Pistachio recall hits Canada

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Frito Lay Canada are warning consumers not to consume Frito Lay Munchies brand pistachios due to possible Salmonella contamination.

The product is sold in 50g packages (UPC 0-60410-04595-4)dates between Aug 4 and Dec 15 2009.

The Munchies brand was distributed all over Canada but there have been no reported illnesses yet.

Visit the CFIA website for more info.
Visit the FDA website for an updated list of recalled products.

Pistachio Recall: Salmonella scare

The FDA and the California Department of Public Health are advising consumers to avoid pistachio products as they investigate Salmonella contamination in pistachio products sold by the California company Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc.

The company has issued a nationwide voluntary recall today on nuts shipped on or after Sept 1 2008, about 2 million pounds of pistachios- a small fraction of the 55 million pounds of pistachios the company processed last year.

California is the second-largest producer of pistachios in the world.

The FDA states that the pistachios were used as ingredients in many products and, as a result, many products may be recalled as the investigation continues.

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems. So far, according to the FDA, several illnesses have been reported by consumers that may be associated with the pistachios but it's not yet known whether any of the Salmonella strains found in the pistachio products are linked to an outbreak.

Setton has recalled their bulk roasted shelled pistachios and roasted unshelled pistachios sold to wholesale customers, as well as its Setton Farms brand roasted salted shelled pistachios (sold in 9-ounce bags with a "Best Before" date between Jan. 6, 2010 and Jan. 19, 2010) distributed in seven Southeastern states. Grocery chain Kroger Co recalled its Private Selection shelled pistachios on Friday due to potential salmonella contamination and Kraft Foods recalled its Back To Nature Trail Mix after it was found to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The FDA site will soon provide a list of recalled products... stay tuned.

Guatemalan markets

The art of tortilla making in Guatemala

I loved the 'hand-clapping' sound of tortilla-making that is very prevalent in Guatemala. I was even lucky enough to get to try to make a tortilla and, I can tell you, it is not as easy as the Guatemalan women make it out to look- the dough kept on getting stuck to my hands!

To make a tortilla, "nixtamalized corn" is used to make the dough (masa). Nixtamlized corn involved dissolving the hardened corn kernels in boiling water in which an alkali has been dissolved (in Guatemala, the alkali used is calcium hydroxide).
The masa is cooked on a comal (a traditional stove made with a heavy steel or iron sheet used as the cooking surface) that is heated with firewood, giving the tortillas a slightly smoky flavour.

Delicious!

Hola de Guatemala!

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while but I'm in Antigua, Guatemala now!
It's a great little city that has maintained it's traditional customs (ie. women carrying baskets on their heads is a common site in Antigua) but has adopted some modern customs.
This is evident in some of the restaurants I've seen. In this small town that's about 1.5km x 1.5km, I've seen a Subway, a McDonald's, a Dominoes Pizza and a Burger King! The fast food restaurant that is more popular in Guatemala (and Central America) is Pollo Campero.

Nonetheless, most Guatemalans eat 5 meals a day, 3 main meals and 2 snacks.

Breakfast is typically eaten early (7-ish) and consists of mosh (porridge) and fruit, eggs, beans and tortillas or toast with marmalade, and coffee.

Their first snack is taken at 10-ish and typically is atole, a sweet corn drink.

Lunch is the main meal, usually taken at 1-ish, and can include soup followed by meat, rice, vegetables, and a simple salad. Fresh fruit or fruit juice may follow the meal.

Their second snack is at ~4pm and is usually a pastry and coffee.

Dinner, at 7-ish and can include black beans, tortillas and eggs or sweet bread, beans, artichokes, rice and meat. Fried plantains, flan (caramel custard), or fresh fruit are popular desserts.

More pictures to follow!

Take the stairs!

I'm sure that, at some point, you resolved to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Researchers from the University Hospital of Geneva in Switzerland decided to see what happens when people actually follow through on this resolution.

69 sedentary (less than 2 hrs exercise a week) employees were asked to exclusively take the stairs instead of the elevator for 12 weeks.

The result:

VO2 max (used to measure aerobic capacity) increased by 8.6%.
The mean increase of aerobic capacity corresponds to a 15% decrease in all-cause mortality risk.

Body fat decreased by 1.7%.

Waist circumference decreased by 1.8%.

Diastolic blood pressure decreased by 2.3%.

LDL (lousy) cholesterol decreased by 3.9%.

Although the results of this pilot study need to be confirmed in a larger randomised controlled trial,
maybe these results will motivate you to ditch the elevator...?!