TV chefs are major health hazards

[fresco]

TV chefs from Canada, the US and the UK committed hundreds of hazardous gaffes during a series of programs on Food Network Canada analyzed by researchers at University of Guelph in Ontario.

"For every instance of handling food correctly on popular TV cooking programs, there were 13 food-safety errors, with an average of seven such mistakes made during a typical 30-minute show.

"Primarily, it was poor hand-washing, and we know that insufficient or inadequate hand-washing is a key contributor to contracting and spreading food-borne illness, both in the home and elsewhere," said Douglas Powell, scientific director of the Food Safety Network at the University of Guelph.

http://www.canada.com/health/story.html?id...FD-F4E5C484D391

[Gifted Gourmet]

One chef used his knife as a fly swatter, she said. "They were actually chopping vegetables and the fly was buzzing around their head and they looked up, swatted the fly with the knife and went back to chopping the vegetables."

Now that must have really been something worth editing out!

Upon reading this article, I know I personally will be watching Food Network with a much more critical eye ... thanks for bringing it to eG, fresco!

[Lady T]

Interesting: I read this title and popped in, expecting to see something about chefs tossing fattening butter, cheeses, and cream into dishes in dangerous amounts. It never even occurred to me to think about unsanitary preparation technique, which is supposed to be drummed out of foodservice professionals before they get to serve the public.

I'm way too trusting, apparently.

[Dignan]

Isn't this kind of silly? It a result of the exigencies of TV production. There's a set time limit to accomplish whatever feats of cooking they have in mind, and I for one don't want to watch a show about handwashing -- even if they are dutifully washing hands and cuttingboards and whatnot as appropriate, it's gonna be edited out of the end product anyway.

This is like publishing a study stating that TV chefs have amazing magical powers because they can put an uncooked item in the oven and immediately pull out a finished version. They're either cheating and already have one in there ready to go, or they edited out the 45 minutes of baking time from the final televised product.

[bilrus]

In the first or second season of the Sopranos, Tony's mother was watching Emeril and commented (in her inimitiable, whiny way) that he never washed his hands.

Not long after that, Emeril started making comments about washing his hands in his sink, "Courtesy of the Sopranos."

[JerzyMade]

"Primarily, it was poor hand-washing, and we know that insufficient or inadequate hand-washing is a key contributor to contracting and spreading food-borne illness, both in the home and elsewhere," said Douglas Powell, scientific director of the Food Safety Network at the University of Guelph.

http://www.canada.com/health/story.html?id...FD-F4E5C484D391

He he! I raised the same issue on another thread a few days ago.

I agree that shows about washing hands would be awfully boring, but I'm afraid that not every home cook is knowledgeable enough to insert proper sanitation.

Also, when you consider that most cooking is done on "autopilot" it's hard to imagine that celebrity chefs behave differently when they cook without the TV camera.

To me, it's OK when the sanitation is obviously edited out. What's not OK is when someone handles poultry with bare hands, walks over to the fridge, grabs a veg and cuts it on the same cutting board. This, I have actually observed.

[Hest88]

That's funny, but not unexpected. I'm sure many chefs are casual about hygiene than we'd like.

I used to be a much bigger stickler about hygiene until I started cooking a lot, realized that I was getting sick just because I wasn't following all the rules, and became quite much more lax. I'm sure that many chefs, who cook a WHOLE lot more than I do, feel the same way!

[wnissen]

I have also concluded from extensive TV chef research that never in history has a chef badly burned an item and yelled "Oh, s***!" They're quite remarkable that way.

But seriously, do we really want to pause for thirty seconds every time a sanitation handwash is required? Even the edit would be somewhat disruptive. I guess as long as people don't actually use a cutting board in an unsanitary way, I'm OK with it.

Walt

[Toliver]

From the title of this thread, I thought they were talking about Sandra Lee.

[lala]

From the title of this thread, I thought they were talking about Sandra Lee.

....who has been observed repeatedly licking her fingers in the middle of food preparation....

[egator]

In the first or second season of the Sopranos, Tony's mother was watching Emeril and commented (in her inimitiable, whiny way) that he never washed his hands. 

Not long after that, Emeril started making comments about washing his hands in his sink, "Courtesy of the Sopranos."

That is too funny. I must have missed that episode of the Sopranos. That always grossed me out when watching Emeril. He shakes hands will all those people in the audience and then, without washing his hands, starts to cook and THEN serves it to the audience. BLAHHH!

I must admit I’m frightened that Tony’s mom and I have something in common.

BTW, hello all. I’m pretty new here & have only posted on the NY forum. And even though I choose this to be my first post on the FM forum, I swear I’m not a OCD germ Nazi or anything!

[tennesseespice]

From the title of this thread, I thought they were talking about Sandra Lee. 

....who has been observed repeatedly licking her fingers in the middle of food preparation....

Sandra Lee is not the only one with finger-in-the-mouth syndrome....Paula Deen constantly licks her fingers, the stirring spoons, the spatulas .......

[PoetsGirl]

hmmm, they weren't talking about Alton He put's cross-contamination warnings in nearly every show. Sometimes more than once depending on what he is cooking, especially chicken, and washes every damn thing with a bleach solution.

I think they could have at least specified the chefs with better records.

[Atomic Lunch]

I've always called Sara Moulton the Cross Contamination Queen.

PoetsGirl beat me to the crack about Alton. Though that guy can make warnings about microbial mayhem fun.

[Toliver]

Rachel Ray, in her "30 Minutes Meals". is great at keeping separate cutting boards, etc, and washing her hands after handling raw chicken. It's almost seems like an obsessive-compulsive thing happening everytime I see it.

[CompassRose]

My mother refuses to watch the Urban Peasant, after seeing him slice up a raw fish on a cutting board, then use the same knife and cutting board to chop some herbs for garnish.

I have only heard about this, I've never seen the episode, but is it true that Julia Child, on air, once dropped something she was plating on the counter, scooped it back up on the plate, and said that "if it happens in the kitchen, no one will ever know"?

[fresco]

My mother refuses to watch the Urban Peasant, after seeing him slice up a raw fish on a cutting board, then use the same knife and cutting board to chop some herbs for garnish.

I have only heard about this, I've never seen the episode, but is it true that Julia Child, on air, once dropped something she was plating on the counter, scooped it back up on the plate, and said that "if it happens in the kitchen, no one will ever know"?

You've just given me another reason not to watch the Urban Peasant. The main one is that he can't cook.

[cdh]

Oh please....

People survived thousands of years of cookery without the benefit of even the germ theory of disease (though did not have antibiotic fuelled superbugs living in their poultry either, to be fair). The marginal increase in risk to anybody caused by licking a spoon is negligable.

It's sad enough that modern agriculture has turned food products into biohazards. Now do we consumers need to be beaten over the head with the fact that our food supply is noxious and toxic? Sure we do, because it is the case... but cooking on TV is as much about the fantasy that such were not the case as it is about the actual procedure.

Antibiotic crazed agribusiness should have to fund a ubiquitous public service announcement campaign warning of the dangers caused by their practices... The duty and the blame should not be shifted to TV chefs or anybody else. This is called internalizing the externality in economic speak. Time to advocate its adoption more broadly...

Edited June 25, 2004 by cdh (log)

[NulloModo]

I agree with cdh here, there is no need for TV chefs to be food-safety nazis.

Does anyone here actually follow all of those rules when cooking at home? Well, actually, I'm sure some do, but I would be surprised if it is the majority. I know I am personally horrible about food-safety when cooking for myself or those I live with. I will use the same knife, same cutting board, same pans, etc, for multiple meals with onle a rinse in water in between. It might sound horrible, but I have never made anyone sick (well, I made myself violently ill once, but that was because I ate some pork sausage that was a bit past its prime, and not fully cooked...).

In a restaurant situation, I expect proper hygiene to go into the production of my meal. At home, it becomes far less of an issue. I'm in the camp that believes we have to expose ourselves to some of these bugs so that we don't lose our natural resistance anyway.

It's bad enough that I can't get a rare burger at half the joints around here anymore because everyone is afraid of someone getting sick and the resultant lawsuit, but I'll be damned if I'm going to start to turn my own personal cooking into something that feels like a high school science project with all of the safety precautions and whatnot. I also certainly don't want to watch someone else do that on TV.

[cdh]

Word!

[FistFullaRoux]

My biggest things are with Iron Chef. I think that Japan, speaking generally, is more microbe concious thatn the US. But I shudder every time I see Iron Chef Chen taste something from the untensil he is stirring with, and then put it back into the pot and stir some more. That and people sweating over the top of food.

At least Emeril does not do that. He'll use a fresh spoon and does not double dip, or he will use the stirring spoon to put a little bit on a tasting spoon.

Jamie Oliver always has his thumb in his mouth too.

[Mulcahy]

From the title of this thread, I thought they were talking about Sandra Lee.

The one episode I ever saw include Sandra placing a plate over a blender she couldn't find the top to (not something that should be encouraged in home cooks) and deglazing a pyrex baking dish on the stovetop while making gravy. I, for one, was under the impression that Pyrex bakeware is not stovetop safe and will shatter if used that way.

I have only heard about this, I've never seen the episode, but is it true that Julia Child, on air, once dropped something she was plating on the counter, scooped it back up on the plate, and said that "if it happens in the kitchen, no one will ever know"?

Yes, I believe it was a whole chicken.

[cakewalk]

I guess each cooking episode on TV will now begin with, "do not try this at home..."

[FistFullaRoux]

I have only heard about this, I've never seen the episode, but is it true that Julia Child, on air, once dropped something she was plating on the counter, scooped it back up on the plate, and said that "if it happens in the kitchen, no one will ever know"?

Yes, I believe it was a whole chicken.

Emeril claimed it was a swordfish, legend says it was a chicken, videotape shows it was a potato pancake. But the quote was right.

[Mulcahy]

videotape shows it was a potato pancake

I stand corrected. Thanks for setting the record straight.