Editor: On March 13, 2015, the state veterinarian issued a warning about this avian influenza virus. See that statement on the Ohio Department of Agriculture's website here.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Three worrisome strains of avian flu have been detected in birds out West. These viruses can cause serious disease in birds, and their appearance has prompted poultry veterinarians at The Ohio State University to recommend that Ohio’s commercial producers and backyard chicken enthusiasts alike take precautions to protect their flocks.
The strains are related to a virus that circulated in Asia and Europe in 2014. In December 2014, they were detected in the Pacific Migratory Bird Flyway, in Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Idaho and Nevada. These viruses are...
I use my slow cooker a lot, but I recently read that you should thaw frozen items beforehand. I can understand that this would be necessary for meat, but is it a problem to use a bag of frozen vegetables without thawing it first?
That should be OK.
The idea behind thawing food before putting it into a slow cooker is to reduce the amount of time the food is in the “danger zone,” which is between 40 and 140 degrees F. That’s when any bacteria that might be on or in the food could multiply quickly and become a food safety concern. Food should move through the danger zone within two hours.
Meat is more dense than vegetables are, and if you put it in a slow cooker when it’s still frozen, it could stay in that danger zone for too long. Vegetables thaw more quickly, so...
Faculty couples talk about the benefits and pitfalls of working together
COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s not unusual for true love to blossom among the books on a college campus.
At least, that was the case for several faculty couples who share how #BuckeyeLove is flourishing in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.
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“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” — William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
When One and One Make One (Couple)
Elena Irwin and Brian Roe, for example, are economists in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics and juggle their home and work...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The heart of 4-H is loyalty. Literally.
In the second line of the 4-H Pledge, members vow to pledge “My Heart to greater loyalty.” And as Valentine’s Day approaches, Danielle Coleman, president of Collegiate 4-H at The Ohio State University, reflected on what that means to her.
“I joined in third grade, when someone from 4-H came to our school and talked about it,” Coleman said. “I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. My mom was in 4-H when she was growing up, and so were a bunch of other family members, so I got involved and was a member for 10 years.”
Coleman, a senior majoring in animal science in Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), grew up near Tiffin in rural Seneca...
I’ve seen a lot of Valentine’s Day promotions focusing on heart health. What are some easy ways I can make sure my diet is heart-healthy?
Your body will give you a heartfelt thank you for following a healthful, balanced diet with three heart-healthy components:
Limited saturated and trans fats. Eating too much of these types of fats increases your risk of high blood cholesterol, particularly the “bad” LDL kind. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting saturated fat to 10 percent of total calories (for example, 180 calories from saturated fat, or 20 grams a day, on an 1,800-calorie-a-day diet). For trans fats, the guidelines recommend keeping them as low as you possibly can. Look at Nutrition Facts labels for saturated and trans fat content....
A friend told me that there has been an apple recall. She said only certain varieties were affected, but couldn’t remember which ones. Where can I learn more about this kind of thing?
There actually have been two recent recalls related to apples, both of which were linked to a bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes. It is a deadly pathogen and you’re lucky to have a friend who will warn you about such recalls.
One recall began because of an ongoing outbreak of L. monocytogenes. The outbreak was traced to commercially produced caramel apples made from Gala and Granny Smith apples grown and processed by a company in California, Bidart Bros. Seven people have died in the outbreak, and 31 were hospitalized in 11 states around the country.
At first, just caramel apples...
I’m in my early 60s and, unlike some of my peers (it seems), I’m starting to feel my age. How do I know what’s normal and what’s not?
The oldest baby boomers, born in 1946, will celebrate their 69th birthdays this year, and certainly anyone can expect to experience changes physically, socially and emotionally as they age. But the idea of what constitutes “normal aging” and what distinguishes that from disease or decline is continually evolving.
For example, the National Institute on Aging reports that the stereotypical notion that it might be normal for older people to become cranky, depressed or withdrawn is not borne out by research. In fact, adults’ personalities generally don’t change much after age 30. A sudden change in personality...
My children always eat their breakfast and lunch at school. Money is tight, and we don’t always have extra food on hand, which is a problem when school is canceled at the last minute because of the weather. I don’t want my children to go hungry just because school is closed. Any ideas?
First, you’re not alone. During last year’s severe winter, many officials voiced concern about whether some students would have enough to eat at home when schools closed due to weather.
And now, a new national study by the Southern Education Foundation found that 51 percent of children in the nation’s public schools, pre-kindergarten through high school, were eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches in 2013. This is the first time in recent history that a...
WOOSTER, Ohio — Ohio State University’s Fruit and Vegetable Safety Program is again hosting training sessions on Good Agricultural Practices for Ohio’s fruit and vegetable producers.
“This year’s program is very similar to the 2014 program,” said Lindsey Hoover, the program’s coordinator. The program is a combined effort of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, the outreach and research arms of the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
New this year is information on the Proposed Supplemental Rule in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, which is scheduled to be published in the Federal...
Over the holidays, my sister and I were eating caramel candy, and she mentioned how much she loves caramel flavoring. I thought caramel wasn’t really a flavoring added to the candy, but a byproduct created from cooking sugar. Who is right?
You’re both sort of right.
Caramel flavoring is a real product. If you can’t find it in your grocery store, you can buy it online. Whether the candies you were eating had caramel flavoring in them is impossible to say without looking at the ingredients. But, odd as it sounds to some people, caramels don’t need caramel flavoring as an ingredient because caramelization does, in fact, occur when sugars are cooked the right way.
Harold McGee’s quintessential “On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University Extension’s new animal welfare specialist already has a win: The student team she coached in an intercollegiate animal welfare competition last November took home the first-place trophy.
Now, Monique Pairis-Garcia is working on expanding her reach throughout the state during 2015.
Pairis-Garcia, assistant professor of animal sciences in Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, started her dual teaching/outreach position last August. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the college.
“I want to be a resource for livestock producers in Ohio,” she said. “Whether producers want me to come to their facility and provide an overall assessment, or they have specific questions that they want...
Two of my New Year’s resolutions are to eat more fruits and vegetables and to spend less at the grocery store. Other than watching for sales on produce, what are some ideas to help?
Those are two great resolutions. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults get two to three cups of vegetables and 1.5 to two cups of fruit a day. Keep in mind that it’s important to get a wide variety. Apples and green beans are fine, but you’ll want to spread your wings a bit and eat other types of produce to get the benefits you’re looking for from fruits and vegetables.
And you don’t have to assume that eating more healthfully will be more expensive. A 2012 study by the Economic Research Service, “Are Healthy Foods Really More Expensive?” found...
I have done a good job in 2014 about getting my spending under control. Now I’m looking at my monthly utility bills. What are some of the best ways to trim those costs?
Bills for electricy, gas, phones and water can add up significantly. So can trimming those costs, especially if you widen the scope to include Internet service and cable or satellite television.
Here are just a few ideas to help you begin cutting costs:
If you don’t already have one, install a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat allows you to automatically adjust heat and cool settings to use less energy when you’ll be away from the house, whether it’s during working hours or when you’re away on vacation, and still make sure the house is at a comfortable temperature when...
One of my friends is inspiring me to stay healthy over the holidays. She is making extra efforts to drink a lot of water and to walk more between now and New Year’s. What are some other healthy holiday ideas?
What a great way to celebrate the holidays — giving the gift of healthy living to yourself.
One of the keys to making it work is attitude. Don’t act like Scrooge when you decide not to have that second Christmas cookie. Instead, smile as you realize that you can enjoy the holidays without eating and drinking so much that you become bloated.
Your friend’s tactics are motivating in part because they’re simple. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Choose MyPlate offers other healthy holiday ideas that don’t require a...
Over the weekend, we did some holiday shopping and stopped at the grocery store. We were out for longer than I anticipated, and we left food in the car for about three hours before we got home. Is that food OK to eat? It was chilly, but I’m not sure how cold it was outside.
It’s good that you’re asking. Too many people don’t take foodborne illness seriously. It’s hard to say why.
It could be because an illness doesn’t always occur when you don’t follow food safety guidelines. Let’s face it: If you became ill every single time after eating meat that’s not been cooked to the proper temperature, you would learn your lesson pretty quickly. If it rarely happens, you may never even associate your illness with those rare...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Don’t let foodborne pathogens become the unwanted guests that ruin your holiday party.
If you’re hosting a crowd this holiday season, be sure to do so responsibly, said Linnette Goard, field specialist in Food Safety, Management and Selection for Ohio State University Extension.
OSU Extension is the outreach arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
“People don’t always think that preparing and serving food for a lot of people deserves special attention,” Goard said. “But if you’re not used to cooking for a lot of people at one time, and if you don’t normally have to be concerned about people who are at higher risk, then it can be easy to make mistakes that could lead...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- If visions of sugarplums and other holiday treats dance in your head, materialize in your mouth and then on your hips, you’re not alone. It’s that time of year.
Fortunately, studies show that most people gain just 1 or 2 pounds over the holidays. Unfortunately, people who are already battling the bulge tend to gain more. And it can be difficult for anyone to shed those pounds after the holidays are over.
Bridgette Kidd, Healthy People program specialist for Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, offers guidance to help you enjoy the holidays without calorie-laden regrets:
Don’t skip meals. A busy, stressful holiday season can...
As the parent of a preschooler, I wonder how much I should focus on the importance of eating healthy foods. I don’t want to go overboard, but isn’t it important to establish this concept early in life?
Helping children establish a healthy, balanced diet — one that will last a lifetime — does indeed require a balanced approach. When it comes to eating, you don’t want to be too restrictive or, on the other end of the spectrum, too indulgent with your child. At the same time, it is beneficial to establish some basic rules and expectations with your child — and the sooner, the better.
A recent study indicates that doing so with children as young as 2 years old can lead to benefits down the road.
The study, reported at a conference in Boston...
Every year at Thanksgiving, my cousin claims that turkey makes you sleepy. But I thought that myth had been debunked years ago. What’s the story?
Well, don’t be too hard on your cousin. The notion that eating turkey will make you sleepy has been around for a long time. And if you look at your family members after Thanksgiving dinner, it’s likely you will see evidence that it’s true. But it’s not.
The myth started because turkey contains tryptophan. With the help of iron, riboflavin and vitamin B6, the body can convert tryptophan into niacin, also known as vitamin B3. But more to the point, the body can also use tryptophan to make serotonin, a brain chemical that helps make melatonin, a hormone that can control your sleep/wake cycles. Since turkey provides...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohioans who want to “live smart” have a new resource, courtesy of Ohio State University Extension.
The Live Smart Ohio website, online at go.osu.edu/LiveSmartOhio, offers consumers research-based information on topics they care about, said site organizers.
“It’s a way for Ohioans to live smart, whether it’s through learning more about food, about money, about family and relationships, or about mind and body,” said Carmen Irving, Healthy Relationships program specialist for OSU Extension. “They can get content on all of those topics at their fingertips in a beautiful, interactive setting.”
The new site draws information from other blogs previously written by Extension’s Family and Consumer Sciences professionals,...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Food insecurity isn’t just a problem in developing countries. It can hit close to home.
According to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis, 16 percent of Ohioans were food insecure at least some time during the year between 2011-2013, compared to a national average of 14.6 percent. Only 11 other states — Arizona, Mississippi, Utah, Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky and Nevada — fared worse than Ohio.
“Our numbers are not great. More needs to be done in Ohio,” said Irene Hatsu, who started her position as food security specialist for Ohio State University Extension last year.
OSU Extension is the outreach arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and...
I love everything about the holidays except for one thing: At family gatherings, I have to deal with my sister, whom I rarely see otherwise. She seems to know how to push all my buttons. Any ideas to help me cope?
Sibling relationships in adulthood can be tricky. And the situation can be even trickier if you and your sister have very little contact with each other.
Sibling relationships have special importance in our lives because they’re so long-lasting. Unlike friendships, you can’t choose who your siblings are, and unlike any other relationship, sibling relationships last from birth to death.
Researchers have described a wide range of adult sibling relationships, from intimate or congenial to apathetic or even hostile. But the status of those relationships aren’t...
We are hosting Thanksgiving this year, and I’ve been worried about having enough space in the refrigerator to thaw the turkey. My husband suggested thawing it in our attached garage. Good idea or bad idea?
Bad idea. Take the time to clean out the refrigerator.
Even if you shiver when you step into the garage, you simply don’t have complete control over the temperature in that space. And temperature control is what it’s all about when it comes to thawing the turkey safely. You need to keep the bird below 40 degrees, and you can’t guarantee that outside of a refrigerator.
Thawing the turkey in the refrigerator is the simplest method. All you do is take the turkey, still completely wrapped, and put it in a big pan to catch any juices that might leak out during the...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In areas of the world where poverty and malnutrition are palpable, efforts to address food insecurity are matters of life and death.
But in addition to helping food producers in those nations boost production today, it’s just as vital to strengthen their institutional capabilities to address the challenge for generations to come.
So say the leaders of Ohio State University’s Innovative Agricultural Research Initiative, or iAGRI. Now about halfway through its $25.5 million, six-year grant, the project in the East African nation of Tanzania is becoming a prototype for strengthening the capacity of agricultural universities to improve African food security for the long term.
“The iAGRI project is an excellent example of human and institutional capacity...
I’ve seen friends post information on social media saying dairy foods are bad for you. Is this hype or for real?
Despite some negative press, dairy products still get a thumbs-up from the nutrition community, particularly low-fat and fat-free varieties.
But that didn’t stop recent headlines from warning things such as “Drinking too much milk could kill you.” This particular round of news stories were based on a Swedish study and have added fuel to dairy denunciations from groups as disparate as plant-food-loving vegan diet advocates to meat-loving Paleo diet proponents.
In the study, researchers looked at dietary questionnaires completed by 61,000 Swedish women in the late 1980s and in 1997, and 45,000 Swedish men in 1997, and investigated health outcomes in...
