Author Topic: Food poisoning ?  (Read 5832 times)

jwalker

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Food poisoning ?
« on: May 14, 2013, 01:26:11 PM »
I'm just venting here , so read at your own risk. :'(

I made a couple of Swiss cheeses , I opened one at 2 1/2 months , it wasn't too bad , you could tell further aging would make it much better though.

It was made under very sanitary conditions and from store bought pasteurized milk , as I usually do.

After eating about one third of it over a period of a few days , I took some to work , everyone loved it and it got great reviews.

A few days later , a neighbor came over and tried some as well , she became very ill within minutes of eating about one tenth of an ounce.

It seems like a very short period for symptoms to show , she did however admit to eating home made sushi a few hours earlier , that a friend of hers had brought to a school function , in the trunk of her car! :o :o :o

On a very hot day ! :o :o :o

Not only that , but they drink raw goats milk daily under very unsanitary conditions (their ten year old daughter does the milking) , but she insists it had to be the cheese as she felt ill minutes after eating it.

I have since finished eating the rest of the cheese , with no problems , and about six others ate it as well with good reviews.

I have had food poisoning before and the symptoms have taken hours to manifest themselves , I'm sure it's either the sushi or her own raw milk.

Needless to say , I won't be drinking her milk or giving her any of my cheeses any more.

Most of the info I can find states it usually takes  one to two hours , and sometimes even days to experience symptoms .

Oh well , what can ya do?

Like I said , just venting. >:(

Be Careful who you give your cheese to.

Now I feel better. ;)

Cheers , Jim. ;D

« Last Edit: May 14, 2013, 01:37:59 PM by jwalker »

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2013, 02:18:03 PM »
Ah, that sucks!  Sorry for that experience.  What type of ill?  Diarrhea?  Vomiting?  Or both?  The only reason I ask is that if I eat a few tablespoons of certain parmesans I get diarrhea pretty quickly and lose the contents of my digestive tract.  it's not an emergency or instantaneous but it happens.  I've never figured out what it's about and I don't feel bad otherwise.  I agree with you that the trunk warmed sushi sounds like a likely culprit in her case but wanted to mention my experience with cheese.

Marta

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2013, 02:47:09 PM »
You have experienced one of my deepest semi-rational fears... that someone will get sick and either my food is responsible or else they think it is.  To the point that when someone asks for a taste of cheese I give them my potluck Miranda warning (how this was made in a home kitchen and I don't have a dairy license, etc), and never serve any cheese I haven't eaten first myself.  But I still worry. 

stratocasterdave

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2013, 03:14:59 PM »
Sorry to hear about your ill firend.  Hate to have to carry that weight.

Hopefully this story will make you feel better about it. It's about psychosomatic response.  A few years ago I got a call from a customer asking about the toxicity of toner cartridges.  I told her that I was unaware of any but would look into it.  Apparently someone in the office got ill.  When asked, the person said that the last thing she did before getting sick was change the toner on the copier.  Well, unfortunately someone else got sick after only touching the machine same machine.  She heard about the co-worker being sick an associated it with the toner.  She only touched the start button and got immediately ill!  Well, she told her associate about it and sure enough that person had sick feelings after touching the start button!  Crazy how our brains work.

Lastly, I hope your friend will not be afraid of Swiss cheese now (or sushi).  When my sister was little she ate corn bread and got sick.  Turns out she only had the flu but to this day she can't eat corn bread, 30 years later!

Dave

Dibbs

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2013, 03:50:35 PM »
...I give them my potluck Miranda warning (how this was made in a home kitchen and I don't have a dairy license, etc), and never serve any cheese I haven't eaten first myself.  But I still worry.

I'm exactly the same.  Even more so with home made salami.

...When my sister was little she ate corn bread and got sick.  Turns out she only had the flu but to this day she can't eat corn bread, 30 years later!

I can't eat boiled eggs for similar reasons.  Taste aversion is an amazing product of evolution but unfortunately just about impossible to unlearn.

Alpkäserei

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2013, 05:44:54 PM »
Taste aversion can indeed be unlearned.

But not by everyone. Not all of our minds are wired the same, some are prone to psychosomatic responses, others never experience such. Some might be prone, but know how to redirect their brains to avoid it. 

I can't stand here and say, everyone can get over it because that's not true, no 2 brains work alike, it's one of the remarkable things about being human.

That said, I have a certain mental response to my own cheeses. When I eat a cheese that I made, I can taste all of the bad qualities, to the extent that I might think it's terrible when everyone else thinks it's great.

As for food poisoning, if it occurred within minutes you can be sure it's not your cheese. That is unless it contains some super toxic chemical, which if no one else reacted to it be sure it does not. It's other food. Most likely the sushi. 

meyerandray

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2013, 12:54:21 PM »
Unless it was an allergic reaction, it was not your cheese that made her sick.  If it were food poisoning, she would have gotten sick much later (2-3 hours as you said in your research results would be a very fast reaction).  Food poisoning usually kicks in after about 12-24 hours.  People tend to not know this, but your neighbor does sound like one who enjoys life on the culinary edge between hot, old sushi and mastitis milk, she should at least know the risks and timetables of food poisoning. 
I agree to never give her your cheese again, ignorance does not merit the fruits of your labor :)
Celine

george

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2013, 09:14:23 AM »
but since your neighbor does sound like one who enjoys life on the culinary edge between hot, old sushi and mastitis milk, she should at least know the risks and timetables of food poisoning.
This made me laugh, thank you - truer words ...  >:D

MrsKK

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2013, 10:25:47 PM »
I can't eat a Push-Up - orange sherbet in a paper tube with the stick that pushes the sherbet up - because of getting stomach flu just around the time of eating one when I was a little girl.  Orange sherbet in a bowl - I can eat anytime!

But yes, incubation period for food poisoning is normally at least 12 hours.  Funny she would assume it was your cheese with having eaten very dangerous sushi.  Keep your good, hard-worked on cheese for those who truly appreciate it.

linuxboy

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2013, 10:41:17 PM »
Quote
Food poisoning usually kicks in after about 12-24 hours
All pathogenic bacteria must first reach critical mass, and then signal to each other to produce toxins for food poisoning to be able to take place. As said by others, it is impossible to become ill so quickly. Not only does it take a day or so for the bacteria to multiply and occupy the gut, but also it is not a foregone conclusion that upon ingesting pathogens, one will become ill.

jwalker

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2013, 01:13:23 PM »
Thanks for the moral support all , there is a new development in the story.

The few neighbors above me are on a community water system which is fed by a creek , it is piped into a holding reservoir , and then to their homes.

Luckily , we are on our own well.

It seems that the water was very high this spring , and deposited a lot of silt in the reservoir , someone on the water board took it upon themselves to clean and flush the reservoir , and the result was a surge of crud coming thru the pies all at once.

The neighbor  just above her became very ill that same day , with the exact same symptoms , I ran into him in town as he was picking up some medication for it.

He was very ill , became seriously dehydrated and his kidneys were shutting down by the time he went to the doctor , it was quite serious.

So I know the woman was actually very ill , just not from my cheese.

I'm glad I ran into him and got the whole story , I'm now 100% sure of what it was.

Cheers , Jim.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #11 on: May 19, 2013, 08:38:08 AM »
I'm glad that got settled for you.  Must feel like a relief.  Hope everyone is okay and that folks suggest that any water system flushing be cleared with all neighbors next time so that they can take precautions.

meyerandray

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #12 on: May 20, 2013, 07:05:55 AM »
That is scary! I am glad they found the real source and were able to be treated before any permanent damage  was done.
On a brighter note, it sounds like you have plenty of water this year, which is very nice to hear. We have been having torrential downpours here (piedmont, Italy) for two weeks, I was complaining to my dad who told me California is having a drought, so yay for water!

jwalker

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #13 on: May 21, 2013, 02:16:41 PM »
Yes , water , we've been getting way too much in the spring lately , the last two years in a row , our local road has been under two to three feet of water for a month or so , we have to use a detour road thru the bush.

But better than a drought i guess.

As for the neighbor woman , I informed her of the other neighbor getting sick as well , and he even told her himself that the water was the problem , but she still insists it was the cheese , because the symptoms were evident minutes after eating it. ;D ;D ;D

All I can do is shake my head and chuckle . ;D

What're ya gonna do? :o

Cheers , Jim.

MrsKK

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Re: Food poisoning ?
« Reply #14 on: May 25, 2013, 02:32:29 PM »
Some people just insist on being stupid...