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Don is now a VIP in Brazil, at least as measured by Internet speed, while Ben was trying to get some grad students onto the interwebs. The guys
then talked a bit about pop culture and follow up, including how John
Oliver is stepping into 'The Daily Show’, Don’s TiVo usage, Adventure Time on Netflix and Poop and Produce. The guys
felt a little challenged by their rapid recording schedule, having only recorded
a show a few days ago, and syncing their notes for the show using Dropbox. Don shared his podcast equipment challenges
and some of his São Paulo photos (such
as this, this and this). Ben
shared his own peaceful
Sunday morning experiences and the
awesome Australian
Laborastory. In the Bug Trivia segment the guys covered Trichinella
spiralis. This
little nematode is also known as the ‘pork worm’ though it is no longer commonly
found in pork in developed countries. Ben likes this little critter and uses it
to illustrate great public health communications that resulted in pork generally
being cooked overly well. And Don was proud of the small role he played in
getting the safe
cooking temperature changed for chicken. The guys then shifted from overcooked pork to undercooked
beef burgers. Ben shared some of the work his summer
students were doing on ordering burgers and the risk information that is
provided by serving staff. Don described how he would calculate the risk of
illness from consuming a burger that was cooked to 145°F (62.7°C), something
that the inquisitive Marge Perry was
interested in. Ben noted that the USDA
was going to implement a labeling rule for mechanically tenderized meat and the
guys were happy to take the credit for this change. But they were the
disappointed by other food safety failures going on around the country, such as
the large outbreak
related to Firefly restaurant. The guys
seriously question the food safety practices at Firefly given the large number
of foods associated with the outbreak. But
applause went to the public health folks for being very quick in releasing the outbreak
investigation reports. |