YIKES 08.19.26
YIKES 08.18.26
Salmonella Jalapeños – YUM
A Salmonella Jalapeño outbreak has sickened at least 345 people in 27 states, according to the CDC. Half of those people ate at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants and QDOBA locations in seven states. The peppers were imported from Sinaloa Mexico and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors. Salmonella Jalapeño Outbreak Sickens 345, Chipotle and QDOBA – https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2026/salmonella-jalapeno-outbreak-sickens-345-chipotle-and-qdoba/
Spicy !
It’s Not Just the Lettuce
The North Carolina cyclospora outbreak is linked to parsley and cilantro, as well as lettuce, according to an update by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDHHS). While parsley and cilantro have been mentioned as possible vectors in this huge outbreak, this is the first time they have been linked to illnesses. North Carolina Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Parsley and Cilantro – https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2026/north-carolina-cyclospora-outbreak-linked-to-parsley-and-cilantro/
Cyclospora is different from other foodborne pathogens. It comes from human waste and cannot be removed by washing (although that helps some) or killed by chlorine. It can only be removed by microfiltration or killed by heat or, maybe, ultra-violet radiation.
It needs to prevented from getting into irrigation water.
Lettuce producers have known about the Cyclospora hazard for more than a decade. They have not acted, and neither has the government. The Cyclospora outbreak: an everyone-is-at-fault system failure: “LettuceGate” https://www.foodpolitics.com/2026/07/the-cyclospora-outbreak-an-everyone-is-at-fault-system-failure/
Amy’s Recalls 184,000 Cans of Vegan Lentil Soup
It’s the lettuce
Do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/outbreaks/07-26/investigation.html
Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #14
I never knew there were so many different kinds of soy sauce.
Lesson #13 is : know your ingredients. This can be why a dish, despite following the recipe exactly, tastes better than yours.
6 Types of Soy Sauce Everyone Should Know – https://thewoksoflife.com/6-types-of-soy-sauce-everyone-should-know/
Memo to Self – Don’t be discouraged to learn there are Chinese Americans out there more Chinese than you who know their ingredients much better than you ever will. My favorite soy sauce is Thai. No wonder then why my Chinese dishes don’t taste Chinese.
Thai Soy Sauce – https://thewoksoflife.com/thai-soy-sauce/
Diet and Dementia
Findings In this cohort study of 1865 older adults without dementia followed up for up to 15 years, higher diet quality was associated with lower dementia risk. Among participants at higher risk, only a dietary pattern with lower inflammatory potential showed consistent inverse associations. Diet Quality and Dementia Risk in Older Adults With Alzheimer Pathology – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2850780
This morning I lowered my risk for dementia with a bowl of berries, banana, and Greek yogurt.
Last Night
Smoked Pulled Pork, Mac & Cheese, Bacon, Cheddar-Jack, Sweet & Smokey BBQ Sauce and Green Onions.
At least the potato didn’t do any damage.
Chili Peppers of the World
Capsaicin, the compound that makes chili peppers hot is an evolutionary filter designed to punish mammals and reward birds. Mammals feel it as pain because mammal digestion destroys seeds. Birds don’t have the receptor that detects it, so they eat the fruit, fly off, and deposit the seeds far from the plant from which they ate. The plant needed birds, and birds didn’t mind the heat, because to them there was no heat to mind.
Bell peppers have the right amount of heat for me.
Breeders selected the heat out entirely: what’s left is crunch, sweetness, and color. The breeding of large, capsaicin-free peppers predates the age of Columbus, probably by hundreds of years. Green bells are just unripe; red, orange, and yellow are the same fruit left on the plant longer, sweeter, higher in vitamin C. My wife spent years avoiding the green ones for exactly that reason, until one day she bit into a fresh one and something clicked: that raw, grassy crunch, that sharp brightness the ripe ones don’t have. The most widely planted pepper on earth, mild enough for everyone, and capable, apparently, of surprise. Chili Peppers of the World – https://www.notesfromtheroad.com/desertmexico/chili-peppers.html
Another electronic Sticky Note for times when I want to read up on the history of peppers.
HT – Barry Ritholtz – https://ritholtz.com/2026/06/10-friday-am-reads-503/
Eat Ice Cream With NO Guilt
Sugar-Free Diet Linked to Metabolic Changes
“Completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet may unexpectedly disrupt gut health and promote inflammation and metabolic dysfunction, highlighting that balanced nutrition is more important than simply eliminating sugar,” said Rasheed Ahmad, Ph.D., principal scientist and head of the Immunology & Microbiology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, in Kuwait City, Kuwait
To evaluate the effects of eliminating sucrose, the researchers measured glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, circulating metabolic hormones, the gut microbiome, and inflammation in both the colon and liver.
Despite maintaining similar body weights, mice on the sucrose-free diet experienced several negative health changes compared with the control group. These included poorer glucose control, insulin resistance, imbalances in gut microbes, intestinal inflammation, and changes associated with fatty liver disease. Scientists found a surprising problem with sugar-free diets – https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260614011843.htm The Endocrine Society. “Scientists found a surprising problem with sugar-free diets.” ScienceDaily (accessed June 14, 2026).
Today, we eat ice cream!
garyskitchen.net 