More About Listeria...

Tomorrow, we will file lawsuits on behalf of two families caught up in the cantaloupe listeria outbreak linked to contaminated cantaloupes from Jensen Farms, of Holly, Colorado.  To date, the CDC counts 35 illnesses and 4 deaths in the outbreak, but these numbers are surely too few.  Colorado media outlets today reported that one of its residents, Shelly Occhipinti-Krout, a 48-year-old mother of three, died at Parker Adventist Hospital Tuesday about three weeks after she became ill. 

The following are short descriptions of our Texas Listeria Lawsuit and Colorado Listeria Lawsuit:

Texas Listeria Lawsuit

In early August 2011, Ceaser Gomez purchased cantaloupe that had been grown, sold, and distributed by Jensen Farms. Mr. Gomez purchased the cantaloupe which, at the time of purchase, was contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes, at either an HEB or Kroger store in Angleton, Texas.

In the days following Mr. Gomez’s cantaloupe purchase described in the foregoing paragraph, his wife Juanita Gomez consumed some of the cantaloupe.  In the late evening hours of August 19, 2011, or the early morning of August 20, 2011, Juanita became ill and developed a fever. Her symptoms progressed and, later in the morning of August 20, Ceaser rushed his wife to the emergency department at Angleton Danburry Medical Center. At the time of her arrival, Mrs. Gomez’s temperature was 105.6 degrees Fahrenheit, her eyes were glassy, she was shaking badly, and she was unable to respond to her family’s simple questions.

After receiving treatment at the Angleton Danburry Medical Center’s emergency department, Mrs. Gomez was discharged home with continuing, though lesser, fever, and persistent nausea and diarrhea.

In the evening of the following day, August 21, personnel at the emergency department called the Gomez household to say that Mrs. Gomez should return immediately to the emergency department for care. Blood tests performed on samples given during her stay in the emergency department the day before showed that she was suffering from a Listeria infection.

The same evening, Mr. and Mrs. Gomez returned to the emergency department at Angleton Danburry Medical Center, where Mrs. Gomez was admitted to the hospital during the early morning hours of August 22, 2011. She remained hospitalized for treatment through August 24, 2011.

After discharge from the hospital, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gomez, Rosa Gomez, spoke on her parents’ behalf to officials with the Brazoria County Health Department, who inquired about the plaintiff’s food history. Health Department officials later confirmed that Mrs. Gomez had been infected by the same strain of Listeria monocytogenes involved in the defendant’s cantaloupe outbreak.

Colorado Listeria Lawsuit

In early-August 2011, Herbert and Elaine Stevens purchased ½ of a cantaloupe wrapped in plastic from a King Sooper’s location in Littleton, Colorado. The cantaloupe had been manufactured, distributed, and sold by Jensen Farms. In the several days following this purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens both consumed some of the cantaloupe.

Mr. Stevens, who is 84 years old, fell ill on August 24, 2011. That afternoon, his temperature spiked to almost 103 degrees Fahrenheit, and he was badly nauseated. Later in the day, he was unable to rise from the toilet in the bathroom, prompting Mrs. Stevens to call 911. An ambulance arrived shortly thereafter and transported Mr. Stevens to Littleton Adventist Hospital.

At Littleton Adventist Hospital, Mr. Stevens was quickly put on antibiotic therapy. Blood tests soon revealed that he had become infected by Listeria monocytogenes. Mrs. Stevens was soon contacted by Tri-County health officials, who inquired about Mr. Stevens’s food history, and ultimately informed her that Mr. Stevens had tested positive for the same strain of Listeria monocytogenes involved in the Jensen Farms cantaloupe listeria outbreak.

Mr. Stevens has not returned home since the date of his admission to Littleton Adventist Hospital. For a time, he was treated at the Life Care Center of Littleton, but had to be transferred back to Littleton Adventist Hospital due to a worsening of his condition. On or about September 19, 2011, Mr. Stevens was transferred to the Johnson Center, a skilled nursing facility, for purposes of rehabilitation. It is not known whether Mr. Stevens, who was formerly independent in his activities of daily living, will be able to return home.

eeeemmmmmm...Apple Blueberry Crisp..

Fall is around the corner and my apple tree in the backyard is almost ready to raid, so I thought it was time to do a makeover on a popular American dessert—apple crisp.

The first thing I did was add some berries, which add color and flavor along with an arsenal of phytochemicals. The second change I made was to not peel the apples because the majority of the helpful phytochemicals are located in the apple peel. I used half whole wheat flour in the crumb mixture and kept the walnuts in there too (they add plant omega-3s, fiber, powerful phytochemicals, etc) but decreased the sugar and melted butter. I did substitute some maple syrup for some of the lost liquid from the melted margarine, but it was still lower in sugar from the original recipe.

Crisp Topping:

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts (toast walnuts by spreading them on a nonstick frying pan and heating over medium heat until fragrant and light brown then chop the nuts)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached wheat flour

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine of choice

3 tablespoons maple syrup or light pancake syrup

Filling:

4 cups sliced apples, cored but not peeled

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons flour

Garnish: Light vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt (optional)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375-degrees. To make topping, combine flours, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the bowl of an electric mixer. Drizzle the melted butter and maple syrup over the top and blend on low speed until crumbly. Add the chopped nuts and mix well.

2.  For the filling, put the apples and blueberries in a large bowl. Add sugar and flour over the fruit and mix gently. Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Spoon the topping over the fruit, pressing down lightly.

3.  Place the dish on a baking sheet to catch any overflow. Bake on the center rack of oven until the topping is golden brown and the juices have thickened slightly (about 35 to 45 minutes).

Serve warm with light vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt if desired.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

PER SERVING             BEFORE                  AFTER

Calories                442 mg                   323 mg

Carbohydrates           61 g                     52 g

Fat                     22 g                     12.5 g

Saturated Fat           10 g                     4.2 g

Cholesterol             41 mg                    15 mg

Fiber                   1 g                      5 g

Sodium                  162 mg                   62 mg

Uncovered David Blaine Secret-Youtube

What's David Blaine secret...

In this highly personal talk from TEDMED, magician and stuntman David Blaine describes what it took to hold his breath underwater for 17 minutes — a world record (only two minutes shorter than this entire talk!) — and what his often death-defying work means to him. Warning: do NOT try this at home.

Why Ron Artest Change His Name

Ron Artest OFFICIALLY changed his name to Metta World Peace yesterday -- and in much, much bigger news ... he celebrated by stuffing his junk into a tiny pair of shorts.

Why acctually he change his name..He said :

"Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world," World Peace said in a statement released after the hearing. "After this short delay, my tickets have been paid and I'm glad that it is now official."

How Ortiz can defeat Mayweather

Victor Ortiz wants to be the best.

As the old saying goes, in order to be the best, one has to beat the best. That’s exactly what Victor Oritz hopes to do against Floyd Mayweather Jr. this Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Here’s how he can do it.

Volume, volume, volume

Floyd Mayweather is an exceptional defender. He blocks and parries punches better than any of his peers, but no one is unhittable. Ortiz will need to throw punches early and often against Mayweather in order to be successful, and the more he lets his hands go, the more chances he’ll have to get them through.

Not only that, he’ll need to throw them anywhere and everywhere he can to land them. He can’t focus on trying to only hit Mayweather upstairs. That would be his undoing. Heck, he can’t even really focus on just going to the body either (though it’s important to do so). It’s just the kind of thing Mayweather wants. He’ll need to literally hit him everywhere he possibly can. If it's a legal punch, Ortiz should throw it.

Case in point, when asked in an interview how he’d go about fighting Mayweather a second time around, the late, great Diego Corrales said he’d try to “just touch him” next time. He’d hit his arms, his hands — anywhere he could land solid shots, he’d do it. He’d land punches early and often no matter what, and that’s exactly the type of thing Ortiz needs to do.

Getting on top of Mayweather with lots and lots of punches will do two very important things for Ortiz: it would get him out ahead on points against the sometimes-slow-starting Mayweather, and it would set him up later in the fight when the high volume of punches could start to pay some real dividends.

Short, powerful combinations

Because he’s such an adept defender and counter-puncher, Mayweather eats long, looping, single-punchers alive. Victor has shown in recent fights the ability to throw short, powerful combinations versus his opponents, but he’ll have to be even better at it against Mayweather. In his last fight, Ortiz did an excellent job of this early against Andre Berto. Ortiz’s punches landed first and they landed with more power. This helped Victor establish early dominance in the contest.

However, as the fight wore on and fatigue set in, Ortiz’s punches became less and less compact. The shot he took from Berto that floored him in Round 6 was because his combinations became more looping than short, more open than compact. That cannot happen against Mayweather. Where Berto may be bullet-fisted, Mayweather’s punches are more like lasers: they are fast, straight and unforgivingly precise. Ortiz can’t leave himself open for anything like he did against Berto and hope to come out on top.

Not just a nickname

Yep, “Vicious” Victor Ortiz will have to be just that: vicious. He’ll need to be equal parts fierce and ferocious. Like he did against Berto, Ortiz will have to come to the ring focused, determined and just plain mean. More than that, though, he’ll have to drag Mayweather somewhere he’s never been before: down for the count. Ortiz is generally a nice guy outside of the ring, but in the ring on Saturday, he’ll need to have a scowl on his face. He’ll need to be a beast.

Ortiz will need to be more vicious than he’s ever been.

His aggression will need to dictate the fight. Mayweather should always be stepping backwards and never comfortable. Ortiz will need to come in with his guard high ready to throw punches. He’ll need to push Mayweather where he wants him and he’ll need to unload on him whenever he gets the opportunity.

Most importantly, if he catches Mayweather with something solid and hurts him, he’ll need to finish the job. Mayweather has shown the ability in his career to come back after taking some pretty decent shots to recover quickly, so Ortiz will need to make sure Mayweather doesn’t have any time to do so. He’ll need to unload hard, fast and heavy. Once Ortiz puts him to the canvas (rather, if he puts him to the canvas) he’ll need to have been vicious enough during their preceding time together in the ring that Mayweather will not want to get back up and fight — even if he can.

More, more, more

It won’t be easy, but it can happen. Ortiz can shock the world Saturday night, but he’ll need everything he has. He’ll need to be more than a volume puncher, more than a short, powerful combination puncher and more than vicious. He’ll need to be all those things combined. He’ll need to be great. He’ll need to be the best.

That’s how Victor Ortiz can defeat Floyd Mayweather.

Dangerous..Listeria Outbreak Kills 5

An eruption of listeriosis, an illness caused by the food-borne pathogen listeria, has killed at least four and sickened people has across to four states. Three over five deaths attributed to the contamination were in New Mexico, and people in Colorado, Texas and Nebraska also fell ill in the eruption, traced to consumption of cantaloupe. Listeriosis is usually contracted from deli meats and hot dogs, and can result from consumption of dairy as well.

Listeria is not as much of a risk to individual’s health as it is to the elderly, small children, people with compromised immune systems and particularly pregnant women, who risk a miscarriage or stillbirth from exposure to the pathogen.

Two of the listeria-related deaths from this eruption occurred in Colorado, and public health officials believe they may have traced the eruption to “cantaloupe from the famed Rocky Ford area” as the “likely culprit” behind the severe illnesses and deaths. Dr. Chris Urbina, director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, commented on the investigation into the outbreak. He said that :

“People at high risk for listeria infection should not eat cantaloupe from the Rocky Ford growing region… The department expects additional test results later this week that may help identify the specific source of the cantaloupe linked to the multistate outbreak.”

Overall, to avoid listeria, recommendations include heating deli meats and hot dogs to steaming hot, and avoiding soft cheeses. Officials in the affected states are cautioning residents to refrigerate cut melon as well as to discard any melon that has remained at room temperature for four hours or more.