Spice-Rack Favorites Battle E. coli and Other Foodborne Pathogens

[Muttocracy]

USDA's Ag. Research Service does some interesting research. I think it's been known for a long time that traditional spices have antimicrobial benefits, but this is an interesting modern take on it.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/080714.htm

[Blaze Diem]

1. Looking at this list of spices, its no wonder , as children, we never ever got sick!!

Staple ingredients in mom's cooking.
We didn't have fast food in those days either, & dining at a restaurant was a rare occasion.

[Muttocracy]

3. there's a lot to be said for what we knew before food became an industry

Did you see these fun photos, from a link on that press page to the longer article:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul08/salads0708.htm

[Blaze Diem]

4. Food of the future..mmmmm. Just like on 'The Jetsons'.

Hey doesnt that fruit-puree-film sound a lot like Fruit Rollups?
Might be some patent infringement issues.

This tecnology may be useful as BushCo continues to F up the Earth's ozone.

[Muttocracy]

5. well, I think the idea is for the film to protect the real food, but yeah

Do they still make Fruit Rollups and "Fruit Snacks"? As though an apple itself is not a snack. Kinda like processed cheese food, aka American Cheese.

[Blaze Diem]

6. Don't know if they do, haven't bought them since my kids were little..

What exactly is in processed cheese food? Cheese-like flavoring & thickening agents?
I think the fattening food industry is in cahoots with the diet industry.

[Muttocracy]

8. I think it's all about turning every edible scrap into profit - for dog treats too.

Every possible byproduct goes into something nowadays - if not people food, then some industrial additive, or they put it into dog food.
I give my dogs people food for treats because it's way healthier than mystery ingredients in a lot of dog treats.

[TZ]

7. You don't think children in the past got sick alot?

Okay...Thats REALLY distorted.
Infant and child mortality rates have actually declined in the past 40 years....

[Muttocracy]

9. I agree, they have gone down, though I'm glad to see this research too

[Blaze Diem]

12. Um, before you rant off on me, I was speaking of MY family &

as children in MY family WE were rarely ever sick.
Was a personal observation, as to the freakin spices in my mom's kitchen cupboard & in relation to the amazing discovery in the aforementioned article as to the natural healing values in herbs. Not new technology but something well known & relied upon by generations before us.

sheesh.

[Muttocracy]

2. (replied wrong spot)

[TZ]

10. What strains of E.Coli though?

Remember that we need certain types of E.Coli in our digestive tracts. And some are more harmful than others.
Please remember that while these spices do have some antimicrobial properties, they aren't magic solutions either. There are very good reasons why we have antibiotics..Alot of these pathogens are pretty nasty ...Stuff like this has only limited use agaisnt things like Hep A (food borne virus in this case) or botulism or Listeria or some of the Salmonella strains..I could go on and on...

[Muttocracy]

11. I think they're heading for a food packaging solution rather than for consumption

Which would help with the downside of antibiotics (killing the good bacteria as you mention). They do have to watch out for people blindly trusting packaging rather than common sense though.

[Blaze Diem]

13. I think you are correct on the packaging solution

& I guess, like today's market, anything could be put in the package. Good or bad.
Depends who has control and who profits.