FOOD:The recent salmonella outbreak in the US gave peanuts a bad press, but European standards are high
WHEN FOOD SCARES occur, they tend to come and go pretty quickly, fading away into our national memory. Perhaps we take a dimmer view of some international food scares, such as the China milk scandals or buffalo mozzarella debacles last year. We tend to forget how much havoc avian flu and the pork dioxin scare actually cause when we’re consumers rather than producers. I was chatting with one of our chefs recently about all the food scares when he mentioned the peanut scare in the US, caused by a salmonella outbreak.
“Nonsense,” I said, “you’ve clearly gone nuts!” At this point I was lectured about my crap jokes and the massive recall of food products in the US, all containing peanuts. The salmonella outbreak caused nine deaths and centred around a massive peanut factory in Georgia. We tend to associate salmonella with chicken or pork that’s been undercooked, but peanuts? I know some people are highly allergic to them but it seemed bizarre that a peanut factory could become infected by salmonella bacteria.
But this leads to a bigger issue that most of us are probably not aware of. The US standards of food health, safety and traceability are not as rigid as those set by Brussels. Despite the fact that salmonella tests performed by officials in the peanut plant tested positive for the bacteria, the peanuts were not recalled for some time. Peanuts are used in so many products that the scale of the recall was overwhelmingly high.
Apparently, raw peanuts were stored next to the finished peanut butter and the roasters were not calibrated to temperatures high enough to kill germs. Coupled with that, many of the temporary staff often put on their uniforms at home and then came into work, which can contaminate what should be a scrupulously clean factory into something more hazardous. To top it all, the factory had a leaky roof, and salmonella thrives in water. All in all, a pretty disastrous type of environment for preparing food. I was absolutely shocked, as I had recently seen on the news that people with highly allergic reactions to peanuts were being given minute doses of peanut flour under intense medical supervision in the UK. Eventually, they built up their resistance so they could eat several peanuts a day to help build up immunity to their deadly peanut allergies.
The two stories couldn’t be more at odds with each other, but death and peanuts were at the heart of each one.
It is illegal for any food businesses in Europe not to employ HACCP, a control and monitoring system for hygiene practices. Since the peanut scare, President Obama has called for a complete overhaul of US food safety systems.
The dioxin scare shows how quickly and effectively Europe managed a recall, through advanced traceability systems. These are clearly not as successful in the US, where a factory that failed two inspections could continue to manufacture for months, cause nine deaths, infect hundreds of consumers with salmonella illnesses and get away with it for months.
So, enjoy this lamb recipe, with a delicious dressing made with peanut butter, safe in the knowledge that the recall was far and wide and the factory in question has since been shut down with a criminal investigation under way. Peanuts, indeed.
Roast shoulder of lamb
Good enough to eat as a main dish, but when it cools down, use the shards of this for the lamb salad. Both recipes are lovely, but we have Geoff Lenehan to thank for the roast shoulder recipe. It is truly delicious. You could eat this for two on night one, then make the salad and serve another four the next day.
1.6 kg lamb shoulder on the bone
2 heads of garlic
Big handful rosemary
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Place the lamb on a large sheet of tinfoil and then place in a roasting tin.
Cut the garlic heads horizontally and plonk into the lamb parcel along with some rosemary, a good drizzle of olive oil, and seasoning.
Wrap up in the tinfoil and cook for 30 minutes on a high heat, then turn down the oven to 170 degrees and cook for another three and a half to four hours. Allow to cool slightly and serve slices of lamb with your favourite spud dish. Keep leftovers for the salad below.
Roast lamb salad
Leftover lamb from above
Few splashes soy sauce
Sprinkle sesame seeds
Dressing
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp English mustard
1 tsp sugar
Juice of 2 limes
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 tsp tahini
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
3 tbsp mayo
1 green chilli
3 tbsp vinegar
Salad
Bunch of Mache/lamb’s lettuce
Few heads of baby gem
1 cucumber
Bunch spring onions, chopped
Red onion, peeled and sliced
Bunch coriander and mint
Whizz all the ingredients together for the dressing. Add some hot water if it’s too thick. Check the seasoning and adjust as necessary.
Heat up your grill and place shards of lamb on a baking tray. Sprinkle with some soy sauce and sesame seeds. It is usually fatty enough for you not to need any oil, but if it looks a bit dry, give it a splash of some olive oil. Grill until it is starting to char for 5-10 minutes.
Mix the salad ingredients together with some dressing and top with hot, grilled lamb. Serve straight away.
dkemp@irishtimes.com. See also www.itsa.ie