salmonella

Birds, A Boon to Bacteria

By Benjamin Plackett, Contributor to Inside Science

"Things have not gotten as stupid as they are going to get." 

One time when I was a little kid, our family visited Arizona. We went to a restaurant somewhere out in the desert that served fried rattlesnake. As you probably guessed, it tastes like chicken.

On any given day, about 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 10,000 eggs are contaminated with the bacteria Salmonella. However, for Rose Acre Farms, the second-largest egg producer in the United States, this is not your average day.

Ah, snake oil — the sobriquet we use to label a variety of fundamentally useless nostrums that are sold to the gullible to prevent, treat or cure a variety of ailments. Now we have another, genuinely snake-derived item, rattlesnake pills.

Jambalaya, a southern Louisiana derivative of the Spanish paella, is said to have derived its name from the French “jambon” meaning ham and the “aya,” the African term for rice.

If you've ever taken a cooking class or, better yet, just cooked chicken once in your life, you would know that it should never be undercooked.

As part of the "natural is better" movement, many Americans -- particularly those who live in the city and know absolutely nothing about agriculture -- have decided that playing farmer is a fun pastime. It certainly can be a fun hobby...

Among other natural items that are dangerous, Salmonella bacteria rank high on the list. Consuming foods contaminated with this bug can be life-threatening — especially for the young, the old, and people with compromised immune systems.