Category Archives: Food

Chemical Saftey During The Reign Of Il Trumpe

Posted on May 19, 2017 by mikethemadbiologist

Only one month after the Trump administration liberated us from the horrors of pesticide regulation, this happened (boldface mine): On May 5, more than 50 farmworkers outside of Bakersfield, California, were exposed to a highly toxic pesticide that apparently drifted … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Conservatives, Food, Public Health | Comments Off on Chemical Saftey During The Reign Of Il Trumpe

I Have Seen The Future: It Has…

Posted on April 8, 2017 by mikethemadbiologist

…six wheels and is adorable: There’s a company that is using these to deliver meals; when it arrives at your door, it sends you a text with a code allowing you to unlock the cargo hold of the robot and … Continue reading →

Posted in DC, Food, Robots | 6 Comments

Hiring Freezes Have Consequences: Enjoy That Burger

Posted on February 3, 2017 by mikethemadbiologist

Or salad (boldface mine): At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the other federal agency primarily involved in food safety efforts, the federal hiring freeze imposed by the new administration is having an impact on the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). … Continue reading →

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Prospective Bacterial Genomic Surveillance

Posted on September 20, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

One of the things the evul federal gummint is gearing up to every food borne bacterial disease isolate that is sent to either the CDC or public health labs in what is known as the GenomeTrakr Network (I’ve heard this … Continue reading →

Posted in E. coli, Food, Genomics, Public Health | Comments Off on Prospective Bacterial Genomic Surveillance

This Is Why We Don’t Have Flying Cars

Posted on August 23, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Perhaps because our best-and-brightest are building this instead (boldface mine): What’s a “pancake selfie” truck? Holiday Inn describes it thusly: The rolling pancake station is outfitted with five pancake machines, each producing one pancake per minute – all at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, WhatEVAH! | 5 Comments

Norovirus, The GOP, And Public Health Policy, Oh My!

Posted on July 20, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Admittedly, the norovirus outbreak at the Republican National Convention has led to all sorts of ‘shitshow’ jokes, but there really are policy and political angles to this. As we’ve noted many, many, many, many times, the greatest norovirus vector–in English, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Food, Fucking Morons, Public Health, Viruses | 2 Comments

Owl Restaurants

Posted on July 11, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

There’s a hilarious article in Washington City Paper about the translations of the Chinese names for D.C.’s Chinatown restaurants. According to local law, stores in Chinatown must translate their names and some other signage into Chinese. Mind you, calling Chinatown … Continue reading →

Posted in DC, Food | 1 Comment

Anonymity and Food-Borne Pathogen Investigations

Posted on December 23, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

A while ago, there was a bit of a scandal as the D.C. location of Fig & Olive, a rather expensive restaurant was briefly shutdown due to Salmonella outbreak that sickened dozens. In D.C., a Freedom of Information Act was … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Public Health, Salmonella | 3 Comments

D.C. Seems To Be Driving Itself A Little Bonkers Over the Prospect Of No Tipping

Posted on October 28, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Recently, some of the more prominent D.C. restaurants have considered eliminating tips, which has lead to discussions about tipping. Needless to say, The Washington Post‘s Richard Cohen goes Full Metal Prima Nocta. What I don’t get is why this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Food | 2 Comments

Foodborne Illness and Naked Self-Interest

Posted on October 28, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Well, we’re nearing winter time, and that means…norovirus! Which is also known as winter vomiting disease and is every bit as fun as it sounds. When it comes to sick leave, I am utterly baffled by conservative opposition to it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Food, Fucking Morons, Public Health, Viruses | Comments Off on Foodborne Illness and Naked Self-Interest