Is that poop on your lemon slice.

[concerned]

Did anyone else happen to catch the story on the Today show about the various types of bacteria found on the lemon slice that is put in your glass of water. Here it is.

today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23355862/

It's a short story but here are the highlights.

It's fairly common for restaurant staffers to place a lemon slice on the rim of a beverage glass as a flavor enhancer or decorative garnish. But who knows whether these lemons have been handled using sanitary procedures? Anne LaGrange Loving, a professor of science at Passaic County Community College, decided to find out.

A total of 25 different types of germs were found on 53 out of the 76 lemons that were sampled. Some were fecal in origin (either from dirty fingertips of the restaurant employees, or from meat-contaminated cutting boards and knives), while others were types commonly found in saliva, on the skin and in the environment.

One sample had six different microorganisms on it, three of which are found in fecal material. Although some lemon slices had germs either only on the rind or only on the pulp, 29 percent had germs on both sites. In 15 instances the germs on the pulp were completely different from those on the rind, indicating that the pulp had been in contact with a contaminated surface as or after it was sliced. Sometimes when more than one lemon was sampled during a single restaurant visit, different germs were found on each.

[Clipper]

Getting harder and harder to decide what to eat when you go out. Now I have my sweet tea without lemon. I love salad and now I am almost leery of having salad out in a restaurant. Ground beef is a no-no, and as much as I love grilled skinless chicken breasts, I often wonder how they are handled in a restaurant kitchen.

I still eat the chicken breasts, lean pork, and lots and lots of fish. I love tilapia, and cod, and eat fish several times a week. I don't think at 61yrs old that the mercury in farm raised fish will kill me any quicker than old age will.

[concerned]

I was reading that farm raised salmon is not healthy at all. It contains far less nutrients than wild salmon and the reason that farm raised salmon is pink is because they are fed a dye to get the same color as wild salmon. The krill that wils salmon eat causes them to be pink. Krill can't be used as a food source for farm raised salmon, to expensive.

[Clipper]

The only salmon I ever cared for was the salmon we used to catch in the salmon river near Pulaski. I am not a salmon fan. I am not as crazy about farm raised fish as I am about wild caught fish either, but they are healthier mercury and pollution wise. They DON'T have the flavor of a wild caught fish.

When I lived up there I used to try to eat all the walleye I could catch in a season, and down here in Tennessee, I eat panfish, crappies, and trout. Once in a while I catch a good sized catfish, 10 0r 12 pounds and I will fillet that and chunk it up and cook it. the catfish we buy in stores is too small and the fillets are too thin. They cook up dry. A large catfish is like a salmon, in that they have a nice thick filet on each side. You can trim the dark colored fatter meat and get rid of the fishy taste and end up with a nice flakey sweet piece of fish.

I am loving lent, even though I am not a practicing catholic. I love the sales on all the seafood and all the specials at the restaurants. I will be having red snapper stuffed with crab for dinner later.

Have a good day concerned. And thanks for the heads up on the lemons thing. I heard a rumor about it the other day, and didn't take time to follow up on it. I appreciate your reminder. God bless!

[countrygal]

Well, you guys aren't going to be happy when you hear what they do to beef. Especially places like Wal Mart!

www.motherearthnews.com search "meat" and go to Shocking News about Meat.

This is a pretty good magazine. Some things are a bit over board but even my husband knew about this practice and Beef producers aren't too happy about it!

[Swimmy]

Here's my attitude on life and food.

I'm going to die; it's inevitable. I would rather live a short life with no regrets knowing that I live a full life than life a long life worried about every little thing that might shorten my life or kill me. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

I'm reminded of a Dennis Leary comedy skit where he makes fun of non-smokers who harass him for smoking. If I can find a clip on youtube, i'll post it.

Countrygal, that link is a not found page result. While the information is interesting and I don't condone those practices, it won't stop me from eating it. I think you guys get the point I'm trying to make. I hope because I'm not sure if it's coming across well. I won't eat something that's rotten. I'm shutting up now.

[countrygal]

I don't know why that link didn't come in. I modified it.

I guess my point is, they are selling something with false advertising to make a quick buck. I wouldn't be happy if they were adding white coloring to milk!

[Swimmy]

False advertising is illegal isn't it? Especially when food is involved?

[tommi250]

If everyone knew what actually went on during the prep of your meals at dining establishments people would truly never eat out, ever!

[countrygal]

Well, injecting red dye into meat to make it look red and using some sort of gas to keep it that way in the package, seems like false advertising to me. You're the lawyer......you tell me. I'm sure they've figured out a way around it.

[Swimmy]

That's not on the bar exam. lol. If people don't know about it enough, then it probably hasn't been tested in the courts.

[concerned]

I've known about the red dye along with other additives in many years ago when taking a food chemistry class. All food is altered in some way either by shipping or directly in order to preserve freshness and appearence.

[Disgusted-Daily]

Hey clipper,

Did you catch the show on Dirty Jobs where they use Tilapia to eat all the shit in the sewer treatment plants. How about Haddock that everybody eats, another bottom feeder.

Most everything we eat today was in contact with some sort of shit. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "shit face". ;D

Enjoy your food and don't put to much thought to it.

[countrygal]

The red dye is for looks only. Frest meat is actually a purple/red color. They found that consumers won't buy meat if it looks purple so they inject it with the dye. I think more meat education would have been better. That's why we have our own beef. The gas is used to keep that red color too. Don't be surprised if at some time or another your meat is spoiled before the "use by" date. The meat looks fresher than it actually is.

But....they're gonna keep doing it so there isn't much anyone can do. As long as nobody gets sick, I guess we have to live with it.

[Disgusted-Daily]

I also use to do pest control for the Utica and Syracuse area and I could write a book on the things that I have seen.

I was at one Chain restaurant in New Hartford (not there anymore) that I entered the kitchen area I had noticed that a mouse trap I had placed earlier was missing. Upon asking they had told me that they took the mouse that was in it and submerged it into the deep fryer to see how long it would live for.

Needless to say that was one place I never ate at, but saw allot of people that did.