23 hours ago

Remember the two-year-old who was rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator after swallowing one of those single-use laundry detergent pods -- which he mistook for a piece of candy? It happens all too often, and sometimes it's fatal. A seven-month-old baby died after eating a laundry pod. His mother had set down a container of the pods in a laundry basket on the same bed where her son was sleeping and left the room just for a few minutes. But by the time she came back he had already eaten one and was eating another. He died later in the hospital.

So far in 2013 there have been 5,000 incidents of children eating laundry pods. This is the first death. But every time I turn around, another laundry detergent maker has introduced another line of those pods. Here are some new laundry safety tips every parent should be aware of.

1. Keep all laundry detergent, pods or not, far out of reach of children at all times. They shouldn't even be able to climb up to where you keep them. Don't allow small children to help with the laundry by using the pods.

2. If you use pods, keep them in an opaque container so children can't even see them. The clear containers they often come in look like candy containers, and can help lure children.

3. Some manufacturers are selling pods in opaque containers -- yay! Always use this container for the pods, and only the pods. Always return it to its place with the lid firmly closed after use.

4. Avoid leaving children alone anywhere near laundry facilities or even just the detergent.

5. Keep the phone number for your local poison control center handy. You can look up that number on the American Association of Poison Control Centers Website.

6. If somehow your child does ingest any part of a laundry pod, try to get them to drink a glass of milk while you call your local poison control center, or 800-222-1222, or your doctor immediately. Do NOT induce vomiting.

7. If your child gets detergent on their hands, rinse thoroughly immediately.

Last year concerned parents posted a petition for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate the safety of laundry detergent pods. Alas, it only got 17 signatures. But with 5,000 new incidents and now this death, I'm wondering if it's time to revive that petition. In March the U.S. CPSC sent a warning to parents about using laundry pods.

Do you use laundry detergent pods?

Image via US CSPS/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.  

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