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I’m a former paramedic – the ‘squish test’ could save your baby from choking

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A former paramedic has shared a one-second trick to minimize the risk of your baby choking on a piece of food.

The video was posted by a child safety organization called Tiny Hearts Education, which was started by Nikki Jurcutz, a former paramedic, and her sister, Rach.

In the reel, they demonstrated that if you just put your index finger and thumb together to squish a piece of food, you can tell whether or not it’s safe for your baby.

If the food you’re holding isn’t able to be squished in between your fingers, then it’s not safe for your baby to chew – and could be a potential choking hazard.

“If you can’t squish it, your baby can’t chew it,” they wrote in text over the top of the Instagram reel.

© Provided by New York Post

© Provided by New York Post

In the clip, they showed their technique on a few different foods. They were able to squish a banana, a piece of avocado, a slice of cooked apple and a cooked carrot.

However, they were not able to squish a piece of raw carrot or a piece of raw apple – meaning that those didn’t pass the squish test.

“Foods that are round, hard, slippery and the size of an airway = increase the risk of choking,” they wrote in the caption of the post.

“The squish test helps you identify if the food is too hard so you can modify it to make is softer and safer.”

The Post reached out to Jurcutz for comment.

According to health officials, there are more than 12,000 children in the US who are taken to the emergency room each year for food choking injuries.

Choking is also the fourth leading cause of “unintentional death” in those kids who are under the age of five.

© Provided by New York Post

Experts recommend that parents or caretakers cut children’s food into small pieces to help prevent the risk of choking.

They also have guidance that includes not leaving a child unattended while they eat, not eating while walking or in a car and offering plenty of liquids at mealtime.

Some signs of choking can include the child having a “bluish skin color,” trouble breathing, an inability to make much sound or loss of consciousness.

Considering the ongoing egg shortage responsible for sparse shelves and high per-carton prices, no one can afford to let their eggs go bad at this point in time. Yet, those of us who like our eggs hard-boiled are at a disadvantage: "Hard-boiled eggs spoil faster than their uncooked counterparts," says Martin Bucknavage, senior food safety extension associate at the Penn State University Department of Food Science.

That’s because uncooked eggs, he explains, contain natural antimicrobial agents that are destroyed by cooking. It’s not rocket science—it’s basic bio—but if you've ever wondered how long hard-boiled eggs last (especially in the refrigerator), we're here to shell out some wisdom, according to food experts.

Related: 50 Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas That Don't Involve Eggs

Why do eggs go bad?

There are two culprits that cause eggs to go bad, Bucknavage says: microbial spoilage and moisture loss. To sidestep both, he recommends consuming hard-boiled eggs at their peak: As soon as they cool after cooking. After a few days, “quality will start to slide slowly,” he says.

Exactly how long hard-boiled eggs last in the refrigerator

If only fresh hard-boiled eggs came with expiration dates. (Sigh. They don’t!) So how long should you expect a hard-boiled egg to last? It depends on whether you’ve peeled it. Unpeeled eggs last longer because their shell limits contamination that can happen when you peel it, Bucknavage explains. As such, you can bank on an unpeeled hard-boiled egg to stay in its prime for up to seven days. A peeled egg will taste best on the day it’s cooked or up to a day after, but can technically last up to five days, according to Bucknavage.

Related: 20 Best Deviled Egg Recipes With Different Fillings

Can you eat a two-week-old hard-boiled egg?

Er, sure. But chances are, “it will not taste good,” Bucknavage warns—and “it may deliver you a stomach ache.”

How to tell whether a hard-boiled egg has gone bad

While the float test is a legitimate way to assess whether an uncooked egg’s gone bad, hard-boiled eggs can be fresh-tested even more easily: Just sniff. “Generally, there should be little to no smell,” Bucknavage says, adding that overcooked eggs will smell like sulfur, and rotten eggs will smell, well, rotten thanks to hydrogen sulfide.

Story continues

Other telltale signs that your hard-boiled egg is past its prime include sliminess and discoloration—so go ahead and toss any egg that feels or looks “off.”

Related: How To Tell if Your Eggs Are Bad, According to Food Experts

How to prolong the freshness of a hard-boiled egg

Your storage situation can vastly Boost the lifespan of cooked eggs if you follow these tips:

• Start with good-quality eggs: While you might be moved to boil extra eggs you haven’t eaten as their expiration date nears, it’s smarter to cook eggs sooner, Bucknavage says: “If the starting egg has already started to deteriorate, cooking will not Boost the situation,” he explains. But that doesn’t mean it’s best to begin with ultra-fresh eggs, which can be difficult to peel, warns the American Egg Board. They recommend refrigerating a new carton for a week to 10 days before cooking the eggs therein, which allows the eggs to take in air that helps their membranes separate from the shell.

• Chill cooked eggs ASAP: After hard-boiling your eggs, Bucknavage recommends popping uneaten extras in the fridge within two hours (or one in warm conditions). Why? High temperatures can help foodborne bacteria proliferate.

• Store in a squeaky-clean, bone-dry container: While some people swear by storing cooked eggs in water, it’s ill-advised because shells are permeable, and moisture can make it easier for contaminants to enter the shell, making cooked eggs spoil faster, Bucknavage says.

• Loosely cover them: The American Egg Board suggests storing cooked eggs in a loosely-covered container—not the carton they came in. Why not tightly cover? A tight seal can promote yeast growth, they warn.

At the end of the day, if longevity is your goal, you might want to splurge on commercially-packaged hard-boiled eggs, Bucknavage says: “Commercial packers pack within sanitary conditions and include ingredients that limit the growth of spoilage bacteria.” The shortcut means you won’t be stuck removing shells—a prospect with endless apeel!

Next up: Can You Put Eggs in the Freezer?

“We’ve been hiding in plain sight all along,” Tarren Bragdon said of his 12-year-old nonprofit group, the Foundation for Government Accountability.

The Naples, Florida-based think tank has been among the conservative groups publicly cheerleading GOP efforts to tighten work requirements for safety net programs long before debt ceiling negotiators in Washington agreed to expand those rules for food stamp recipients late Saturday night.

While the White House and Republicans now turn to selling their pact to lawmakers in both parties, low-income people in many states already face narrowing access to key benefits programs regardless of how the high-wire debt limit fight unfolds in Congress. That is partly because of the state-level strategy with which the FGA has been quietly racking up wins, despite lacking the clout or funding of major conservative K Street institutions that also support shrinking the federal safety net.

In recent interviews, half a dozen hunger relief groups across the country named the FGA as their top adversary in an escalating policy fight over safety net benefits, citing the group more frequently than any other. One aid organization feared drawing attention to its efforts, thinking about triggering an FGA lobbying blitz to curb food stamp payments in its home state.

More than 42.5 million people were enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as of February, the latest data available, receiving an estimated $6 per day for help buying groceries. That tally was up 3.2% from a year earlier but reflects the month before enhanced pandemic-era benefits expired for millions.

Bragdon, a former state representative from Maine who has served as the foundation’s CEO and president since launching it, estimates only about 20% of the FGA’s policy work addresses welfare and unemployment. But the think tank and its lobbying arm have been a driving force on those issues — often serving as the sole providers of research presented in state legislatures to support the idea that tighter access to safety net programs spurs more people to work.

While recent research shows the highest food-stamp enrollments are typically in low-unemployment states, that longtime conservative argument against generous public assistance has proved compelling in the current economy. In its 2022 annual report, the foundation touted “more than 45 unemployment and welfare policy victories to move Americans back to work and stop wasteful spending that encourages people to stay home.”

“There’s no better time for individuals to move from welfare dependency into the workforce,” Bragdon said before the debt limit deal was reached, “with almost 10 million open jobs, with many starting jobs beginning at $12, $14 an hour.”

The goal, he said, is to “help make them self-sufficient so that they can experience the American dream.”

A state-by-state strategy

In late April, Kansas lawmakers tightened SNAP work rules, voting largely along party lines to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a measure requiring most recipients ages 50-59 to work at least 30 hours per week or attend mandatory job training.

The FGA, like many policy nonprofit groups, maintains a lobbying organization, called the Opportunity Solutions Project. State legislative records show that the OSP last year hired local lobbyist Steve Greene, who testified in committee hearings in support of stricter criteria for SNAP benefits. In its annual report, the foundation called the narrow veto override a “dramatic win” fueled by a campaign that “used FGA’s research and messaging to educate every member on the issue.”

The think tank supports “universal work requirements for welfare programs” across the board. But as Bragdon put it, “Our business strategy is to provide a menu of reforms, but then for state or federal policymakers to decide what makes the most sense for them to advance, given their dynamics and climate.” The FGA’s annual report includes a map of 33 “states of opportunity for 2023,” labeled either “redder and better” or “same and steady.”

In line with that modular approach, work requirements aren’t the only policy tool the group endorses to prod recipients of public support into the workforce.

Last March, a GOP supermajority in Idaho enacted new limits on the state’s ability to waive SNAP work rules for recipients in high unemployment areas. In a committee hearing, Republican state Rep. Kevin Andrus presented FGA senior research fellow Scott Centurino to provide “national context.” When a health department official testified that the proposal could shrink federal funding for the state’s SNAP program, Andrus countered, “This legislation helps individuals to get on their feet and working.”

In a Utah House hearing in 2021 on a nearly identical proposal, Republican Rep. Steve Christiansen called up an OSP representative to explain it to lawmakers. The measure was later defeated.

Iowa’s Republican supermajority passed a bill in April taking a different approach. The new rule would factor the value of liquid assets, including personal property like cars, into the income limits for receiving food assistance or Medicaid — a policy known as an asset test. State lobbying disclosures show the OSP paid $14,250 to a consultant who lobbied for the bill, which was sent last week to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. She is expected to sign it into law.

Some critics of these moves see less of a locally tailored policy approach than a partisan campaign for a long-standing conservative goal.

“We had national Republican Party politics playing out in our legislative agenda this year,” said Michelle Book, CEO of the Food Bank of Iowa. “They continue to say, ‘We’re going to beat down unemployment benefits, we’re going to beat down SNAP benefits, because this will produce more workers,’ and we’ve not seen it.”

Instead, Book said the food bank has experienced higher demand this year, after Iowa joined the handful of states that ended pandemic-era enhancements to SNAP payments before they expired nationally March 1. Last March, the organization served 110,000 individuals, she said. It served 169,000 in March.

The new asset test would disqualify low-income Iowans for SNAP benefits if the value of their personal liquid assets — including checking and savings accounts, and personal property excluding one vehicle — hit a $15,000 cap.

“So people can’t save for retirement, they can’t save to educate their children, they can’t save for emergencies, they can’t have additional vehicles to get additional family members to work,” Book said. She added that the Food Bank of Iowa is now doubling its Des Moines distribution center to 60,000 square feet to buy and dispense more food.

Some opponents of the asset test rules also pointed to state estimates finding that implementing them would cost Iowa taxpayers almost $18 million in the policy’s first three years.

“We believe that the welfare safety net needs to prioritize the truly needy,” Bragdon said, adding that “somebody’s primary car is exempt from any kind of asset test.”

Washington inroads

Compared with older, better-funded think tanks and lobbying groups across the political spectrum, the FGA and the OSP represent a small operation with limited reach in Washington.

The foundation employs four “federal affairs managers” responsible for sharing policy ideas with lawmakers, according to a spokesperson. Bragdon said the FGA now has almost 50 full-time staffers and around 60 contractors, including 15 attorneys.

The group — which has also advocated for issues ranging from curtailing ranked-choice voting to loosening child labor laws — reported securing $15 million in fresh fundraising last year, up 26% since 2020.

The OSP, a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organization that the IRS specifies “must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare,” has a roughly $4 million budget and deploys lobbyists in more than 30 states and Washington, D.C., Bragdon said.

Federal lobbying disclosures show the OSP paid $130,000 in the first quarter of this year to lobbyist Robin Walker, who also serves as a senior visiting fellow at the organization, for “food stamp reform, work requirements and TANF,” or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

As is common among privately run policy groups, the FGA and OSP don’t share many details about their funding sources. Bragdon estimated that the FGA gets 75% of its funding from individuals — “mostly entrepreneurs who have lived the American dream” — and around 25% from other foundations, with less than 1% from public companies.

Asked about media reports that the organization’s donors include conservative powerhouses such as Koch-network entities and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the spokesperson said the group “protects the identity of our donors as a courtesy to them.”

The FGA has already cultivated influential allies on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who “has worked with the Foundation for Government Accountability for years,” a spokesperson said. “He is proud to have their support on several of his proposals to reform Washington and make it work better for the American people including his Let’s Get to Work Act.”

The FGA praised that bill, which aims to tighten work requirements for SNAP and public housing clients, when Scott introduced it in January. “Nobody should be dependent on government that can work,” he said in a short FGA video about the issue last month, “Nobody.”

At least two other congressional Republicans have published endorsements by Bragdon of their own recent proposals to tighten work requirements.

Other FGA allies are involved in shaping agricultural policy, such as Rep. Kat Cammack, a Florida Republican who was elected in 2020 to the seat held by former Rep. Ted Yoho, for whom Cammack previously served as deputy chief of staff.

Like her predecessor, Cammack sits on the House Agriculture Committee that every five years debates the reauthorization of the farm bill, of which nutrition programs like SNAP are by far the biggest component by funding. Those talks are underway now, as the current package expires Sept. 30.

Cammack was also appointed to Republicans’ new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and joined Bragdon last summer for a virtual panel discussion of her proposal to roll back executive branch regulatory powers.

The foundation has also built ties with Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., who chairs the House Agriculture Committee. While Thompson has voiced skepticism about expanding states’ ability to waive SNAP work rules, he has signaled openness to tweaking the program.

“What frustrates me most at this moment is my Democrat colleagues have already drawn a line in the sand­ — this program will not be touched in the next reauthorization of the farm bill,” he said in a hearing last spring.

Thompson’s offices didn’t respond to requests for comment, and a spokesperson for Cammack declined to comment.

On SNAP but working

Some economists who study the relationship between SNAP and employment question whether tightening access to the program drives more people to work.

University of Illinois researchers found last month that many states with the highest SNAP participation rates — such as Louisiana and West Virginia — also boast the lowest unemployment rates. Since the Great Recession of 2008, SNAP participation and unemployment have “diverged,” they said.

“We have a lot of people who are working but not earning enough money to get out of poverty,” said Jonathan Coppess, one of the report’s authors. “So what is the point of policy built around work requirements when it isn’t an unemployment issue?”

Asset tests in particular have become increasingly controversial. Anti-hunger advocates recently pleaded with Texas officials to vote through an upcoming House bill that would update the state’s existing vehicle asset test, which was last revised in 2001. Inflation has driven up automotive values substantially since then, pushing many SNAP users over the threshold to qualify.

Some advocates and researchers also criticize how FGA has presented data. For example, the group shared materials with NBC News claiming that almost 75% of “able-bodied adults on food stamps do not work at all,” using figures that lean on monthly point-in-time snapshots from the Agriculture Department, rather than longer periods that experts say may better reflect employment trends from sources such as the Census Bureau.

A recent analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-of-center think tank, cautioned against overstating the unemployment status of so-called “able-bodied adults without dependents,” citing high turnover and fluctuating hours in many low-wage jobs.

Self-reported food stamp data may also be incomplete, said Ed Bolen, the CBPP’s director of SNAP state strategies, because under SNAP reporting rules, small changes in income do not have to be reported between certifications.

“A lot of workers are in and out of the labor market through no fault of their own, just the nature of the work,” Bolen said. “It’s important to look at the work engagement over a period of time.”

Not all of FGA’s efforts to cull SNAP rolls have succeeded, including in Republican statehouses. The group’s push to enact asset tests in Ohio in 2021 was defeated after a GOP lawmaker blocked it, saying he wanted to ensure recipients “have food on their tables so that they can take care of their families.” More recently, two proposals to tie food stamp benefits to child support cooperation were defeated in Montana and Kansas.

Bragdon suggested he still sees the latter issue as a potential messaging win in debates around trimming SNAP enrollments.

“Half of the folks that we’re talking about are men,” he said. “A lot of times when folks think about welfare, they think about the typical single mom that’s profiled as part of a welfare cash assistance conversation.”

While expanding work requirements for safety net programs remain a sticking point in debt ceiling talks, spending cuts have come to the fore in recent days. But Bragdon said the FGA has been pushing “multiple legislative vehicles to accomplish the same policy.”

“You have the debt ceiling, you have the farm bill, but you also have the appropriations bill,” he said.

Before the last farm bill reauthorization, in 2018, Thompson appeared in an FGA-produced video along with several other Republican lawmakers to promote expanded work requirements, using language that the think tank is still deploying.

Referring to people “using the SNAP program because of financial distress in their lives — unemployed, underemployed, maybe living in poverty for generations,” Thompson said, “they really need to have a shot at the American dream.”

CORRECTION (May 25, 2023, 5:30 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the estimated percentage of FGA’s individual donations. It is 75%, not 35%. This article also has been edited to clarify the effect of SNAP rules on self-reported data.

Pennsylvania-based provider of advanced food allergy testing solutions, Allergenis, celebrates the milestone of reaching a 93% accuracy rate of its innovative diagnostic test for peanut allergies.

Washington, DC--(Newsfile Corp. - June 2, 2023) -  Allergenis, Inc. a pioneering provider of next-generation food allergy testing solutions, has achieved a significant milestone by reaching a remarkable 93% accuracy rate of its proprietary diagnostic test for peanut allergies. This breakthrough in accuracy empowers individuals and their families with concrete answers and a comprehensive understanding of their allergic status, ensuring a safer and more informed quality of life when living with a food allergy diagnosis.

The prevalence of food allergies remains a pressing issue, affecting 32 million Americans, including one in 13 children, and posing potential life-threatening reactions to this entire population. The burden of food allergies extends beyond physical health, significantly impacting the mental, emotional, and financial well-being of individuals, parents, and caregivers.

Existing food allergy testing methods have often fallen short of providing a complete understanding of an individual's allergy spectrum, leading to ambiguous and inaccurate results. Commonly used blood tests in the market for peanut allergies exhibit a staggering false-positive rate of up to 60%, while the gold standard tool, an oral food challenge (OFC), proves to be costly, time-consuming, and anxiety-inducing due to the potential risk of severe reactions. For these reasons OFC is often avoided.

In response to these challenges, Allergenis is transforming the landscape of food allergy diagnostics by offering patients more accurate and thorough testing and enhanced clarity concerning their food allergies. Leveraging cutting-edge systems biology and data analytics, Allergenis has developed a unique allergy diagnostic test that accurately and thoroughly determines an individual's allergic status and threshold.

"Our mission at Allergenis is to ensure that no one has to navigate life without definitive answers regarding the decisions that shape their well-being and the well-being of those around them. Our proprietary food allergy diagnosis test is designed to exceed the highest standards of safety, quality, and accuracy, providing families with clear and accurate information they can rely on," says Jim Garner, CEO of Allergenis.

The cornerstone of Allergenis' allergy diagnosis test is the proprietary bead-based epitope assay (BBEA), which demonstrates an exceptional 93% accuracy rate for peanut allergies. This advanced testing methodology, designed by experts and distilled to its simplest and purest purpose, addresses the critical question of whether an allergen can trigger a life-threatening reaction. With a focus on safety and accuracy, Allergenis aims to provide families with concrete answers and peace of mind.

When reporting an individual's allergic status, Allergenis goes beyond a simple binary result. The test incorporates a threshold risk stratification to determine the probability of safely consuming peanuts. By accurately diagnosing allergies and providing comprehensive information, Allergenis equips individuals with precise knowledge. This invaluable information empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their food choices and take appropriate precautions, enabling them to lead a safer and more fulfilling life.

"We understand that existing food allergy testing methods often fall short in providing a complete understanding of an individual's allergy spectrum. At Allergenis, we believe in empowering individuals and their families with accurate information to navigate their dietary choices confidently and avoid unnecessary risks", Jim Garner added.

The success of Allergenis' proprietary allergy diagnosis test has sparked optimism among the global medical community, recognizing the significance of achieving a 93% accuracy rate. Allergenis continues to collaborate with renowned research centers, academic institutions, and researchers across the United States, The UK, Europe, Australia, and beyond, further solidifying its position as a thought leader in the field.

As Allergenis reaches this important milestone, the company aims to accelerate its efforts to commercialize its revolutionary food allergy testing technology. To achieve this, Allergenis is actively seeking funding to support the development and deployment of its advanced testing solutions. The capital raised will enable Allergenis to establish a dedicated sales force, expand its commercial operations, and raise awareness among medical professionals, individuals, and their families.

Media Contact:
Name: Jim Garner
Email: jim.garner@allergenis.com

Source: The Newsdesk

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/168547

America's Test Kitchen's newest cookbook, "The Complete Small Plates Cookbook," is one of those books that makes your mouth water with every turn of the page, and there are 397 pages — most with beautiful photographs — not to mention conversion charts, indexes and the like.

(READ MORE: Elegant shrimp dish works as appetizer or entree)

Small plates are nothing new. Before there were small plates, they were called tapas. Now you see them on menus as shareables or small plates. Whatever you call them, they are fun nibbles for beginning a meal or ordering several for an entire meal.

Chef Efren Ormaza introduced the first tapas restaurant, Terra Nostra, to Chattanooga on Frazier Avenue a couple of decades ago. It's now closed, but there are now so many new restaurants with small plates and shareables on their menus.

(READ MORE: Terra Nostra to close on North Shore after 17-year run)

This new cookbook from America's Test Kitchen lets you recreate the fun of small plates at home. With recipes ranging from fried cheese to watermelon salad with Cotita and Serano chilies to sizzling beef lettuce wraps and chickpea cakes, the book will keep you busy in the kitchen for months to come.

Here's a recipe that I found to be perfect for serving on small individual plates with a cold beer this Memorial Day weekend. It sounds familiar, but it's really nothing like one would expect. Pigs in a Blanket has been a fun favorite as long as I can remember, but they're usually made with crescent-roll dough and served with yellow mustard for dipping. America's Test Kitchen dresses these little doggies up with puff pastry and everything bagel seasoning. I've never thought of them as a tapas offering, but as I've learned in looking through this cookbook, just about any food can be called tapas — if it's served on a small plate.

(READ MORE: Holiday cook needs recipes for pigs in a blanket, make-ahead mashed potatoes)

America's Test Kitchen suggests serving a single Pig in a Blanket alongside beet-pickled eggs and a little carrot salad for color. Just make sure to keep some Pigs in the kitchen so you can refill the small plates as needed.

Pigs in Blankets

Add a touch of honey to the mustard sauce for a slightly sweeter taste, if desired.

1 (9- by 9-inch) sheet puff pastry, thawed

Flour, as needed

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

32 cocktail franks, patted dry

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mustard sauce:

1/3 cup yellow mustard

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ketchup

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Unfold the puff pastry on a lightly floured counter, and roll into a 12- by 9-inch rectangle with the short side parallel to the edge of the counter, flouring the top of the dough as needed.

Using a sharp knife or pizza wheel, trim the dough down to a 12- by 8-inch rectangle. Cut the dough lengthwise into eight (1-inch) strips. Cut the dough crosswise at three 3-inch intervals. You should have 32 (3- by 1-inch) dough strips.

Lightly brush 1 row of dough strips with egg wash. Roll 1 frank in each dough strip, and transfer the bundle, seam side down, to the prepared sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough strips and franks, spacing the bundles 1/2-inch apart.

Combine the Parmesan, bagel seasoning and pepper in a bowl. Working with a few bundles at a time, brush the tops with egg wash, and sprinkle with the Parmesan mixture. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Make the sauce: In a bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients.

Let the Pigs cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Serve with the mustard sauce.

GRILL SAFETY

If you'll be cooking on the grill, the National Fire Protection Association has safety tips to keep in mind for Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, and the rest of the season.

According to the agency's data, between 2017 and 2021, U.S. fire departments responded to an annual average of 11,421 home fires involving grills, hibachis or barbecues, including 5,763 structure fires and 5,659 outside or unclassified fires. These fires caused an annual average of two civilian deaths, 176 reported civilian injuries and $172 million in direct property damage.

"Because outdoor grilling involves the use of a fuel source to generate an open flame, it inherently presents potential fire risks that needs to be taken seriously," said Lorraine Carli, vice president of outreach and advocacy at NFPA.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, for the same fire-year period, an annual average of 22,155 patients went to emergency rooms because of injuries involving grills. Nearly half (47%) of the injuries were thermal burns, including both burns from fire and from contact with hot objects. These burns typically occurred when someone, often a child, bumped into, touched or fell on the grill, grill part or hot coals. In fact, children under age 5 accounted for an average of 2,820 of the contact-type burns (46%) per year.

"These numbers reinforce that grilling fires can and do happen. However, there's no need to avoid grilling during Memorial Day or in the months ahead," said Carli. "Instead, by following simple safety precautions, people can greatly reduce the risk of experiencing a grilling fire."

Here are some key takeaways from the association:

› For propane grills, check the gas tank for leaks before use in the months ahead. (There's a video at NFPA.org on how to check for leaks.)

› Keep your grill clean by removing grease or fat buildup from the grills and in trays below the grill.

› Place the grill well away from the home, deck railings and out from under eaves and overhanging branches.

› Always make sure your gas grill lid is open before lighting it.

› Keep children and pets at least 3 feet away from the grilling area.

› If you use starter fluid when charcoal grilling, only use charcoal starter fluid. Never add charcoal fluid or any other flammable liquids to the fire. When you are finished grilling, let the coals cool completely before disposing in a metal container.

› Never leave your grill unattended when in use.

YES, YOU CAN

University extension services are some of the best sources around for information on agricultural practices and consumer sciences. While you'd want to check in with your local office to learn about certain topics, such as when and what to plant for our growing season, some of the expert advice is relevant no matter where you live.

Which is why you may be interested in a series of home food preservation webinars Penn State Extension in University Park, Pennsylvania, is presenting over the next few months.

Registration is required to attend, and some have a nominal fee. If you'd prefer a printed book, you can purchase "Preserving Food at Home Resource Guide."

To sign up for the first webinar, Introduction to Preserving, which is free, go to extension.psu.edu and search by the title.

Other courses include: June 1, Water Bath Canning, $5; June 5, Can-Along Strawberry Jam, $15; June 12, Hot courses (safety issues), free; June 13, Ask the Experts, free; June 26, Jams and Jellies, $5; June 29, Pressure Canning, $5; July 12, Atmospheric Steam Canning, $5; July 12, Freezing, $5; July 29, Can-Along Pressure Canning Green Beans, $15; Aug. 2, Pickling, $5; Aug. 17, Tomatoes and Salsa, $5; Aug. 24, Fermented Pickles and Sauerkraut, $5; Sept. 25, Introduction to Drying, $15; Oct. 2, Wild Game, $5.

Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com or annebraly.com.

‘Tis the season. Outdoor cooking season, that is. Normally that’s a year-round activity in California, but many backyard grill masters and pitmasters may feel the need to make up for lost time, if our recent months of cold, blustery weather kept them inside. The publishing world is happy to oblige with a fresh crop of inspirational cookbooks. There are recipes and advice for everyone here, whether you are a casual griller or smoking like a pit pro.

Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling

Considering how crazy Californians are for carne asada, this cookbook may become the season’s bestseller. Los Angeles chef-restaurateur Bricia Lopez and food blogger Javier Cabral, who co-wrote the 2019 bestselling cookbook, “Oaxaca,” have now turned their attention to SoCal’s backyard barbecue scene, where asada isn’t just the meat you cook but the get-together you hold.

You’ll find yourself salivating over “Asada” (Abrams, $40), with its 100 recipes supplemented by sizzling photos. Should you start off with the Carne Asada Clásica or try the spiced Michelada Carne Asada or the chimichurri-inspired Arrachera Verde? Other meats and seafood get their share of attention too, with recipes for Salsa Borracha Ribs, Pollo Yucateco Asado and Four-Chile Snapper.

“Las aguas” and “las salsas” are also reimagined by Lopez and Cabral. Check out their innovative Toasted Corn Horchata, Watermelon and Lime Zest Agua Fresca and Bone Marrow Salsa. And even if you think your pico de gallo recipe is the best, who isn’t always looking for what the authors call A Better Pico?

These experts also share a few old-school secrets. For example, they write, your “tio” (uncle) was onto something when he cleaned the barbecue grill with an onion. Turns out “onions contain a surprisingly high amount of an antimicrobial compound named allicin.” And savvy cooks in Mexico add a little orange soda to the Cóctel de Camarón Asado (shrimp cocktail) marinade for a sweet-tart kick.

Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque: Celebrating the Eastern North Carolina Whole Hog Barbeque of My African American Ancestors  

Heralded as North Carolina’s most famous pitmaster, Ed Mitchell has been practicing the art of smoking meat for more than 30 years, so you know he has plenty of wisdom to impart in this, his first book. Although he starting smoking meat as a teenager, he traces his official history to 1991, when he went down to the Piggly Wiggly to buy a hog to cook at his family’s market, and the irresistible aroma drew onlookers. Whole-hog cooking is Mitchell’s specialty, as it was for generations before him, and he sings the praises of heritage pork.

Part memoir, part cookbook, the eponymous “Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque” (Ecco, $35), written with son Ryan, will drop on June 6, just in time for Juneteenth and Father’s Day. Its pages are full of heartfelt history, vintage photos and easy-to-follow recipes. The book starts with the how-to’s for crunchy Cracklin’ Hush Puppies and Smoked Collard Greens Dip (developed for the Carolina Panthers’ first Super Bowl appearance) and other appetizers, then delves deep into pork and beef. Featured is the recipe for Ed’s Mouthwatering Baby Back Ribs brushed with Ed’s Eastern North Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce, the dish he used to beat chef Bobby Flay in a throwdown.

Rounding out the book are stories and recipes about everything from biscuits and potato salad to banana pudding and sweet tea. You know how picky Southern cooks can be about that one particular side dish, right? The shared recipe, from the Mitchell family matriarch, is aptly titled “I Don’t Eat Everybody’s Potato Salad!”

BBQ for All: Year-Round Outdoor Cooking for Meat-Eaters, Vegetarians and Pescatarians

Barbecue advice from a Brit? Sure, when it comes from Marcus Bawdon, an expert devoted to transforming the United Kingdom’s traditionally dismal backyard barbecue — “poor-quality supermarket meats, cremated on the outside and raw on the inside,” he writes — into palatable meals.

After schooling thousands of outdoor cooks via his UK BBQ School in Devon, the UK BBQ magazine and his CountryWoodSmoke.com blog, he reports great progress: “There’s a vibrant BBQ scene developing in the UK.”

This year, Bawdon, who previously wrote “Food & Fire” and “Skewered,” is out with his third cookbook, “BBQ for All: Year-Round Outdoor Cooking for Meat-Eaters, Vegetarians and Pescatarians” (Dog n Bone, $30). A former vegetarian for 14 years (until he craved a well-prepared steak one day), he offers a tempting lineup in the “Veg” chapter — Ember-Cooked Baba Ganoush, Celery Root Steaks with Barbecue Sauce, Cauliflower Mustard Crumble and Chimichurri Roasties among them. Pescatarians will find 19 recipes for the grill and smoker, including Sea Bass Wrapped in Leek and decadent Duck Fat Garlic Scallops (He notes, “You can get duck fat hotter than butter without it burning, thus improving the sear and caramelization on the scallops.”).

America’s Test Kitchen: The Outdoor Cook

This encyclopedic volume comes from the experts at America’s Test Kitchen, the respected Boston-based operation that tests and tests recipes, and then tests them again, making it invaluable for folks just getting started with grilling or those moving up from grilling to smoking (or as a summer wedding present).

Appropriately subtitled “How to Cook Anything Outside Using Your Grill, Fire Pit, Flat-Top Grill and More,” the book (ATK, $29.99) covers equipment, fuel, fire and safety before getting into meals to whet your appetite.

A whopping 150 recipes are smartly curated: “10 Unexpected Outdoor Recipes” (Grilled French Toast, Smoked Nachos); “5 Dishes to Feed a Crowd” (Hot-Smoked Whole Side of Salmon); “5 Must-Cook Open-Fire Dishes” (Fireside Chili); “5 Showstoppers” (Rotisserie Leg of Lamb with Cauliflower, Grape and Arugula Salad); “Both Hands Needed” (Grilled Green Chile and Chorizo Cheeseburgers); and more.

And every recipe starts off with the famously informative America’s Test Kitchen blurb, “Why This Recipe Works.” The Charred Guacamole recipe, for example, “employs heat strategically by grilling the aromatics until well charred, grilling the avocados lightly, and leaving the lime off the grill entirely so that its fresh juice brightens the smoky flavors.” And if you’re not normally a fan of turkey burgers, consider this: “The smoky, flame-kissed flavor imparted by the grill transforms mild-mannered turkey burgers into a welcome alternative to beef. But for superlative burgers, you’ve got to deliver the patties a little boost with some flavorful add-ins before they hit the heat.”

The BBQ Companion: 50 Recipe Cards for Grilling Perfection

This hand-size “barbecue in a box” is designed for the backyard or campground griller who wants some fresh ideas and wants them fast — save the long reads for another time.

We broke the seal on “The BBQ Companion” box ($24.95, Smith Street Gift, a division of Penguin Random House Canada) and pulled three recipe cards out of the deck: The first one, a card from the middle and the last one. Barbecued Peri Peri Chicken, Grilled Cabbage Salad and Rum-Spiked Barbecue Banana Boats — sounds like a winning meal!

This collection comes from Oscar Smith, an Australia-based food writer and fan of beer and travel. Yes, barbecue experts from the UK seem to be a publishing trend this year, and we rather like the perspectives from abroad. Besides the African-Portuguese peri peri recipe, Smith’s global array includes Brazilian Cachaca Chicken Skewers, Japanese Seven-Spice Calamari, Thai Chili-Coconut Surf & Turf Skewers, Greek-Style Slow-Cooked Lamb Roast and Edamame Burgers with Red Onion Jam.

And if you think an Australian grilling collection should include a shrimp recipe, it’s here. Only it’s a Louisiana Prawn Po-Boy, made with spiced grilled shrimp and topped with remoulade.

“We’ve been hiding in plain sight all along,” Tarren Bragdon said of his 12-year-old nonprofit group, the Foundation for Government Accountability.

The Naples, Florida-based think tank has been publicly cheerleading GOP efforts to tighten work requirements for food stamps and Medicaid as part of high-wire debt ceiling talks in Washington. But without the clout or funding of major conservative K Street institutions that also support shrinking the federal safety net, the FGA has largely pursued a state-level strategy that has been quietly racking up wins.

As a result, low-income Americans in many states face narrowing access to key benefits programs, regardless of whether the curbs House Republicans passed in their debt ceiling bill last month wind up in a final deal with Democrats and the White House.

In recent interviews, half a dozen hunger relief groups across the country named the FGA as their top adversary in an escalating policy fight over safety net benefits, citing the group more frequently than any other. One aid organization feared drawing attention to its efforts, thinking about triggering an FGA lobbying blitz to curb food stamp payments in its home state.

More than 42.5 million Americans were enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as of February, the latest data available, receiving an estimated $6 per day for help buying groceries. That tally was up 3.2% from a year earlier but reflects the month before enhanced pandemic-era benefits expired for millions.

Bragdon, a former state representative from Maine who has served as the foundation’s CEO and president since launching it, estimates only about 20% of the FGA’s policy work addresses welfare and unemployment. But the think tank and its lobbying arm have been a driving force on those issues — often serving as the sole providers of research presented in state legislatures to support the idea that tighter access to safety net programs spurs more people to work.

While recent research shows the highest food-stamp enrollments are typically in low-unemployment states, that longtime conservative argument against generous public assistance has proved compelling in the current economy. In its 2022 annual report, the foundation touted “more than 45 unemployment and welfare policy victories to move Americans back to work and stop wasteful spending that encourages people to stay home.”

“There’s no better time for individuals to move from welfare dependency into the workforce,” Bragdon told NBC News, “with almost 10 million open jobs, with many starting jobs beginning at $12, $14 an hour.”

The goal, he said, is to “help make them self-sufficient so that they can experience the American dream.”

A state-by-state strategy

In late April, Kansas lawmakers tightened SNAP work rules, voting largely along party lines to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a measure requiring most recipients ages 50-59 to work at least 30 hours per week or attend mandatory job training.

The FGA, like many policy nonprofit groups, maintains a lobbying organization, called the Opportunity Solutions Project. State legislative records show that the OSP last year hired local lobbyist Steve Greene, who testified in committee hearings in support of stricter criteria for SNAP benefits. In its annual report, the foundation called the narrow veto override a “dramatic win” fueled by a campaign that “used FGA’s research and messaging to educate every member on the issue.”

The think tank supports “universal work requirements for welfare programs” across the board. But as Bragdon put it, “Our business strategy is to provide a menu of reforms, but then for state or federal policymakers to decide what makes the most sense for them to advance, given their dynamics and climate.” The FGA’s annual report includes a map of 33 “states of opportunity for 2023,” labeled either “redder and better” or “same and steady.”

In line with that modular approach, work requirements aren’t the only policy tool the group endorses to prod recipients of public support into the workforce.

Last March, a GOP supermajority in Idaho enacted new limits on the state’s ability to waive SNAP work rules for recipients in high unemployment areas. In a committee hearing, Republican state Rep. Kevin Andrus presented FGA senior research fellow Scott Centurino to provide “national context.” When a health department official testified that the proposal could shrink federal funding for the state’s SNAP program, Andrus countered, “This legislation helps individuals to get on their feet and working.”

In a Utah House hearing in 2021 on a nearly identical proposal, Republican Rep. Steve Christiansen called up an OSP representative to explain it to lawmakers. The measure was later defeated.

Iowa’s Republican supermajority passed a bill in April taking a different approach. The new rule would factor the value of liquid assets, including personal property like cars, into the income limits for receiving food assistance or Medicaid — a policy known as an asset test. State lobbying disclosures show the OSP paid $14,250 to a consultant who lobbied for the bill, which was sent last week to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. She is expected to sign it into law.

Some critics of these moves see less of a locally tailored policy approach than a partisan campaign for a long-standing conservative goal.

“We had national Republican Party politics playing out in our legislative agenda this year,” said Michelle Book, CEO of the Food Bank of Iowa. “They continue to say, ‘We’re going to beat down unemployment benefits, we’re going to beat down SNAP benefits, because this will produce more workers,’ and we’ve not seen it.”

Instead, Book said the food bank has experienced higher demand this year, after Iowa joined the handful of states that ended pandemic-era enhancements to SNAP payments before they expired nationally March 1. Last March, the organization served 110,000 individuals, she said. It served 169,000 in March.

The new asset test would disqualify low-income Iowans for SNAP benefits if the value of their personal liquid assets — including checking and savings accounts, and personal property excluding one vehicle — hit a $15,000 cap.

“So people can’t save for retirement, they can’t save to educate their children, they can’t save for emergencies, they can’t have additional vehicles to get additional family members to work,” Book said. She added that the Food Bank of Iowa is now doubling its Des Moines distribution center to 60,000 square feet to buy and dispense more food.

Some opponents of the asset test rules also pointed to state estimates finding that implementing them would cost Iowa taxpayers almost $18 million in the policy’s first three years.

“We believe that the welfare safety net needs to prioritize the truly needy,” Bragdon said, adding that “somebody’s primary car is exempt from any kind of asset test.”

Washington inroads

Compared with older, better-funded think tanks and lobbying groups across the political spectrum, the FGA and OSP represent a small operation with limited reach in Washington.

The foundation employs four “federal affairs managers” responsible for sharing policy ideas with lawmakers, according to a spokesperson. Bragdon said the FGA now has almost 50 full-time staffers and around 60 contractors, including 15 attorneys.

The group — which has also advocated for issues ranging from curtailing ranked-choice voting to loosening child labor laws — reported securing $15 million in fresh fundraising last year, up 26% since 2020.

The OSP, a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organization that the IRS specifies “must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare,” has a roughly $4 million budget and deploys lobbyists in more than 30 states and Washington, D.C., Bragdon said.

Federal lobbying disclosures show the OSP paid $130,000 in the first quarter of this year to lobbyist Robin Walker, who also serves as a senior visiting fellow at the organization, for “food stamp reform, work requirements and TANF,” or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

As is common among privately run policy groups, the FGA and OSP don’t share many details about their funding sources. Bragdon estimated that the FGA gets about 35% of its funding from individuals — “mostly entrepreneurs who have lived the American dream” — and around 25% from other foundations, with less than 1% from public companies.

Asked about media reports that the organization’s donors include conservative powerhouses such as Koch-network entities and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the spokesperson said the group “protects the identity of our donors as a courtesy to them.”

The FGA has already cultivated influential allies on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who “has worked with the Foundation for Government Accountability for years,” a spokesperson said. “He is proud to have their support on several of his proposals to reform Washington and make it work better for the American people including his Let’s Get to Work Act.”

The FGA praised that bill, which aims to tighten work requirements for SNAP and public housing clients, when Scott introduced it in January. “Nobody should be dependent on government that can work,” he said in a short FGA video on the issue last month, “Nobody.”

At least two other congressional Republicans have published endorsements by Bragdon of their own recent proposals to tighten work requirements.

Other FGA allies are involved in shaping agricultural policy, such as Rep. Kat Cammack, a Florida Republican who was elected in 2020 to the seat held by former Rep. Ted Yoho, for whom Cammack previously served as deputy chief of staff.

Like her predecessor, Cammack sits on the House Agriculture Committee that every five years debates the reauthorization of the farm bill, of which nutrition programs like SNAP are by far the biggest component by funding. Those talks are underway now, as the current package expires Sept. 30.

Cammack was also appointed to Republicans’ new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and joined Bragdon last summer for a virtual panel discussion of her proposal to roll back executive branch regulatory powers.

The foundation has also built ties with Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., who chairs the House Agriculture Committee. While Thompson has voiced skepticism about expanding states’ ability to waive SNAP work rules, he has signaled openness to tweaking the program.

“What frustrates me most at this moment is my Democrat colleagues have already drawn a line in the sand­ — this program will not be touched in the next reauthorization of the farm bill,” he said in a hearing last spring.

Thompson’s offices didn’t respond to requests for comment, and a spokesperson for Cammack declined to comment.

On SNAP but working

Some economists who study the relationship between SNAP and employment question whether tightening access to the program drives more people to work.

University of Illinois researchers found last month that many states with the highest SNAP participation rates — such as Louisiana and West Virginia — also boast the lowest unemployment rates. Since the Great Recession of 2008, SNAP participation and unemployment have “diverged,” they said.

“We have a lot of people who are working but not earning enough money to get out of poverty,” said Jonathan Coppess, one of the report’s authors. “So what is the point of policy built around work requirements when it isn’t an unemployment issue?”

Asset tests in particular have become increasingly controversial. Anti-hunger advocates recently pleaded with Texas officials to vote through an upcoming House bill that would update the state’s existing vehicle asset test, which was last revised in 2001. Inflation has driven up automotive values substantially since then, pushing many SNAP users over the threshold to qualify.

Some advocates and researchers also criticize how FGA has presented data. For example, the group shared materials with NBC News claiming that almost 75% of “able-bodied adults on food stamps do not work at all,” using figures that lean on monthly point-in-time snapshots from the Agriculture Department, rather than longer periods that experts say may better reflect employment trends from sources such as the Census Bureau.

A recent analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-of-center think tank, cautioned against overstating the unemployment status of so-called “able-bodied adults without dependents,” citing high turnover and fluctuating hours in many low-wage jobs.

Self-reported food stamp data may also be incomplete, said Ed Bolen, the CBPP’s director of SNAP state strategies, as some recipients on the cusp of eligibility hesitate to report small or temporary changes that could throw them off the rolls.

“A lot of workers are in and out of the labor market through no fault of their own, just the nature of the work,” Bolen said. “It’s important to look at the work engagement over a period of time.”

Not all of FGA’s efforts to cull SNAP rolls have succeeded, including in Republican statehouses. The group’s push to enact asset tests in Ohio in 2021 was defeated after a GOP lawmaker blocked it, saying he wanted to ensure recipients “have food on their tables so that they can take care of their families.” More recently, two proposals to tie food stamp benefits to child support cooperation were defeated in Montana and Kansas.

Bragdon suggested he still sees the latter issue as a potential messaging win in debates around trimming SNAP enrollments.

“Half of the folks that we’re talking about are men,” he said. “A lot of times when folks think about welfare, they think about the typical single mom that’s profiled as part of a welfare cash assistance conversation.”

While expanding work requirements for safety net programs remain a sticking point in debt ceiling talks, spending cuts have come to the fore in recent days. But Bragdon said the FGA has been pushing “multiple legislative vehicles to accomplish the same policy.”

“You have the debt ceiling, you have the farm bill, but you also have the appropriations bill,” he said.

Before the last farm bill reauthorization, in 2018, Thompson appeared in an FGA-produced video along with several other Republican lawmakers to promote expanded work requirements, using language that the think tank is still deploying.

Referring to people “using the SNAP program because of financial distress in their lives — unemployed, underemployed, maybe living in poverty for generations,” Thompson said, “they really need to have a shot at the American dream.”

Originally published May 24, 2023 at 4:00 PM