THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 3, 1994 TAG: 9411020074
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Morsels
SOURCE: Ruth Fantasia
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
IMAGINE IF you could buy a turkey and know it was free of salmonella, E. coli and other bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses.
You can. Almost.
Assur-Rinse, a new product from food ingredient maker Rhone-Poulenc, reduces the risk of some foodborne pathogens.
Assur-Rinse is simply a combination of trisodium phosphate and water that is sprayed on the bird after it has been chilled during processing. Trisodium phosphate has been used in processed cheese for decades.
Although no one is sure how it helps clean poultry, one theory is the wash removes a thin layer of natural fat, allowing bacteria to be rinsed off the bird more effectively, says a USDA report.
During tests conducted by the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, Assur-Rinse reduced levels of E. coli by 98 percent and other bacteria by 89 percent. The USDA did not find salmonella on any of the 256 carcasses tested, but studies by Rhone-Poulenc indicate Assur-Rinse is 95 percent to 98 percent effective against salmonella.
The USDA has approved use of the product by Rocco Enterprises Inc. of Dayton. Rocco markets turkeys in Virginia under the Shady Brook Farms label. They are available at area SuperFresh stores and Farmer Jack in Virginia Beach.
All Rocco turkeys are given the Assur-Rinse treatment, says company spokeswoman Patty May. The turkeys are labeled with the Assur-Rinse teardrop logo.
Best of all, Assur-Rinse doesn't add to the cost of the turkey, May says.
Biscuit mystery
Flour is flour, I always thought.
But not so, says Shirley Corriher, a food chemist in Atlanta.
``Southern milled flours contain only 8 grams protein per cup; other flours contain 12 or 14 grams,'' she says. ``As a result, the Southern flours make lighter, fluffier biscuits.''
Corriher demonstrated her point at the recent Association of Food Journalists conference in Atlanta. She mixed 2 cups of White Lily (a Southern flour) with 2 cups water in a food processor. The result was a soupy mix.
Next, she combined 2 cups of a national flour with 2 cups water. The national brand produced a stiff dough.
How do you tell a Northern flour from a Southern flour?
``You can't,'' says Corriher, ``since the new food labeling regulations changed the serving sizes to 1/4 cup.
``And if you really want tough biscuits, buy a Canadian milled flour,'' Corriher says.
Here's Corriher's biscuit recipe. Just make sure you use White Lily or another Southern flour. ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
The USDA has approved producers' use of Assur-Rinse.
KEYWORDS: FOOD CONTAMINATION by CNB