Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2007)
Page 8 The INDEPENDENT, August 2, 2007 Home-canning information should be research-based and up-to-date The food preservation sea- son is approaching. Be pre- pared by gathering up-to-date instructions for home canning. Although other preservation methods such as drying and freezing may allow some room for creativity, canning must be done with precision. Home-canned foods will be safe to eat if you follow re- search-based instructions ex- actly. It’s especially important to can low-acid foods (such as meat, fish, vegetables, and poultry) correctly to avoid botu- lism, a sometimes fatal food- borne illness. You must use a pressure canner. The type of canner and length of time needed are influ- enced by several factors in- cluding the acidity of the food (or food mixture), the way it’s prepared, and the size of the jar. Jars of food must reach a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria. To determine a safe processing time, re- searchers record the tempera- ture inside samples of jars dur- ing the canning process. Safe home-canning recom- mendations are developed by researchers in food science laboratories. The U.S. Depart- Free Kidney screenings at Kelso’s Cowlitz County Fair The Dialysis Staff from St. John Medical Center will be working hard at the Cowlitz County Fair this Saturday, Au- gust 4, providing free screen- ings for Chronic Kidney Dis- ease (CKD), which may include a serum creatinine blood test. The free kidney screenings will take place from noon to 6:00 p.m. at the fairgrounds. “We are focusing on reach- ing people who might not other- wise have an opportunity to de- termine their risk of kidney dis- ease,” says Bonnie Brice, Clin- ical Manager of PeaceHealth’s Dialysis Center. “We want to reach people who are under-in- sured, or have no health insur- ance at all. These are the peo- ple who are most likely to be unaware that they are at risk of kidney disease.” High blood pressure and di- abetes are the leading causes of kidney disease. Sadly, over half of the people who will go on dialysis this year could have avoided it if they had taken A GALIS N ETWORK S ERVICES proper preventive steps. Be- cause the early stages of kid- ney disease show few symp- toms, it is important to begin regular monitoring through sim- ple blood and urine tests. Many cases of kidney failure can be delayed or prevented through early diagnosis and interven- tion. “People with high blood pressure, diabetes, or a family history of kidney disease are at particularly high risk,” says Mary Jansma, Nurse Practi- tioner at PeaceHealth’s Dialy- sis Center. “Early detection can help prevent the progression of kidney disease to kidney fail- ure. Just as important, kidney disease can also cause hyper- tension. Heart disease is the major cause of death for people with CKD. There are so many good reasons for people to find out if they are at risk!” In America, Chronic Kidney Disease afflicts 20 million Americans – one in every nine adults – and an additional 20 High Speed Wireless Internet. As fast as DSL for less cost. Domain Services Low cost registration and hosting. Unlimited Dialup Surf up to 5x faster with dialup accelerator included FREE. Local Areas Wireless Internet Heather Ln. to Cherry St., Downtown Vernonia Timber Rd./Hwy 47 Jct. to the Golf Course million are at high risk. “There is no precise way for us to know how many people are at risk of Chronic Kidney Disease,” says Jansma. “There are so many people who don’t have access to health screen- ings for CKD – working men and women without health care, or people still a little too young for Medicare. If these people will come to the Fair this coming Saturday, we’ll give them a free screening to find out if they are at risk.” The screening will include a review of lifestyle and risk fac- tors, and may also include a serum creatinine blood test, provided by an on-site phle- botomist. Additionally, every- one who participates in the kid- ney screening will be entered into a drawing for a handmade afghan. Admission to the Fair is free. The fairgrounds are located at the intersection of 7th Avenue and Washington Street in West Kelso. ment of Agriculture has long been the major source of re- search-based home-canning instructions. Recommenda- tions are published in The Complete Guide to Home Can- ning. View it online from the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia at http://www.uga.ed u/nchfp/ (click on “publica- tions”). The Extension Services of Oregon, Washington, Idaho have published the USDA home-canning recommenda- tions, many of which are online. Check the OSU website at http: //extension.oregonstate.edu/ca talog (click on “nutrition and foods”) for publications on can- ning tomatoes, seafood, and smoked seafood as well as pickling vegetables. These publications about canning vegetables, fruit, salsa, and meat and poultry also are avail- able for purchase via the OSU Raw fruits and vegetables have been linked to several foodborne illness outbreaks in recent years. A study conduct- ed at Tennessee State Univer- sity has suggested that rubbing and brushing fresh produce un- der cold running tap water has the potential to reduce surface contamination with harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes. The researchers studied let- tuce, broccoli, apples, and Attention: Drinkers take note! During Jamboree there will be free rides available from the Vernonia Police for anyone driving while intoxicated.* from anywhere using Agalis' Webmail. All Agalis Internet accounts include: Email accounts, Email Virus & SPAM filtering, FREE Internet related support. Owned and Operated in Vernonia since 1998 Source: Carolyn Raab. Extension food and nutrition specialist, Ore- gon State University. Rinse fruits & veggies for safety Check your email Website: www.agalis.net Phone: 503-201-1846 website. Pacific Northwest and other publications are also available at OSU Extension county offices. There are kept updated based on current re- search. Recent Ball and Kerr home- canning publications also are based on USDA recommenda- tions. It’s very important to use up-to-date editions because home-canning recommenda- tions have changed through the years. Use editions published after 1988, when many changes were made. Don’t assume that all home- canning recommendations on the Internet are safe. Be espe- cially cautious about personal websites, recipe sites, and cooking exchanges. Ask a food safety expert (such as OSU Ex- tension) before using them. They may not be based on re- search. * Straight to the County Jail This ad sponsored by The Independent tomatoes. It was harder to clean lettuce and broccoli be- cause grooves provided more surface area for the bacteria to attach. The research found that it’s more cost effective to clean fresh produce with cold tap wa- ter than with other homemade or commercial cleaning solutions. Stem and blossom ends of apples were more contaminat- ed than the surface after soak- ing and rinsing. The re- searchers therefore advise dis- carding the ends of fresh pro- duce (including tomatoes and melons) after rinsing. Source: Carolyn Raab. Extension food and nutrition specialist, Ore- gon State University.
