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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] The Case of the 'Poisonous' Pawpaw Cookies

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  • From: "Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>
  • To: "'North American Fruit Explorers'" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] The Case of the 'Poisonous' Pawpaw Cookies
  • Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 12:07:44 -0700

Ginda, that's a good guess, and your information is right.

One still needs to be careful in all stages of preparation, and I wouldn't
completely rule out a bad ingredient. Although heating kills most things
that can cause food poisoning, some toxins (eg staphylococcus produced) and
even some bacteria (eg listeria) can survive cooking. Also food that
appears cooked can fail to reach minimum exposure to a killing temperature
in the interior, instead reaching a level where a few bacteria survive, and
then cooling to a nice insulated incubation temperature.

Like you said, cooking, sugar, and dryness (and acidity) are all unfriendly
to gi pathogens, and surface contamination is a common culprit.

Stephen Sadler, Ph.D.
USDA 9, AHS heat zone 8,
Sacramento CA - Mediterranean climate

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Ginda Fisher
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 3:43 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] The Case of the 'Poisonous' Pawpaw Cookies

It's very odd to get food poisoning from cookies. Everything has
been cooked, and then it is both sweet and dry, which isn't terribly
conducive to bacterial growth. Is there any chance you put the
finished cookies on a contaminated surface? That would be my guess.

Ginda








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