MDA issues consumer advisory for Fergus Falls Locker breakfast sausage

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Fergus Locker Plant LLC of Fergus Falls, have issued a consumer advisory for pork links (breakfast sausage) that were produced without the benefit of state inspection and do not have the necessary records to document the product was produced according to state and federal regulations. The violation was discovered during a routine daily inspection by the MDA.

The pork links were produced on July 31, 2015 and were sold during the month of August at Fergus Locker Plant and Lakeway Market, both located in Fergus Falls. The product label includes Lot #731 and establishment #843 located inside the State of Minnesota mark of inspection. A photo of the packaging is included below. Consumers who purchased this product from these locations during the month of August should return it to the place of purchase.

The MDA and the locker plant have received no reports of illness due to consumption of the product. Anyone who consumed the product and may be concerned about illness should contact their healthcare provider.

Consumers with questions about this advisory should call Brent Schmitz at the Fergus Locker Plant at 218-736-4285.

Possible Salmonella contamination prompts pet food recall

          ST. PAUL, Minn. – Due to possible Salmonella contamination, Florida based, Jump Your Bones, Inc. is voluntarily recalling Jump Your Bones brand name Roo Bites (Cubes). The pet treats were distributed nationwide and through online retailers. To date, there are no reported illnesses related to this product.

There is a human risk of contracting Salmonella from handling contaminated products or from contact with infected pets. Consumers who purchased the Roo Bites (Cubes) should immediately stop feeding it to their pets and either dispose of them or return the product to where it was purchased for a full refund.

Symptoms of human infection include diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps and fever. Symptoms usually begin within 12 to 72 hours after exposure, but can begin up to a week after exposure. Salmonella infections usually resolve in 5 to 7 days, but approximately 20 percent of cases require hospitalization. In rare cases, Salmonella infection can lead to death, particularly in the elderly or those with weakened immune systems.

Salmonella infections in pets vary and can include diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and sluggishness. Other pet symptoms include decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected pets can also appear healthy, but still be carriers of Salmonella, which can lead to human infection. Please contact your veterinarian if your pet has consumed Roo Bites (Cubes) and exhibits any of these symptoms.

The affected Roo Bites (Cubes) are sold in Boutique Bags and online stores with the following UPC codes: 63633010041 on 2.82 oz. (80g) bags, which include .32 oz. samples. For information on this recall, please call (888) 249-6755, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has confirmed major pet food distributors in the state did not distribute the product, but are conducting further trace back of the contaminated product and warn of possible online distribution of the affected pet treats.

Extension offers Food Safety classes in Moorhead

MARSHALL, Minn. (01/16/2014) — University of Minnesota Extension is offering two courses to help food service establishments meet the educational requirement for Certified Food Managers.

The initial certification course, called ServSafeâ, will be offered on Thursday, March 6, 2014 at the Travelodge and Suites in Moorhead.  The class will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with the test following at 4:30 p.m.  Participants must attend all day to be eligible to take the certification exam. This course includes information about safe food preparation, handling, sanitation and prevention of foodborne illnesses.  Registration is required by February 20, 2014.

Certification renewal for food managers will be held on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 from 1-5 p.m.   It will be held at the Travelodge and Suites.  Certified Food Managers need four hours of continuing education credits within three years of becoming certified.  University of Minnesota Extension educators and University specialists developed the four-hour Serve It Up Safely ™ renewal course that meets these criteria.   Registration is due by February 19, 2014.

Pre-registration is required. For a registration brochure or for more information call 507-337-2819 or contact Connie Schwartau at schwa047@umn.edu. 

The Food Safety Manager Certification Course and Serve It Up Safely renewal course are also available on-line.   To get more information about all of these classes go to extension.umn.edu/food-safety or contact Connie Schwartau at schwa047@umn.edu at 507-337-2819.  

Artisan cheesemakers urged to take food safety workshop

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is co-sponsoring a food safety workshop specifically designed for artisan and farmstead cheesemakers. The workshop is set for Tuesday, October 29, 2013 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Country Inn and Suites in Northwood, Iowa.

Artisan cheesemakers will learn best practices to maintain, monitor, and control cheesemaking operations to effectively manage food safety concerns. Case studies will highlight specific practices important for artisan cheese manufacturing operations and participants will review key aspects of micro-organisms most relevant to cheese production.

MDA Dairy and Food Inspection Division Director Dr. Heidi Kassenborg says interest in artisan cheese has increased in recent years, prompting the need for food safety workshops.

“We want to provide producers with the tools and information to produce a safe product,” says Kassenborg.  “This will not only protect consumers but will help protect the health of the business.  We have seen how product recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks can be devastating to a food business.”

Instruction will be provided by Dennis D’Amico, formerly of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, whose research and outreach efforts focus on improving the safety of artisan cheeses through risk assessment and reduction.

Cost for the one-day workshop is $49.00. The deadline to register is October 15. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Midwest Dairy Association are co-sponsors with assistance from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. For more information, contact the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Elaine Santi at 218-744-3335 or the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s David Brown at 515-281-3545.

2ND ANNUAL ND BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP

Fargo, N.D. – The dog days of summer are here, and Scheels Home & Hardware is heating up its grills and competitive spirit for the 2nd Annual Scheels ND BBQ Championship.

On Saturday, September 28 at Scheels Home & Hardware on 13th Ave. S in Fargo, local and regional contestants will have the opportunity to show off their savory, slow-cooked skills and compete in four different categories: BBQ’d ribs, pulled pork, chicken and brisket. After sampling, outstanding BBQ’ers from each category as well as a People’s Choice winner will be crowned. Combined scores from all four categories will be used to determine an overall 2nd Annual Scheels ND BBQ Championship grand champion. A shiny 2nd Annual Scheels ND BBQ Championship trophy, bragging rights, and $5,000 in prize money are up for grabs!

Spectators and BBQ connoisseurs are invited to come and sample entries from each competitor, check out informative expos from Weber, Traeger and Big Green Egg grills, enter into a grill giveaway, and vote for the meatiest, juiciest BBQ on the block in the People’s Choice category from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The awards ceremony will follow at approximately 5 p.m.  

For those interested in competing, registration is currently open for the 2nd Annual Scheels ND BBQ Championship competition at http://ndbbq.com/sign-up/. Details about vendors and additional information about the 2nd Annual Scheels ND BBQ Championship competition is available at http://ndbbq.com.

The competition will be overseen by Eric Berg, David Newman and Chris Newman. Berg and David Newman are professor and assistant professor, respectively, in NDSU’s Meat-Animal Science Department. The duo also organizes the popular BBQ Boot Camp, a program that teaches barbeque techniques in seminars hosted across the state. Chris Newman is an award-winning BBQer and owner/member of the Rack Pack Barbecue Team catering company.    

Extension offers Food Safety classes in Moorhead

MARSHALL, Minn. (07/08/2013) — University of Minnesota Extension is offering two

courses to help food service establishments meet the educational requirement for Certified Food

Managers.

The initial certification course, called ServSafeâ, will be offered on Thursday, August 29, 2013

at the Travelodge and Suites in Moorhead. The class will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with the

test following at 4:30 p.m. Participants must attend all day to be eligible to take the certification

exam. This course includes information about safe food preparation, handling, sanitation and

prevention of foodborne illnesses. Registration is required by August 15, 2013.

Certification renewal for food managers will be held on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 from 1-5

p.m. It will be held at the Travelodge and Suites. Certified Food Managers need four hours of

continuing education credits within three years of becoming certified. University of Minnesota

Extension educators and University specialists developed the four-hour Serve It Up Safely ™

renewal course that meets these criteria. Registration is due by August 14, 2013.

 

Pre-registration is required. For a registration brochure or for more information call 507-337-

2819 or contact Connie Schwartau at schwa047@umn.edu.

 

The Food Safety Manager Certification Course and Serve It Up Safely renewal course are also

available on-line. To get more information about all of these classes go to extension.umn.edu/

food-safety or contact Connie Schwartau at schwa047@umn.edu at 507-337-2819.

-------

Source: Connie Schwartau, Extension Program Coordinator in Food Science, U of M Extension

Regional Office, Marshall

BBQ Boot Camps

Grilling season finally is here. If you are looking for new ways to grill your favorite meat, want to learn about different meat cuts or need some tips on handling food safely, the BBQ Boot Camp can help.

North Dakota State University's Animal Sciences Department and the NDSU Extension Service have teamed up to hold three BBQ Boot Camps this year. The dates and locations are:

* June 26 at Bonanzaville in West Fargo, 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.

* July 2 at the city park in Fullerton, 5 to 8 p.m.

* Aug. 15 at the Harold Schafer Heritage Center in Medora, 5 to 8 p.m.

BBQ Boot Camp instructors introduce participants to grilling methods, including smoking and cooking with gas and charcoal; describe the merits of various meat cuts; and explain how cooking temperatures, humidity and the composition of the meat from different animal species can affect the barbecuing process. Participants also learn about:

* Nutrition

* Food safety issues such as the proper cooking temperatures for meat and how to
handle raw meat safely

* Techniques such as using rubs, marinades and seasonings

* Current topics in the pork, beef and lamb industries

* Related research, teaching and Extension activities at NDSU

"The program highlights many different aspects of agriculture from meat cookery to the importance that producers place on meeting high product quality standards," says David Newman, NDSU Extension swine specialist and one of the BBQ Boot Camp organizers.

The camps wrap up with a full meal, including traditional barbecue side dishes. Participants will be able to fill their plates with a large variety of barbecued meat.

"You definitely won't leave hungry," says Eric Berg, a professor in the Animal Sciences Department and a BBQ Boot Camp instructor.

Animal Sciences Department and Extension faculty, staff, and graduate and undergraduate students are the instructors for the camps.

The cost is $40 per person. For more information about the BBQ Boot Camp or to register for the July 2 and Aug. 15 camps, go to http://www.ndsu.edu/bbqbootcamp. To register for the June 26 camp, go to http://tinyurl.com/BBQBootCamp.

This is the fifth year BBQ Boot Camps have been held across the state.

Feed My Starving Children Event

Grand Forks—Over two thousand Greater Grand Forks community members will be on duty at the Grand Forks Public Works Building from Friday through Sunday, April 5-7, working two-hour shifts to fill bags—but not with sand. For the third consecutive year, Grand Forks volunteers will be filling bags with life-saving food for starving children around the world.

The Greater Grand Forks Community volunteers lead by Twin Cities-based Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) staff will package more than 410,000 lifesaving meals. The event will take place over three days with the first shift beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 5 and the last one to be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m., on Sunday, April 7, at the Grand Forks Public Works Building, 724 N. 47th St.

“This year marks a three year goal to pack 1 million meals at the Grand Forks site,” said Jodie Storhaug, chair of the GGF FMSC MobilePack committee. “This is a great opportunity for our community to ‘pay it forward’ by coming together to fill food bags for starving children.  The response by Grand Forks and the surrounding communities has been tremendous.  We have raised over $70,000 but we still have some work to do to meet the $90,200 to pay for the food we will package which costs .22 per meal.

Packing sessions

Packing sessions, each beginning with a 15-minute overview of FMSC’s work around the world, will take place at the following times:

Friday, April 5: 10:00-noon; 12:30-2:30 p.m.; 3:00-5:00 p.m.; 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 6:  9-11 a.m.; 11:30-1:30 p.m.; 2:30-4:30 p.m.; 5-7 p.m.
Sunday, April 7:  9:00-11:00 a.m.; 11:30-1:30 p.m.; 2-4 p.m.; 4:30-6:30 p.m.

There are only a few volunteer slots open. If you go online and find them full, keep checking, as slots tend to open up, especially during the last week.  Go to www.fmsc.org, then to MobilePack Events, and North Dakota (GF event number is 1304-13). Click the “Get Involved” button and then select “volunteer to pack.”

In addition, community members can support this event through prayer and making a donation to cover food costs. To donate, go to www.fmsc.org, then to MobilePack Events and North Dakota (GF event number is 1304-13).

Volunteers are also asked to bring non-perishable food items to the MobilePack Event for distribution to local food shelves in Greater Grand Forks.

About the food

With the input of scientists from major food companies in the Twin Cities area, including Cargill and General Mills, FMSC developed MannaPack Rice, a nutritional formula of vitamins and minerals, dehydrated vegetables, soy protein and rice.  It’s easy and safe to transport, simple to make with boiling water, culturally acceptable worldwide, and designed to save the lives of severely malnourished and starving children. Each pack serves 6 meals.

Last year, the GGF FMSC group raised more than $87,000 and packaged 303,264 meals, enough to feed 830 starvation-impacted children for a year. Most of the meals were shipped to Mission of Hope in Haiti. 31,000 were sent to Food for the Poor in Nicaragua.

About Feed My Starving Children

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand pack meals designed specifically for starving children, and FMSC ships the meals to mission partners in nearly 70 countries around the world. Each meal costs only .22 cents to produce. Nearly 6,200 children die each day from starvation or starvation-related causes.
For more information, visit www.fmsc.org or contact: Holly Donato, National Marketing Director
Direct phone: 763.267.6319, Cell phone: 612.805.0631

NDSU BBQ Boot Camps Coming

North Dakota State University's BBQ Boot Camp is back for the 2012 grilling season.

The camp:

* Introduces participants to basic grilling styles, including gas, charcoal and smokers

* Offers information about different rubs, marinades and seasonings to use on meat

* Explains why cooking temperatures are important and how the temperature affects the quality of the meat

* Teaches food safety tips and nutritional facts on meat

* Informs participants about current topics in the meat and food industry and the importance of understanding the world food supply

* Gives participants a chance to sample different types of barbecued meat and provides ideas for their next neighborhood barbecue

The NDSU Animal Sciences Department hosts the camp in conjunction with NDSU Extension Service faculty.

Four camps are scheduled throughout the state this summer. The camp dates, locations and people to contact for more information or to register are:

* June 20 - Fargo, Megan Kortie, (701) 231-7641

* June 28 - Williston, Mary Froelich, (701) 577-4595

* July 16 - Bismarck, Cathy Palczewski, (701) 221-6865

* July 18 - Minot, Paige Brummond, (701) 857-6444

Registration also is available online at http://webmail.loretel.net/scripts/webmail.exe?cmd=url&xdata=~2-e3542cf57aa5d72d411ed524fe7a94750184afc19fa1ab91988f9e959600&url=http!3A!2F!2Fwww.ndsu.edu!2Fbbqbootcamp.

This is the fourth year of the BBQ Boot Camp program.

"BBQ Boot Camp is a unique opportunity to combine great food, great people and our program message on the critical role agriculture plays in all our lives," says David Newman, NDSU Extension swine specialist. "We plan to hold the camp in even more communities across the state next year."

NDSU Agriculture Communication - May 25, 2012

MN Grown Directory is back

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Finding great locally grown foods is at your fingertips when you pick up a copy of the new Minnesota Grown Directory. The 2012 directory makes it easy to locate orchards, farmers markets, berry farms and garden centers where you can purchase products directly from the grower. 

Minnesota Grown spokesperson Carrie Tollefson again graces the cover of this annual publication. She says fresh fruits and veggies are an important part of a healthy diet and buying them locally helps support Minnesota’s farmers.

“I grew up in rural Minnesota and know how hard our farmers work to produce the food we eat,” says Tollefson. “The Minnesota Grown Directory makes it easy to find what locally grown foods are available in my neighborhood and at hundreds of locations throughout the state.”

More than 190,000 copies of the free guide are distributed by tourist information centers, farms, libraries, real estate agents, retailers, and other supporters of local growers. The printed directory is made possible by the participation of more than 945 listed growers, more than 20 advertising sponsors, and repeated cover sponsorship by the Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU). 

A complimentary copy of the Minnesota Grown Directory may be ordered by calling Explore Minnesota Tourism at 1-888-TOURISM (1-888-868-7476). The guide is also offered online as a searchable database on the Minnesota Grown website at http://webmail.loretel.net/scripts/webmail.exe?cmd=url&xdata=~2-e3542cf57aa5d72d411ed524fe7a94750184afc19fa1ab91988f9e959600&url=http!3A!2F!2Fwww.minnesotagrown.com.

Local Foods College Series

CROOKSTON, Minn. – If you are interested in growing more of your own food or scaling up production to market garden scale, the upcoming Local Foods College is designed for you. The series, which begins on January 24, 2012, will offer an overview of the basics, from planning to soils, fruit and vegetable production and business planning. The series, available via interactive television (ITV) at several locations across northwestern Minnesota, continues on Tuesday evenings through mid-March. Registration is $10 per session or $50 for the entire series.

Participants will learn from practitioners and educators and share personal experiences with others who are part of the growing movement to build resilient local food systems. Registration can be completed online by visiting www.rsdp.umn.edu/Northwest and payment sent to the Regional Extension Office Crookston, 2900 University Ave, Crookston, Minn., 56716.

Participants will choose the location as well as select the sessions they wish to attend and may bring a family member or partner along for no additional cost. Host sites include the University of Minnesota Crookston; Bemidji State University; Minnesota State University Moorhead; Northland Technical College in Thief River Falls; Central Lakes College in Staples; other sites are also being considered.

Session topics will include: Whole farm planning, nutrient cycles and interactions; soils and composting; vegetable production and planning a market garden; starting and managing an apple orchard; small fruit production; backyard poultry; and farm business management. For more detailed information or questions, visit www.rsdp.umn.edu/Northwest or call 888-241-0781.

The Local Foods College is sponsored by the University of Minnesota; Health Reform Minnesota, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; and North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education.

The Local Foods College is one aspect of a movement to strengthen local and regional food systems. It encompasses healthy foods for healthy people, stronger demand for healthy local foods, available accessible and affordable healthy local foods, and marketing and policy support for farmers and food producers. To learn more, visit www.localfoods.umn.edu.

The Northwest Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership serves the people in northwestern Minnesota as they experiment with innovative ideas, build and strengthen relationships and take practical steps into a hopeful future. They connect university resources and citizen leaders in support of regional aspirations for natural resources, clean energy, agriculture and food systems, and resilient communities. The Northwest region encompasses Kittson, Roseau, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake, Polk, Norman, Mahnomen, Clay and Wilkin counties.