Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
CROCK POT APPLE BUTTER
Enough apples to fill a crock pot
1/2 c. vinegar
3 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch cloves
Peel and slice enough apples to fill a crock pot as full as possible.
The apples will shrink as the cooking process starts.
Add vinegar to apples and cook on high for 8 hours and lower heat
to low for 10 hours. After a total of 18 hours of cooking, add the rest
of ingredients. Let cook 4 more hours. Put in jars and seal.
Apple Pepper Jelly Recipe-Powdered Pectin
Yield: About 6 1/2 pints
Ingredients
* 7 sweet red peppers
* 1 jalpeno pepper
* 1 1/2 cup vinegar, divided
* 1 1/2 cups apple juice
* 1 package pwdered pectin
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 5 cups sugar
* Red foodcoloring
Directions
1. Wash peppers; Remove stems and seeds; Cut into 1/2” Pieces.
2. Puree 1/2 the peppers and 3/4 cup vinegar in blender or food processor.
3. Puree remaining peppers and vinegar.
4. Combine purees in a large bowl; Stir in apple juice.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Strain pureed mixture through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth.
7. Measure 4 cups of juice.
8. Add apple juice to make 4 cups if needed.
9. Combine juice, pectin and salt in a large saucepot.
10. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
11. Add sugar, stirring until dissoloved, return to a rolling boil.
12. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
13. Remove from heat.
14. Skim foam if necessary.
15. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired.
16. Ladle into hot jelly jars and adjust 2 piece caps.
17. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
Crockpot Caramel Apple Butter
Puree about 3 pounds of apples
(heat, peel, steam, food mill, blender or whatever).
Place 7 cups of it in crockpot with about 2 cups of white
sugar to taste depending upon the variety of apples used.
For a large crock, you can double this. Cook the pulp down
to a butter consistency (about 3 to 4 hours).
Stir in 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cloves,
1 teaspoon cinnamon and 21 caramels.
Check the temperature. I like to get it up to 165 degrees F,
but the minimum is 140 degrees F.
If your crock does not get hot enough,
transfer it to a pan and heat it on the stove.
Can leaving 1/2-inch head space and water bath -
pints for 10 minutes and 1/2 pints for 5 minutes.
CROCK POT APPLE BUTTER
Pack crock pot full of apples, no water.
Cook for 18 hours slow. Do not remove lid.
Mix with beater for 2 minutes.
Add 4 cups sugar,
3 teaspoons cinnamon,
1 teaspoon cloves.
Cook another 4 hours.
Pack in jars.
Makes 5-7 pints.
Process.
Banana-Walnut Jam
8 ripe bananas, about medium size
3 fine lemons, medium size
3 cups granulated sugar
3 cups water
About 1 Tablespoon cinnamon (may add more to taste)
Some whole cloves (about 1 teaspoon)
About 1 cup chopped walnuts
Squeeze the juice from the lemons and chop the rind and pulp fairly fine.
Boil the sugar and water about 10 minutes. Then add the lemon juice and
rind, the bananas carefully mashed, the cinnamon and cloves.
Cook this in a crock-pot for 3 or 4 hours. Stir occasionally.
Add Walnuts during the last hour. Cook until it is a pale-yellow mush,
and is as thick as you like your jam. Makes about 7 or 8 eight-ounce glasses.
I bwb for 15 min. after sealing.
Growing and Harvesting Rose Hips
by Jackie Carroll of The Chamomile Times and Herbal News
Rose Hips Roses can do more than grace our landscapes and floral designs. Like its cousins the
apple, pear, peach and cherry, roses produce a fruit. Rose Hips are a valuable source of vitamin C,
containing as much as 20 times more vitamin C than oranges. They are also an excellent antioxidant.
Growing Roses for Hips
When growing roses for hips, you’ll want to select a variety that produces a reasonably large fruit that
is high in vitamin C. Look for disease and insect resistant roses that won’t require the use of chemical sprays.
Rugosas are an excellent choice for quality hips, and they are also a beautiful addition to the landscape,
whether used as a dense hedge or a specimen plant. The flowers have a delightful fragrance and you’ll
be tempted to cut armloads to bring indoors, but try to resist the temptation. Remember, the more flowers
you cut, the fewer hips you will have.
Harvesting and Preparing Rose Hips
Rose hips ripen after they are touched by the first fall frost. The color of rose hips varies, but in general,
orange hips are not quite ripe, and deep red hips are overripe. Overripe hips are sweet, but have lost much
of their vitamin C.
Rose hips will have the most nutritional value when used immediately after harvesting. To prepare rose hips
for tea, cut off the bloom stem, cut the hip in half, and scrape out the seeds and hairy pith. This can be very
tedious with tiny hips, so you may want to save the smallest hips for jellies. Rose hips used for jellies don’t
need to be seeded or scraped. A half and half mixture of rose hip juice and apple juice makes a tasty jelly.
Rose Hip Marmalade
Use a glass or enamel pan for this recipe.
Clean rose hips as described above for tea, and soak in cold water for two hours.
Simmer in water for two hours.
Strain and reserve liquid for jellies or other recipes.
Measure the mash, and add 1 cup of brown sugar for each cup of mash.
Boil down to a thick consistency.
Pour into sterilized jars and seal.
Drying Rose Hips and Rose Hips Puree
Instructions
Just after a frost is the best time to gather rose hips. Snap off the tails as you pick,or later when you reach home.
Spread the hips out on a clean surface and allow to dry partially. When the skins begin to feel dried and shriveled,
split the hips and take out the large seeds — all of them. If you let the hips dry too much, it will be difficult to remove
the seeds. If not dry enough, the inside pulp will be sticky and cling to the seeds. After the seeds are removed, allow
the hips to dry completely before storing or they will not keep well. Store in small, sealed plastic bags. These will keep
indefinitely in the freezer or for several months in the refrigerator. They are packed with vitamin C and are good to munch
on anytime you need extra energy...or a moderately sweet nutlike “candy.”
Making Puree:
Use soft ripe rose hips (the riper they are, the sweeter they are). It takes about 4 cups (1 Litre) of rose hips to make
2 cups (480 ml) of puree. Remove stalks and blossom ends. Rinse berries in cold water. Put them into a pan and add
enough water to almost cover. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Press through a sieve or strainer. All that
does not go through the sieve is placed in the pan again. Add a little water, enough to almost cover, if you want a thicker
puree, add slightly less. This time heat but do not boil so vigorously. This will dissolve a little more of the fruit so that it
will go through the sieve. Press again and then repeat the process one more time. By now, most of the fruit should have
gone through the sieve leaving only seeds and skin to discard.
Drying Puree:
Line a cookie sheet, 12 by 17 inches (30 by 42 cm), with plastic wrap. This size cookie sheet holds approximately
2 cups (480ml) of puree. Spread puree or fruit leather evenly over the plastic but do not push it completely to the sides.
Leave a bit of plastic showing for easy removal. Place on a card table or picnic table in the hot sun to dry. If the plastic
is bigger than the cookie sheet and extends up the sides, anchor it with clothes pins so it will not flop down and cover the
edges of the leather. Puree should dry in the sun six to eight hours.
ROSE GERANIUM JELLY
Rose geranium jelly is made by flavoring apple jelly.
Wash the apples but do not peel or core.
Quarter the apples and barely cover with water.
Simmer until tender. Get the juice and put it through a jelly bag,
measure apple juice and return it to the stove. When it is boiling
add 3/4 cup sugar per cup juice. Boil on to a jelly stage.
When almost done put a few rose geranium leaves into the boiling jelly.
They quickly give off their flavor. Dip them up and down until you have the
desired taste and fragrant smell. Use 2 or 3 leaves for each pint.
Tint a rose color with food coloring. Remove the leaves.
Pour the jelly into your jars and seal.
Mon, 7 May 2007 - V - Message #26101
Violet Syrup
This recipe is not our creation, it was posted
online at the Soapdish Forum, and the lady that
posted it wasn’t sure where she had originally
found it either. :) It sure is amazing though!
4c Violets
2c Boiling water
6c Sugar
1 Lemon; juice of, strained
2c Water
Place violet petal in a deep bowl and pour the
boiling water over them. Weigh down with a
heavy dish to keep them submerged. Place the
bowl in a draft-free place at room temperature
for 24 hours. Strain violet infusion into a
non-reactive bowl or pot, squeezing out juice
from the violets; discard the violets.
Place sugar, lemon juice and water in a saucepan
and boil into a very thick syrup, near the candy
stage. Add violet infusion and bring to a rolling
boil. Boil 10 minutes or until thickened. Pour into
sterile bottles.
Allow to cool, then seal and refrigerate. Serve
with club soda.
VARIATION: Substitute 4 cups fragrant rose petals
and add 1 cinnamon stick per bottle of syrup.
Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Breakfast Sausage
Recipe By :Alton Brown - dede ...
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:20
Categories : Breakfast Pork
Sausage
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
2 pounds Pork butt (2 1/2 pounds with bone) — diced
into 1/4” pcs.
1/2 pound Fat back — diced into 1/4” pcs.
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Finely chopped fresh sage leaves (2/3 tsp. dry)
2 teaspoons Finely chopped fresh thyme leaves (2/3 tsp. dry)
1/2 teaspoon Finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (1/8+
tsp. dry)
1 tablespoon Light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
Combine diced pork with all other ingredients and chill for 1 hour.
Using the fine blade of a grinder, grind the pork. Stuff into 1” round
casing or form into 2” patties. Refrigerate and use within 1 week or
freeze for up to 3 months.
For immediate use, sauté patties over medium-low heat in a non-stick
pan. Sauté until brown and cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Yield: 2 pounds or 16 (2”) patties
Source:
“Canning2@yahoogroups.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* Exported from MasterCook *
Apple Sausage
Recipe By :Kitty Hawk <dsharple@...
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:20
Categories : Fruit Pork
Sausage
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
4 pounds Pork shoulder
1 cup Dried apples — *see Note
2 tablespoons Sweet white wine
4 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Ground white pepper
4 teaspoon rubbed sage
3/4 teaspoon Ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon Ground dried ginger
1/4 teaspoon Ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
Sheep casings — large
Cube pork then grind through the fine plate. Add the salt, mixing in
well, chill for an hour prior to adding remaining ingredients.
Add the remaining ingredients including the moistened dried apples,
mixing well.
Stuff the sausage casings, twisting off at 5” intervals.
NOTES : * Chop coarsely then soak in hot water for 10 minutes then drain.
Source:
“Canning2@yahoogroups.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* Exported from MasterCook *
Homemade Pepperoni
Recipe By :Cheryl, Nebraska
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Ground Beef Sausage
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
1 1/2 pound Hamburger
1 1/2 tablespoon Morton’s® Tender quick salt
1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 tablespoon Fennel seed
1 tablespoon Pepper flakes (crushed red pepper)
1 teaspoon Paprika
Form into 4 sticks and place in refrigerator, uncovered, for 24 hours.
Bake on wire rack so grease can drip down, for 60 minutes at 300ºF.
Makes: 1.5 lbs.
Source:
cdkitchen@yahoogroups.com
“http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/630/Homemade-Pepperoni106389.shtml";
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* Exported from MasterCook *
Preparing Sausage Casings
Recipe By :Kitty Hawk
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Information Sausage
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
* Text Only *
Snip off the required length of casing. Rinse the casing under cool
running water to remove the salt clinging to it. Place it in a bowl of
cool water and let it soak for about a half hour. While your waiting
for the casing to soak prepare the meat.
After soaking the casing skip one end if the casing over the tap
nozzle Hold the casing firmly on the nozzle and then turn on the cool
water, gently at first, and then more forcefully. This procedure will
flush out any salt in the casing and will also pinpoint any breaks.
Should you have any breaks, simply snip out a small section of the casing.
Place the casing in a bowl of water and add a splash of white vinegar.
A tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water is sufficient. The vinegar
softens the casing a bit more and makes it more transparent, which in
turn makes your sausages more pleasing to the eye. Leave casing in the
water / vinegar solution until you are ready to use it. Rinse it well
and drain before stuffing.
Source:
Canning2@yahoogroups.com<Canning2@yahoogroups.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* Exported from MasterCook *
Sausages
Recipe By :Kacey
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:25
Categories : Beef Chicken
Italian Pork
Sausage Seasonings
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
Summer Sausage:
2 teaspoons InstaCure #1
1 1/2 teaspoon Smoke flavoring
5 tablespoons Salt
3 tablespoons Corn syrup solids
3 tablespoons Powdered dextrose
2 tablespoons Ground mustard seed
2 tablespoons Pepper
1 teaspoon Ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
2 cups Non-fat dry milk
-
Garlic Sausage:
3 tablespoons Garlic granules
2 tablespoons Paprika
2 tablespoons Black pepper
1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon Ground cloves
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1 cup Non-fat dry milk
-
Old-Fashioned Italian Sausage:
4 tablespoons Salt
2 tablespoons Paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons Crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon Ground coriander
4 tablespoons Fennel seed
2 tablespoons Garlic granules
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
1 cup Non-fat dry milk
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
1 (28 oz.) can Stewed Italian tomatoes
1/2 cup Water
-
Country Breakfast Sausage:
4 tablespoons Salt
3 tablespoons Sugar
2 tablespoons Dehydrated Bell pepper — (optional)
1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Ground ginger
1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons Thyme
2 tablespoons Sage
1 cup Non-fat dry milk
-
Polish Sausage:
4 tablespoons Salt
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons Garlic powder
1 tablespoon Onion powder
2 tablespoons Mustard seed
1 1/2 teaspoons Marjoram
1 cup Non-fat dry milk
-
Beerwurst:
2 teaspoons InstaCure #1
5 tablespoons Salt
2 tablespoons Powdered dextrose
3 tablespoons Dehydrated Bell peppers
3 tablespoons Crushed red peppers
3 tablespoons Cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons Fennel seed
1 tablespoon Ground coriander
1 tablespoon Chili powder
All seasoning blends are for 10 lbs. of meat unless otherwise stated.
Dissolve the seasoning blend in 1 cup cold water while I grinding
meats; then, add it. It’ll mix better and more evenly flavor the meats.
NOTES : You may use any meat you prefer or any combination. For
instance, for breakfast sausages I prefer plain pork. I get large
packages of Boston Butt at Sams relatively inexpensively and use that
for the pork. When ground it has about an 80/20 mix of lean to fat.
For summer sausage I use a combination of beef & a little pork.
Sometimes I use emu, deer, elk, wild hog or any red meat for summer
sausage, chorizo, hot links, etc.
Chicken and pork make a good combination for hot links, bratwursts,
and some Cajun sausages, esp. boudin.
Source:
“Canning2@yahoogroups.com“
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* Exported from MasterCook *
Spicy Italian Sausage
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:15
Categories : Italian Sausage
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
Sausage:
4 1/2 pounds Boneless pork shoulder butt — diced 1/4”
8 ounces Pork back fat (or 1/2 pound more shoulder if
unavailable) — diced
1 1/2 ounces Kosher salt (3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons Sugar
2 tablespoons Fennel seeds — *see Note
1 tablespoon Coriander seeds — *see Note
3 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons Fresh oregano leaves
4 tablespoons Fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons Hot red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons Coarsely ground black pepper
-
For Mixing:
3/4 cup Ice water
1/4 cup Red wine vinegar — chilled
10 feet Hog casings — (optional)
Soaked hog casing in tepid water for at least 30 minutes and rinse, if
using.
In a large bowl combine all the sausage ingredients and toss to
distribute the seasonings. Chill the mixture until ready to grind.
Grind the mixture through the small (1/4 inch) die into a bowl set in
ice. (You need to keep the mixture as cold as possible; if it gets too
warm in will get grainy).
Add the water and vinegar to the meat mixture and mix with the paddle
attachment or a sturdy spoon until the liquids are incorporated and
the mixture has developed a uniform, sticky appearance, about 1 minute
on medium speed.
Sauté a small portion of the sausage, taste and adjust the seasoning
if necessary.
If using casing, stuff the sausage into the hog casings and twist into
6-inch links. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to cook.
NOTES : * To toast the fennel and coriander, place them in a dry
skillet over low-to-medium heat. Toast, shaking the pan, until they
become fragrant. Remove from the skillet and crush them slightly.
Source:
“”Just Salt and Pork and Time” Brian Polcyn’s new cookbook focuses
on charcuterie, the slow art of preserving meat”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* Exported from MasterCook *
Spicy Pepperoni
Recipe By :KittyHawk
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:20
Categories : Ground Beef Sausage
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
2 pounds Lean ground beef (85% lean or leaner)
2 teaspoon Liquid smoke flavoring
2 teaspoon Ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Mustard seed
1 1/2 teaspoons Crushed fennel seed (up to 2 teaspoons) —
*see Note
1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper (up to 2 teaspoons) —
**see Note
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
2 teaspoon Morton’s Tender Quick curing salt
Combine seasonings and meat and mix thoroughly, using hands. Cover and
refrigerate for 48 to 72 hours.
Form meat into two long logs or rolls. Place a rack (or pan/sheet with
drainage) on a cookie sheet and put the logs onto rack. Bake at 200ºF
for 8 hours, rotating logs every 2 hours.
Logs will be a bright pink when they are finished, and should be
fairly dry and firm. Wipe off excess grease and allow meat to cool.
Chill and then slice thinly.
Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for longer storage.
NOTES : * I crushed mine with a rolling pin; it wasn’t extremely
crushed, but that’s okay: it doesn’t need to be very fine.
** Use more if you like hotter pepperoni; use less if you want a
milder flavor.
Description:
“A spicy dense cured pepperoni recipe. This recipe is very easy to
make and has that authentic pepperoni taste.”
Source:
“Canning2@yahoogroups.com“
**some things don’t really need to be on the internet**
You said a mouthful! While I like the infinite amount of info that can be accessed with a few clicks, there’s no earthly reason for every Tom, Dick and
Harry to know everything—shoe bombs, for instance. There’s no good reason for a normal person to even want to know—unless you’re a writer and plotting! BWAHAHA
Just yesterday, the older guys (Loafers)at the store were talking about how just anyone used to could get their hands on dynamite. It’s a wonder any of them survived. :)
This message consists of the following:
1. JA-RU Recalls Toy Trains Due To Choking Hazard (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09041.html)
2. Swim ‘N Score Dive Sticks Recalled by Modell’s Due to Risk of Impalement Injury to Children (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09043.html)
3. Cobra Electronics Recalls Children’s Two-Way Radios with Rechargeable Batteries Due to Chemical Burn Hazard; Sold Exclusively in Toys “R” Us Stores (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09044.html)
4. CPSC Clarifies Certification Requirements: Agency Staff to Focus on Compliance with Safety Rules (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09042.html)
Bottled Water Quality Investigation: 10 Major Brands, 38 Pollutants
Executive summary and results from 2008 “laboratory tests conducted ... at one of the country’s leading water quality laboratories [that] found that 10 popular brands of bottled water ... contained 38 chemical pollutants altogether, with an average of 8 contaminants in each brand.” Includes description of methodology, policy recommendations, and suggestions for consumers (including avoiding plastic bottles). From the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
URL: http://www.ewg.org/reports/bottledwater
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27041
Sorry about the double post. FR seemed to have stalled out and I clicked send again. Oops.
It sounds like you have been there and done that. I appreciate all your words of wisdom.
I remember a lot of these things from watching the neighbors when I was little. I was adopted at the age of five, and I got the benefit of new indoor plumbing and even a b& w TV. This was the mid-1950s so some of the old ways were still in use, and I stayed with the neighbors while mom worked. We didn’t start school until the age of 6.
They had a “wash house” where they boiled water to wash the clothes and a ringer washer. I remember gathering and canning food, cooking on a wood stove, etc.
I grew up and married an “old timer” at heart. He makes a living farming, blacksmithing, rail splitting and shingle making. I am confident that if times get really hard we can make it. LOL, we may see just how good the “good old days” really were.
MELAMINE CONTAMINATED FOOD PRODUCTS (07): WORLDWIDE ex CHINA
************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
[1] China (Macau SAR)
[2] Tanzania
******
[1] China (Macau SAR)
Date: Tue 11 Nov 2008
Source: GMA News.TV [edited]
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/132720/3-more-girls-suffer-kidney-stones-in-Macau
Macau authorities say 3 more children in the Chinese gambling enclave
have developed kidney stones that may be linked to Chinese milk
contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.
A government statement says the 3 girls aged from 4 to 8 are in
stable condition and do not require hospitalization.
The Monday [10 Nov 2008] statement says the children attend schools
where authorities provide students with free milk produced by Yili
Industrial Group Co.
Yili is one of several Chinese dairies implicated in a scandal on the
mainland in which melamine-laced dairy products have killed 4 infants
and sickened more than 50 000.
Melamine is used to make plastics and fertilizer.
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
[Macau SAR can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive
map at http://healthmap.org/promed/en?g=1821275&v=22.158,113.56,5
- CopyEd.MJ]
******
[2] Tanzania
Date: Wed 12 Nov 2008
Source: The Citizen (Dar es Salaam) [edited]
http://thecitizen.co.tz/newe.php?id=8720
Samples of the Chinese milk impounded in Dar es Salaam and sent to
South Africa in October [2008] for tests have been found to be
contaminated with the killer chemical, melamine.
A confidential report seen by The Citizen indicates that the chemical
was found in 3 of the 9 samples the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority
(TFDA) provided during the investigation.
The authority had seized 34 tonnes in its crackdown on milk imports
following the Chinese scare, but the sample tested and found to
contain melamine, was taken from 7 tonnes, which a single trader had imported.
The news confirms the fears that Tanzania might have narrowly escaped
disaster, with traders having imported contaminated milk from China,
where baby milk laced with melamine caused the deaths of 4 children
last July [2008], and had by September [2008] infected 94 000 other
people across several continents.
Yesterday [11 Nov 2008], the TFDA director-general, Dr Singonda
Ndomondo, confirmed receiving a report from South Africa, indicating
that the Chinese milk was contaminated.
The news will shock many consumers and might jolt the market,
considering that about 70 per cent of the milk and milk products
consumed in Tanzania are imported. With a population of more than 4
million, Dar es Salaam needs at least a million litres (approx. 264
000 gal) of milk a day, but the local processors are able to supply
less than 60 000 litres (approx. 16 000 gal) a day.
“Yes, it is true that some of the samples we sent to South Africa
have tested positive with melamine chemicals, but everything will be
made public on Thursday [13 Nov 2008],” Dr Ndomondo said by
telephone, when contacted for comment.
She said the authority, whose responsibility is to ensure the safety
of drugs and food sold to millions of consumers every day, would
issue the full report on the Chinese milk saga at a press briefing in
Dar es Salaam.
Dr Ndomondo declined to discuss what steps TFDA was taking to
mitigate the consequences of the findings until the full report was
tabled before the authorities.
However, The Citizen independently established that the TFDA planned
to destroy the 7 tonnes of the contaminated Chinese milk impounded.
A total of 34 tonnes of imported powdered milk was seized from
several traders in September [2008], after the board banned imports
of Chinese milk.
Local tests didn’t yield anything, hence the decision to send the
samples to South Africa, which has more sophisticated laboratories.
A source told The Citizen that the Dar es Salaam trader who brought
in the contaminated milk cargo had been informed about the findings.
He said: “A condemnation certificate has been issued to him. Among
other things, he will be required to pay for the cost of destruction
of the tainted milk.” However, The Citizen couldn’t establish when
this will be done.
Tanzania reacted quickly to an alert issued by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) at the height of the Chinese milk saga.
TFDA also suspended the issuing of import licenses for milk products
until the investigation is concluded.
Senegal, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, and Togo also slapped bans on
Chinese milk imports after investigations in China found in milk
traces of melamine, a chemical used to make plastics.
The Chinese milk scandal involved milk and infant formula, and other
food materials and components, which had been adulterated.
The scandal broke on [16 Jul 2008], after 16 babies who had been fed
on milk powder produced by Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group were
diagnosed with kidney stones.
With China’s wide range of export food products, the scandal has
affected countries on all the continents.
According to scientific journals, melamine is a hard synthetic
substance better known for its flame retardant properties. The
nitrogen-rich molecule is sometimes illegally added to food products
in order to increase their apparent protein content. It has also been
employed as a non-protein nitrogen, appearing in soy meal, corn
gluten meal, and cottonseed meal used in cattle feed.
Melamine is known to cause renal and urinary problems in humans and
animals when it reacts with cyanuric acid inside the body, sometimes
present in drinking water and in animal feed, so its use in food
production is universally banned.
Melamine adulteration of food products made headlines when pet food
was recalled in Europe and the United States in 2007.
A number of arrests were made following the scandal in China. The
head of Sanlu, 7 local government officials, as well as the director
of the administration of quality supervision, inspection, and
quarantine were sacked or forced to resign over the scandal.
The WHO described Chinese milk saga as one of the largest food safety
concerns it has had to deal with in recent years.
In late October [2008], it was discovered that the problem had spread
to eggs and possibly other food categories.
[Byline: Deogratias Kishombo, Tom Mosoba]
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
[The HealthMap/ProMED-mail map of Tanzania is available at
http://healthmap.org/promed/en?v=-6,35,5
- CopyEd.MJ]
You will find the things one does to survive are far more interesting than all the modern things that we expect today.
[Except for the internet]
When we moved to Kingman, I had normal jobs and even went back to selling real estate, had my own office and still found that at home, I wanted the basics and did not go back to the ‘shopping for the latest’ that was so normal in San Diego.
My family wants me to get rid of my junk, we had a real set to over it a couple years ago...
My brother did admit, that after he got home and thought about my refusing to let him haul it all to the dump, cause it was old, that he had taken a good look at his garage and yard and decided that my stuff was no different than all the car parts he had saved, ‘just in case’.
LOL, how well I remember the wringer washer and what a blessing it was, after using a rub board.
I had one in Wellton in the 1970’s, as we hauled water and could not afford to waste it.
You are lucky that you found a man who is able to do so many things, it will be very important if times really do get as hard as it looks like they will.
We don’t realize how many people are homeless, I do, as I listen to the police scanners and hear the officers talk about the groups that have set up camps in the river bottoms.
It is heart breaking to hear them talk of those that simply lay down on the sidewalks and go to sleep.
When we went to california, in the 1930’s as fruit tramps, we lived in the car and in a tent and later a plywood shelter that Dad put on a car axle and called a trailer, 2 beds and a camp stove, but it was shelter and a home that he took with us when we moved.
We lived in the river bottom at San Diego, near the old mission, for quite a while, until the war started and he went to work in the ship yards and as a mechanic in San Ysidro, where the Gov. was building an airfield.
Yes, I have been there and done that and more...LOL
What an interesting life you have had so far! Hold on to your hat for the next episode. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us. You are an inspiration.
Date: 12 Nov 2008
Source: Herald Tribune [edited]
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/12/asia/13chinafood.php
Contaminant found in fish feed from China
continued.
Date: 12 Nov 2008
Source: Herald Tribune [edited]
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/12/asia/AS-Hong-Kong-Tainted-Food.php
HK finds melamine in fish feed from mainland China
Date: 13 Nov 2008
Source: The Wall Street Journal [edited]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122649318324720585.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Toxic Chemical Is Found in Fish Feed in Hong Kong
continued.
Thanks for understanding.
We each live out the life that God planned for us.
I didn’t really think that I had lived so many lives, until I began to understand that others had not done so.
You were blessed with a new family, our son is adopted, so I even know both sides of the story.
Funny I never think of him as adopted, for me is just Scott.
Many links and info for making crafts, simple to complex.
Difficult to decide which to look at.
http://getcrafty.com/columns/west_coast_crafty/handmade_holiday_crafts_part_2.php
Make custom wrapping paper- we use some paper that I got from a printer who was getting rid of extra stock, so it is big enough for pretty large presents.
Using an alphabet stamp pad we stamp holiday messages and people’s names etc on the paper. It’s pretty cute- and fun.
http://getcrafty.com/viewtopic.php?t=8672
[I may be out of date, but in the old days, one could buy the roll ends of the paper the printers use to print newspaper, for almost nothing, a dollar or two.
It is an off white paper, I had the idea that Bill was going to saw it into pieces and make me a never ending page for typing on, LOL, Of course, that was before we got computers and when I was writing, I hated loosing my train of thought, while putting in new pages to type, plus they are not cheap.
LOL, Now I would use cheap photocopier paper or the the computer paper that is one long sheet.
It is useful for covering tables for a messy job, lining shelves in closets, etc.
Back in the days that I did make wrapping paper, I used a fern frond, laid on the paper, and hit it with a light coating of spray paint, LOL, you know a glob of sprayed paper, with the fern out line.
Or using different leaves for stamps.
Maybe I like stamping things.
http://getcrafty.com/viewtopic.php?t=8293
Growing Your Way to Winter Happiness
Every December I give myself a present; I go to the farmer’s market and buy potted flower bulbs. I try to get them as small as possible so that they will have the longest growing period in my hot apartment.
The best flower bulbs for winter are narcissus, hyacinth, daffodil, and crocus, because you get the most flowers for your money. If you start them in mid-December with a bi-weekly watering, you should have flowers by mid to late January. Narcissus and daffodil come in all white, all yellow, and trumpet shades of ivory, red and coral. Hyacinth and crocus come in solid and striated white, blue and pink.
[What a nice gift this will make, even if it is given, as a gift and is not in bloom, waiting is half the fun...
With over a month to Christmas, you would have some of them close to blooming and vases from the dollar store or thrift shop would be cheap.....granny]
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