Guide E-307: Home Canning of Vegetables

Good morning, The following CES publication has been revised and is now available online in PDF format. Guide E-307: Home Canning of Vegetables Revised by Nancy C. Flores (Extension Food Technology Spec., Dept. of Extension Family and Consumer Sciences) And Cindy Schlenker Davies (County Program Director/Extension Home Economist, Bernalillo County Extension Office) http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_e/E307.pdf

March is National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month. Throughout the month, USDA will be highlighting results of our efforts to improve access to safe, healthy food for all Americans and supporting the health of our next generation.
What happens to foods when they spoil and are they dangerous to eat? What causes foods to spoil and how? These are questions we often get on USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline. Read on to learn the science behind food spoilage.
Spoiler Alert!
Signs of food spoilage may include an appearance different from the food in its fresh form, such as a change in color, a change in texture, an unpleasant odor, or an undesirable taste.
Various factors cause food spoilage, making items unsuitable for consumption. Light, oxygen, heat, humidity, temperature and spoilage bacteria can all affect both safety and quality of perishable foods. When subject to these factors, foods will gradually deteriorate.
Microorganisms occur everywhere in the environment, and there is always a risk of spoilage when foods are exposed to unsuitable conditions. Microbial spoilage results from bacteria, molds, and yeast. While microorganisms may or may not be harmful, the waste products they produce when growing on or in food may be unpleasant to taste.
Pathogenic Spoilage
In addition to causing food to deteriorate and taste unpleasant, some types of spoilage can be caused by pathogenic bacteria, which can have serious health consequences. For example Clostridium perfringens (common cause of spoilage in meat and poultry) and Bacillus cereus (common cause of spoilage of milk and cream) are also pathogenic. When exposed to unsuitable storage conditions, such as the Danger Zone (between 40 and 140° F), these organisms can multiply rapidly and they can release dangerous toxins that will make you sick if you consume the item, even if it’s cooked to a safe internal temperature. To keep food out of the Danger Zone, keep cold food cold, at or below 40 °F (4.4 °C) , and hot food hot, at or above 140 °F (60 °C).
Spoilage of food is not just an issue of quality; it is also a matter of food safety. USDA recommends following the FOUR steps to Food Safety (Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill) to prevent food spoilage and reduce your risk of foodborne illness.
Learn appropriate storage methods with the FoodKeeper app
Learn about proper food and beverages storage with the FoodKeeper. It will help you maximize the freshness and quality of items by showing you the appropriate storage methods for more than 400 items. By doing so you will be able to keep items fresh longer than if they were not stored properly. It was developed by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, with Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute. It is also available online and as a mobile application for Android and Apple devices.

USDA Seeks Applications for Loans and Grants to Help Grow Rural Businesses and Spur Economic Development

USDA Seeks Applications for Loans and Grants to Help Grow Rural Businesses and Spur Economic Development WASHINGTON, March 22, 2016 – Rural Business Cooperative-Service Administrator Sam Rikkers today announced that USDA is seeking applications for loans and grants to help support the start-up or expansion of rural businesses. "Our small, rural businesses need financing to compete in the global economy," Rikkers said. "With this announcement, USDA is demonstrating its continued commitment to investing in small towns and rural communities. These loans and grants will spur entrepreneurship, create jobs and improve the quality of life in rural America." The funding is being provided through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) program. Under this program, USDA provides zero-interest loans and grants to local utilities, which use the funding to create revolving funds for projects that will create or retain jobs in rural areas. USDA is making $37 million in loans and $11 million in grants available. A recipient may receive a loan of up to $1 million, or a grant of up to $300,000. Since 2009, USDA has invested more than $330 million in loans and grants through the REDLG program. In 2015, Aiken Technical College in Graniteville, S.C., received a $1 million loan to build a facility to provide training in advanced manufacturing. The 35,000-square-foot facility, called the Center for Energy and Advanced Manufacturing, or CEAM, will help the college's students graduate with degrees in technically advanced fields of study. The REDLG program has also been successful in StrikeForce counties. The StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative is part of the Obama Administration's commitment to address persistent poverty across America. As areas of persistent poverty are identified, USDA staff work with state, local and community officials to increase awareness of USDA programs and help build program participation through intensive community outreach and technical assistance. In 2015, the South Mississippi Electric Power Association used part of a $2 million REDLG loan to help the city of Greenwood buy and renovate a building for the Milwaukee Tools company. Once completed, this project is expected to create more than 100 jobs in Lenore County, a designated StrikeForce area. For information on how to apply for REDLG loans or grants, contact your Rural Development state office or see page 14415 of the March 17 Federal Register. The first round of applications is due March 31, 2016, and the second round of applications is due June 30, 2016. President Obama's historic investments in rural America have made our rural communities stronger. Under his leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America's economy, small towns and rural communities. #

NMSU researcher: Some bed bugs show resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides DATE: 03/22/2016

NMSU researcher: Some bed bugs show resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides DATE: 03/22/2016 WRITER: Kristie Garcia, 575-646-4211, kmgarcia@nmsu.edu CONTACT: Alvaro Romero, 575-646-5550, aromero2@nmsu.edu A laboratory in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University is home to ongoing research on bed bugs and their resistance to certain insecticides. Alvaro Romero, assistant professor of urban entomology in NMSU’s Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science, co-authored an article recently published in the Journal of Medical Entomology regarding the new findings about resistance of some United States bed bug populations to insecticides commonly used for bed bug control. “We are reporting, for the first time, that there are some populations of bed bugs in the United States that have developed resistance to neonicotinoids,” Romero said. “This class of insecticides was introduced in the market about five years ago to combat bed bugs resistant to pyrethroids, which are widely spread in the United States.” The populations of bed bugs involved in the recent study came from various locations in the United States in 2013, including Michigan and Ohio. Bed bugs were collected from natural infestations and shipped to Romero’s lab, and they were bred at the NMSU Urban Entomology Research Center. This type of insecticide screening generally requires thousands of bed bugs, and it required at least six months to produce an adequate number of the insects to run the analysis. This research is a follow-up of Romero’s work that aims to monitor resistance to insecticides in the United States. Romero reported the first account of insecticide resistance in modern bed bug populations in 2007. These laboratory findings on insecticide resistance are crucial for the development of strategies that help manage resistant bed bugs in field conditions. Romero, who earned a doctorate in urban entomology from the University of Kentucky, is not surprised to see the newly discovered resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides. “Insecticide resistance is a phenomenon that enables insects to overcome the toxic effect of insecticides through physiological mechanisms that evolve after the continued use of insecticides,” he said. Romero said that resistant bed bugs had a high level of enzymes that are known to detoxify insecticides; however, more work is needed to identify other mechanisms that might be involved in neonicotinoid resistance. “By better characterizing neonicotinoid resistance, we can explore ways to control resistant bed bug populations,” Romero said. Although bed bugs are not known to be vectors of human diseases, bed bugs severely reduce quality of life by causing discomfort, anxiety, sleeplessness and ostracism. Bed bugs feed when people are sleeping, so it is difficult to notice them. They hide really well, and finding bugs is sometimes impossible. If an infestation is discovered, Romero advises that people hire a pest control company knowledgeable enough to deal with bed bug infestations. There are also myths about these insects. “People think that only individuals with bad cleaning habits get bed bugs,” Romero said. “No. Bed bugs don’t discriminate, and everybody is vulnerable to a bed bug infestation.” Romero said researchers do not know the extent of the insecticide resistance phenomenon. “We cannot say at this point that all the populations of bed bugs in the United States are resistant to neonicotinoids,” he said. “We don’t have any scientific evidence to say that. We want to collect more samples and try to do more laboratory evaluations in order to get a better picture of the problem of resistance to neonicotinoids in the United States.” - 30 - Follow NMSU News on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nmsunews Follow NMSU News on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NMSUNews

Hepatitis A linked to frozen berries consumption

Australian public health officials have identified an outbreak of hepatitis A and linked illnesses to consuming Nanna’s frozen berries sold by Patties Foods.
Food safety infosheet highlights:
–  Health officials have confirmed 20 illnesses to date.
– The berries were produced by Patties Foods, which has issued a recall on three products.
– Officials expect cases to increase as the incubation period of the virus ranges from 15-50 days and those who are infected may not yet be showing symptoms.
Click here to download the food safety infosheet.

Pistachio Recall

Wonderful Pistachios announced that it is voluntarily recalling a limited number of flavors and sizes of in-shell and shelled pistachios due to a risk of Salmonella contamination. Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Fire Safety