COOPERATIVE EXTENSIONUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA POULTRY LETTERFebruary 1998In This Issue:
Partnership for Food Safety Education: It WorksIn September of 1997 I was contacted to be a part of the food safety education campaign led by "Partnership for Food Safety Education". The partnership of food industry, federal government, and non-profit groups was created by Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman and Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala. I was impressed with the information packet I received. While the background sheet gave the oft cited food borne illness statistics, it also made a point to recognize the fact that a large number of Americans have insufficient knowledge of how to handle food once they purchase it. Even with the positive first impression, I thought, "ok, let's see where this government-sponsored program heads, if anywhere." I did not hear anything about the program until early November when I was contacted by Natalie Hartman of Sacramento. She introduced herself as the Chair of the Health Committee for Soroptomists International of Sacramento. She wanted to know if I would serve as a resource person and speaker for a multi-phase project she was coordinating. Her project had evolved in the following way. The idea came to her when she was listening to Congressman Vic Fazio on a radio show. He was speaking about a food safety committee and she wrote his office for more information. She was sent a large report and as she read it, she thought of a way she could tie poultry and eggs in with an end-of-the-year/holiday season program. She ended up partnering her fraternal organization, Soroptimist International with Chicken Soup, PlusTM, a home health care agency in Sacramento. Their first project was a cookbook entitled, Chicken Soups to Crow Over. Some 35 capital area celebrities, politicians and professional chefs contributed their personal recipes. In addition there was information on the documented medicinal benefits of chicken soup and an entire chapter on the proper handling, cooking, and storage of chicken. Next the partners assembled a team of specialists who could address the food production and food safety questions of both the partnership members and their target audiences. Those brought into the partnership included Dr. Mary Wong, Food and Drug Scientist, State Department of Health Services, Earline Bennet, R.D. of "Feel Good" seminars, and Dr. Francine Bradley, Extension Poultry Specialist. Prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday, the partnership organized a "Poultry Safety Awareness" luncheon program. Following a good lunch which featured an egg rich frittata, the team of specialists addressed the audience. Topics included modern poultry meat and egg production methods, food borne illness, and safe food handling. It was a pleasure to be on the panel with Dr. Wong. Her U.C. Davis training and tutelage under our own Dr. George York is reflected in her very common sense approach to food borne illness reduction. On Thanksgiving weekend the partners hosted a Chicken Soups to Crow Over cook-off. The competition was divided into two divisions, a Wishbone Division for the amateur chefs and a Drumstick Division for the Professional chefs. The event was held at the Country Club Mall in Sacramento. In order to comply with health regulations, each amateur chef was paired with a local restaurant chef for the cook-off. Mall-goers could pay $5.00 and sample each of the entries. Given that it was the busiest shopping weekend of the year, the crowds were very large. The media coverage was super, with a local radio talk show host, MCing the event. Mike Dunne, the Food Editor of the Sacramento Bee ran a two page article, complete with color photos and recipes, the week after the cook-off. Throughout the event, the partners coupled the themes of poultry being healthy and the responsibility of cooks and consumers to handle food safely. Everyone who attended was given a "Fight Bac! Keep Food Safe from Bacteria" button to wear. One partner wore a chicken costume, complete with nurse's hat and Red Cross apron. All the suggestions were: poultry is good for you and healthy. This theme was reinforced by the credentials of some of the chef competitors' Dr. Anvar Velji, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Kaiser Permanente's South Sacramento Medical Center and Carolyn Dare, RN, the retired Associate Director, Hospital and Clinics and Director of Nursing Services at the U.C. Davis Medical Center. The winning soups in both divisions were from Mexican recipes; Chicken Rice Soup a la Cabo and Chicken Enchilada Soup. Both winning chefs received $500.00 in prize money. Chicken Soup PlusTM sponsored the cash awards. In addition to being sandwiched between Thanksgiving and the Hannukah and Christmas holidays, the cook-off took place at the start of California Home Health Care Week. Proceeds from the cook-off were donated to Jewish Family Services, Meals A La Car, and Serve Our Seniors. I have been extremely impressed with this example of a Partnership for Food Safety Education. There were so many positive aspects to this partnership: consumers were being reached at a time of high poultry and egg product usage, the poultry products were being promoted for their health value, consumers were taught or reminded of their responsibilities in safe food handling and worthwhile charities profited. I think it was especially significant that all the pro-poultry and egg messages were coming from private citizens who had no financial ties to the poultry industries. This fact alone increased the credibility level in the minds of many consumers. Francine A. Bradley 4-H Poultry Salutes California DonorsBecause of the generosity of California's poultry industries and poultry fanciers, it was possible for two State Champion poultry teams to attend the 4-H National Poultry and Egg Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Our Avian Bowl Team was narrowly defeated for the National Championship by the Kentucky team. The poultry judging team members competed in a commendable manner against teams from 19 other states. Gaining great admiration from competitors and judges was team captain, Jeremy Johansen. Jeremy pulled down a perfect score in the Poultry Parts Identification portion of the contest. This was the last competition of Jeremy's 4-H career. A resident of Davis, he is currently a Freshman at U.C. Santa Barbara. Oh yes, Jeremy is legally blind. The 4-Hers salute their sponsors: Association for the Preservation of Game Fowl California Poultry Industry Federation Chilson's Management Controls Greater California Society of Poultry Fanciers Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms Pacific Poultry Breeders' Association Francine A. Bradley Toll-free, But It's Anti-PoultryMany papers carried articles during November and December regarding PETA's (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) press release which urged consumers to call the Butterball Turkey Hotline and complain. PETA also had a toll-free holiday hot-line which I called hoping that I could register a complaint about their activities. Unfortunately, all I heard was the message to call the Butterball line and a recording from Fiona Apple. The latter is allegedly a well-known rock singer. I lead such a sheltered life - I had never heard of her. Ms. Apple's statement was that there is "no proper way to kill and cook these beautiful birds." She also encouraged me to call for recipes for holiday vegetarian dishes which "taste better anyway..." Amazing as it may seem, no one at my holiday dinners clamored for the "better tasting" green beans over the turkey. I will admit that the dressing, which contained California fresh eggs, was a popular side dish. Francine A. Bradley U.C. Davis Has New Area CodeEffective November 1, 1997 U. C. Davis was placed in the (530) area code. 1998 CalendarFebruary 7, Avian Science Day, Room 3 Kleiber Hall, University of California, Davis. For more information contact Francine Bradley (530) 752-6316. February 8-11, National Turkey Federation Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Call for details (202) 898-0100. February 10-11, Australian Poultry Science Symposium, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Contact: R.A.E. Pym, Department of Farm Animal Medicine and Production, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia; Fax +61 (7) 3365 1288. Where required, overseas participants should make applications for an entry visa at least 12 weeks prior to their proposed date of travel. February 13-15, National Meat Association's 52nd Annual Convention at the Sheraton Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California. Call NMA for details (510) 763-1533. *March 3-5, Pacific Egg and Poultry Association Convention, Double Tree Hotel, Monterey, California. For more information call (916) 441-0801. *March 8-10, Western Poultry Disease Conference, Capitol Plaza Holiday Inn, Sacramento, California. For more information call (530) 757-3331. April 18, Picnic Day, University of California, Davis. Annual campus open house. Open to the public; free. *May 18-21, National Egg Quality School, Lenox Inn, Reynoldsburg, Ohio (near Columbus). For information contact Ken Anderson (919) 515-5527. June 21-26, 10th European Poultry Conference (organized by the Israel Branch of WPSA). Jerusalem Renaissance Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel. Contact Conference Secretariat, WPSA Israel Branch, 10th European Poultry Conference, P.O. Box 50006, Tel Aviv 61500, Israel; phone (972 3) 5140000; Fax (972 3) 5175674/5140077, email: POULTRY@Kenes.ccmail.compuserve. com. June 28-July 4, VIII World Conference on Animal Production. Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. Contact Dr. Jong K. Ha, Chairman, Organizing Committee, 8th WCAP, Seoul National University. Suweon, Korea 441-744; phone 82-331-290-2348; Fax 82-331-292-3801. July 21-23, Oregon/Washington Poultry Industries Joint Annual Convention, Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Washington. Call Skamania Lodge at 1-800-221-7117 for reservations. For additional information call 1-800-588-3447. *July 25-26, International Symposium on Food-Borne Salmonella in Poultry. Baltimore, Maryland. Sponsored by the American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) . For more information contact AAAP, 382 West Street Road, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348-1692; Fax (610) 444-5387. _________________________________________________________________________ United Ratite Cooperative Hires New General ManagerThe United Ratite Cooperative (URC) has hired Dr. Glenn Patterson to take over the duties of General Manager. URC's members are located throughout California and include producers of emu, ostrich and rhea. The new General Manager's credentials include an M.S. degree from U.C. Davis and a Ph.D. from Purdue University . While at Davis, he worked with a number of poultry scientists, including Dr. A. Wade Brant. Dr. Patterson will be focusing on making the ratite industry more profitable, on developing more and new products, and on locating new niches for the meat, oil and birds of the ratite industry. His more than 25 years of experience in marketing, product development, and industry organization make him a valuable leader for this growing cooperative. Francine A. Bradley Bugged by AllAny producer who has experienced an infestation of darkling beetles knows how destructive those creatures can be. However, even worse than the structural problems they can cause in your poultry buildings may be the problems they can cause if they leave your premises. The November 3rd issue of the Wall Street Journal reported that beetles from an egg farm in La Rue, Ohio had migrated into the homes of nearby neighbors. One person described the infestation as having the "intensity of an Alfred Hitchcock film." Some residents discarded and/or burned carpets and mattresses in hopes of eliminating the beetles. As with so many unfortunate events, the matter is now in litigation with the neighbors filing a $25 million lawsuit against the egg ranch. Francine A. Bradley Ralph A. Ernst, Technical Editor |