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Toronto Life - The Dish

The latest buzz on restaurants, chefs, bars, food shops and food events. Sign up for the Dish newsletter for weekly updates. Send tips to thedish@torontolife.com

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March 13, 2012 | 5:01 pm

Totally Recalled: No Name beef that could be brimming with E. coli

(Images: CFIA)

The product: No Name Club Pack Beef Steakettes and No Name Beef Burgers

The UPC: 0 60383 01321 9 and 0 60383 37333 7, respectively

The details: Sure, the yellow packaging on those No Name burgers and steakettes may be unassuming, and “steakettes” may sound like some delightful beef-themed dance troupe, but these products could be contaminated with E. coli. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning that consuming either of these products “may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses.” The symptoms? Abdominal pain, diarrhea and death, among others. There’s only been one reported illness so far, and we don’t want to fear-monger, but if you’re planning your first barbecue of the season, might we suggest you serve some other brand of nondescript beef? [CFIA]

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March 8, 2012 | 1:37 pm

Richard Branson gives Toronto props for its shark fin ban

A note to the business owners and city councillors concerned about the legal, cultural and ethical implications of the city’s recent ban on shark fin: Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson says it’s cool. The professional rich person and global do-gooder has endorsed Toronto’s prohibition of the product, and he wants the federal government to follow suit by banning the importation of shark fin, according to Tribute.ca. Branson says he became interested in the plight of sharks after watching Sharkwater—you know, that documentary made by “David Suzuki with a six-pack,” a.k.a. activist filmmaker Rob Stewart. Perhaps next Branson could weigh in on other vexing questions plaguing our city, like how much to tip for a fancy, $14 cocktail. Read the entire story [Tribute.ca] »

(Images: Branson, D@LY3D; soup, avlxyz)

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February 29, 2012 | 4:56 pm

Budget cuts could mean less inspection of imported food—cue the listeria fears (and associated mongering)

A listeria bacterium

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is warning the public that upcoming cuts to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency could mean fewer people inspecting imported food, potentially allowing more tainted or otherwise unsafe food to slip past the eagle-eyed workers. Appearing at a recent press conference alongside several stalks of asparagus and two ripe-looking cantaloupes (no, really), Bob Kingston of the Agriculture Union warned that spending on food safety could be cut by up to $74 million.

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February 28, 2012 | 5:22 pm
In a blow to Double Down fans everywhere, science group calls for salt and calorie labelling on fast-food menus 

If KFC’s Double Down has taught us anything, it’s that exorbitant sodium levels in food can be just as unsettling as high calorie counts. But regulating—or at least disclosing—sodium levels has proven to be a tricky business, often pitting well-meaning health advocates against folks who would prefer you didn’t know that you were ingesting a city snowstorm’s worth of salt with your meal. Now, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest has come out saying that restaurants should include calorie counts and sodium levels on their menus, arguing that anything less is a disservice to consumers. As the group’s national coordinator points out, it would be ridiculous if you had to seek out nutritional information from the grocery store checkout, rather than simply checking the food’s packaging. So why shouldn’t restaurants be as forthcoming with information? Well, Joyce Reynolds of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association told the Canadian Press that she believes “menus are the wrong medium through which to communicate such information.” And hey, she added, maybe diners could use smart phone apps to help them make smarter choices. Of course, using smart phones to monitor calorie and sodium intakes sounds a little like replacing one near addiction with another. Read the entire story [CBC] »

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February 22, 2012 | 4:44 pm
Canada’s butter market sucks, and your pastries are suffering—but there’s hope on the horizon 

The front page of today’s Globe and Mail proclaims Canada “a butter backwater,” telling readers that if they’re struggling to produce perfect pastries, they can blame the country’s butter supply. The problem, according to Chris Nuttall-Smith, is Canada’s highly regulated—and highly homogenized—dairy market. While European bakers rely on fatty, 84 per cent butter to churn out flaky croissants, their Canadian counterparts are forced to make do with a product that’s often less fatty, at only 80 per cent. On top of that, regulations on everything from raw milk production to packaging mean dairy producers are limited in what they can offer consumers. Enter Stirling Creamery, a central Ontario dairy operation that has begun providing bakers—and some independent grocers—with the fatty, barrel-churned butter they lust after. Indeed, a sample batch of fattier croissants cooked up by Nadège Nourian of Nadège apparently had a “deeply buttery resonance” that the ordinary, 80 per cent variety lacked. Of course, when people like Jennifer McLagan are doing things like MacGyvering their butter through cheesecloth in an attempt to reproduce something they might otherwise be able to buy at a grocery store, perhaps it’s time to open up the market just a tad. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »

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February 22, 2012 | 3:56 pm
Another reason to celebrate the warm winter: maple syrup is flowing early this year 

One of the warmest winters in recent memory is apparently making for an early maple syrup season—and some delightfully bad puns from the Toronto Star (“sticky situation,” “sweet combination”… you get the picture). The paper reports that the mild winter has put trees into what one expert called “late-winter mode,” meaning sap has already started flowing through the trees—something that typically doesn’t happen until late February or early March. Some cooler days in mid-February stemmed the flow temporarily, but warmer temperatures in the forecast should have things running again soon. One syrup expert did warn the paper that a quick transition to spring could cut the production season short, making for less syrup. Fortunately, though, this season’s yield is reportedly a “nice, light syrup.” We’re just happy there are experts aplenty devoted to the study and analysis of our magical national condiment. Read the entire story [Toronto Star]»

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February 14, 2012 | 4:26 pm
McDonald’s to make treatment of pigs slightly less cruel 

For years, animal rights activists have insisted that “gestational crates”—the small boxes used to confine pregnant pigs—are unspeakably cruel. And for years, McDonald’s has responded with, “Shut up and eat your McRib.” Well, not exactly. Now, the restaurant corporation has announced it is working with suppliers to begin phasing out the crates, which have been blamed for giving pigs urinary tract infections and a host of other problems that typically accompany solitary confinement. The problem is, keeping pigs is a tricky business, as they’ll often compete for food and space (one solution to the problem even involves embedding a microchip in pigs’ ears). And pessimists will surely note, as the New York Times does, that “McDonald’s buys just one per cent of the total pork produced in the country.” The Times also points out that of the United States’ five million breeding pigs, between 60 and 70 per cent are held in these crates. Still, McDonald’s is a massive corporation, and when they make a move—even a minor one like this—the competition often follows suit. Read the entire story [New York Times] »

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February 1, 2012 | 4:35 pm

Have some Alkanater brand Tahina in your fridge? Check the date—it might have Salmonella in it

(Image: CFIA)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency sent out an alert yesterday warning that certain batches of Alkanater brand Tahina were being voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer, Phoenicia Group, for potential contamination with Salmonella. Just as in last week’s Neilson milk recall, the contaminated Tahina might not actually look or smell funny—but that doesn’t mean it can’t make you very, very sick. The CFIA warns that salmonellosis can lead to everything from fevers, vomiting and nausea to abdominal pain and diarrhea (although no one has reported getting sick just yet). In other words, keep away from any Tahina with the UPC code 6 92551 00002 0 and the expiration date 5/7/2013. It turns out, this isn’t the first time this particular product has been recalled either: a similar notice was posted in September of last year. Yikes.

UPDATE: The CFIA has posted a followup to its initial alert. Apparently, if your tahina has “Lot: TT3N-281011” printed on it, you can breathe easy (i.e. your jar is not affected by the recall).

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January 31, 2012 | 4:35 pm
La Palette brings back the horsemeat 

La Palette’s horsemeat hiatus didn’t last long—viande chevaline will return to the menu at the Queen Street bistro as of this week. Co-owner Shamez Amlani stopped serving the French delicacy late last summer after the Toronto Star exposed questionable sourcing in the horsemeat industry, but he didn’t let the matter drop. “We’ve spent the past six months doing as much research as we can,” he told Post City. “We’re very certain that we’ll be serving our customers high-quality meat.” So what makes him think the meat is now safe? One reason could be that President Obama recently lifted the American ban on horse slaughter, meaning American workhorses would no longer be mixed into the Canadian food supply. We have a hunch this isn’t the end of the story, though—horsemeat, like shark fin and raw milk, always seems to stir up controversy. Read the entire story [Post City] »

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January 27, 2012 | 12:50 pm

Batch of Neilson milk recalled due to cleaning solution contamination (yikes!)

(Image: Canadian Food Inspection Agency)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency sent out an alert this morning warning people not to drink Neilson Trutaste 2% microfiltered partly skimmed milk, specifically the kind sold in four-litre bags with the UPC code 066800 00404 4, best-before date February 12 and best-before code 1590 FE12 H7. Saputo Inc. of Montreal decided to recall the milk, on shelves in Ontario and Quebec, after learning that some of it was contaminated with a cleaning solution. So far, one person has become sick after drinking the milk, but the Star reports that they didn’t require a hospital stay and have since recovered. In a slightly unsettling twist, the solution-laced milk can cause nausea and vomiting, even though it looks and smells normal. So keep your eyes peeled for those bewildering codes. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »

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January 12, 2012 | 2:42 pm

Gochujang: the new sriracha?

(Image: avlxyz)

In a long, searching post on The Awl (it opens with a little Proust, naturally), Ben Choi examines the “Korean go-to, all-in-one magic chili sauce,” gochujang (better known as that stuff you squeeze on your bi bim bap). Among the many apparent virtues of the fermented paste of red chili, rice powder and soybeans: it makes a great “mother condiment” from which you can make other condiments; it can act as a “passport between traditional cuisines,” bridging the foods of the Asian, Polynesian and American residents of American Samoa; it made palatable Choi’s childhood meals of Slim Jims and rice (he grew up in the family corner store); and it might even be responsible for keeping SARS out of South Korea. We have a feeling sriracha is going to be given a run for its money pretty soon. Read the entire story [The Awl] »

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January 10, 2012 | 4:52 pm

Health organizations pepper the prime minister with requests to curb national sodium intake

Is this too much salt? Probably (Image: dynamosquito)

The story of salt regulation in this country is long and only occasionally delicious. First, the feds created a task force to set targets for reducing sodium content in food. Then they decided they’d rather not bother with what those eggheads think, and handed things back over to industry (like we asked last time, when has self-regulation ever steered us wrong?). Now, the Globe and Mail reports, a crack team of health organizations is calling on Stephen Harper to quit talking and actually develop a strategy to curb Canadians’ excessive salt intake.

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January 4, 2012 | 4:12 pm
Poultry G-Men and supply management declared enemies of deliciousness in Canada 

In today’s Globe and Mail, Mark Schatzker writes about Canada’s supply management system for eggs, chickens and cows, which he describes as “the enemy of deliciousness.” The article opens with scenes of inspectors from the Chicken Farmers of Ontario bursting upon the scene of unauthorized poultry operations and leaving crying Amish farm wives in their wake (along with fines of up to $10,000 a day). Schatzker argues that the high cost of quotas—$27,000 for one cow’s worth of dairy or $200 per laying hen—means that only high-volume, low-margin businesses can survive. As a result, the kind of specialty pastured poultry that’s raised in the U.S., like silver-laced Wyandottes, Jersey giants and barred Plymouth rocks, just makes no economic sense north of the border. Luckily, a loophole allows cheese makers to get around the quota system—as long as they can prove their product doesn’t taste like any existing Canadian product (apparently a team of bureaucrats in Ottawa gets to make that delicious call). There is hope on the horizon, however; Schatzker reports that Stephen Harper is looking at scrapping the whole system so that Canada can sign onto a new international trade deal. With any luck, local restaurants will soon be able to proudly host discerning diners like Peter and Nance. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »

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December 12, 2011 | 4:00 pm

New study confirms eating cookie dough is bad for you, ruins the holidays for everyone

Separated at birth? E. coli and raw cookie dough

It’s probably a given that raw cookie dough consumption will only increase as the holidays draw near, despite maternal warnings that the delicious paste is potentially poisonous. Now there’s new evidence that mom was right all along—however, it’s not salmonella that’s to blame, it’s Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli. A Centers for Disease Control study published Friday in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases examined an outbreak in 2009 that missed Canada but hospitalized 35 in the United States. The report found store-bought cookie dough to be the most likely suspect, with 33 of the patients (that’s 94 per cent) admitting to a prior raw indulgence. Specifically, the flour in one brand wasn’t put through heat treatment (a bacteria “kill step”) like other ingredients were. One other interesting factoid: 71 per cent were under age 19. Sometimes the stereotypes ring true. Read the entire story [CBC] »

(Images: bacteria, Mattosaurus; dough, Rae du Soleil)

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December 1, 2011 | 5:32 pm

Horsemeat poised to make a comeback in the U.S.

(Image: James Byrum)

Top Chef Canada made headlines (and alienated horse lovers everywhere) earlier this year when it featured horsemeat during a classic French cuisine challenge. The scandal prompted an in-depth investigation of the industry by the ever-intrepid Toronto Star, which explained how a 2007 slaughtering ban in the United States led to a boom in Canada’s industry. Now, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune, horsemeat may be making a return to the U.S. market in the coming months.

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