Latest news with #NorthCarolinaStateUniversity
Buzz Feed
2 days ago
- Health
- Buzz Feed
Avoid These Foods At Your Hotel's Breakfast Buffet
Most food lovers agree that when you're on vacation, one of the perks of staying at a hotel is the free continental breakfast or breakfast buffet included with your visit. On the other hand, one of the biggest setbacks you can have on a vacation is being relegated to the bathroom after you've contracted a foodborne illness. And food that's been sitting out all morning can be at high risk of potential bacteria contamination, so it's important to know which items are safe to eat — and which you may want to skip. 'There are two main factors I think about … that can increase [the] risk of getting foodborne illness,' explained Dr. Ellen Shumaker, director of outreach for the Safe Plates program at North Carolina State University. '[Those are] temperature control of foods [and] … other guests potentially contaminating utensils or food due to lack of handwashing.' A lot of the time you can't taste the difference when food is contaminated, so it's key to know what to look out for ahead of time. 'There's a number of different microorganisms [that can contaminate food and] can prove to be pathogenic or produce toxins,' said Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, food scientist and food science consultant. 'For example, [with] certain species of E. coli, salmonella or listeria, you only need a couple cells to really cause havoc.' We talked to food safety experts about what they usually avoid at a hotel breakfast — and what they feel comfortable eating and drinking. 'Hot foods [should be] staying hot, and cold foods [should be] staying cold,' Shumaker said. '[This helps to] avoid … the temperature danger zone where bacteria like to grow.' When foods are left out in the 'danger zone' (between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit) for more than two hours, germs that make you sick can rapidly reproduce, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And in a buffet or continental breakfast setting, food is likely sitting out longer than that. If you see sausage patties, bacon, scrambled eggs, quiches or other meat and egg products sitting out without any heating appliance, you're going to want to skip those. These types of foods should be kept warm with a device such as a hot plate or chafing dish, Shumaker explained. 'This does not give the exact temperature, of course, but is an indicator that measures are being taken to keep food in a safe temperature range,' she said. 'If there's milk that's been sitting around and it's not on ice or hasn't been refrigerated, that's certainly something that I'm planning on avoiding,' Le said. You're going to want to make sure perishable items (like yogurt, cheeses and deli meats) are kept cold and stay out of the temperature 'danger zone.' Some precut fruits and veggies (like tomatoes, leafy greens and melon) also should be chilled because 'when cut, the fleshy part … has the level of moisture and pH to allow bacteria that can cause illness to grow,' according to Shumaker. As for juices, both fresh and pasteurized should be cold. Since fresh juice isn't pasteurized, it's at a higher risk for growing harmful bacteria when left out at room temperature. Shelf-stable juice packaged in boxes, bottles or cans don't need to be refrigerated, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Individually wrapped creamers and butter packets also don't need to be kept cold. These types of creamers have been treated to kill off bacteria, and the salt in the butter helps it maintain shelf stability, Shumaker explained. While Le generally eats from the salad bar if it looks clean and fresh, he pays attention to signs that the fruits and veggies aren't being properly handled. For example, if they have soft edges or if there's any dirt or other material on the surfaces, this could indicate that they're old or haven't been thoroughly washed. Melons, like cantaloupes, can be particularly risky because people often don't wash the rinds, he said. If the rind is damaged and there's bacteria on it, it can spread to the inside part of the melon. It can also cross-contaminate other fruits or veggies it touches. 'Fresh vegetables that are normally picked from the ground, like a lettuce or a cabbage … can pick up dirt quite a bit and then spread that … if they haven't been washed carefully,' Le added. 'Dirt can … start to produce a number of different microorganisms.' Raw sprouts (such as alfalfa or mung bean) should be avoided, Shumaker explained. They're grown from seeds and beans under warm, humid conditions, which are ideal for the growth of E. coli, salmonella and listeria, according to the FDA. 'If just a few harmful bacteria are present in or on the seed, the bacteria can grow to high levels during sprouting.' Sure, that tray of fruit may look appetizing — until you notice there's no serving utensil for it and people are touching it with their bare hands. If they haven't washed their hands after using the restroom, coughing or blowing their nose, they could be contaminating the other food on the plate, Shumaker said. When you do use serving utensils or shared condiments that a lot of other people are touching, you want to make sure your hands are clean before picking up the food on your plate. 'Other guests may have hands that have not been washed thoroughly after using the restroom or … have been in their mouths for their finger-licking first course,' said Dr. Jonathan Deutsch, professor of culinary arts and science at Drexel University. 'I always try to sanitize my hands between making my plate and sitting down to eat.' Norovirus, known as the 'stomach bug,' is the most likely culprit to be transferred from unclean hands to utensils and surfaces. 'If not cleaned and sanitized, norovirus can persist on surfaces for weeks,' Shumaker said. Making sure food and beverages are served at the appropriate temperature and washing your hands before eating are two of the most important guidelines. There are a few other items experts say are safest to consume. 'I'm going to trust [packaged foods, like muffins or individual yogurts] more just because there's a lot of processes that are involved to make sure that [they] are kept safe,' Le said. '[And] no one's touching them or handling them.' Deutsch said whole fruits that haven't been cut (like bananas or oranges), cooked-to-order options like omelets, and cereal in a dispenser (wash your hands after touching the handle) are also usually safe bets, particularly if you're immunocompromised. For people who are at a higher risk of food poisoning (weakened immune system, pregnant, aged 65 and older, or younger than 5), they should especially be aware of options that are safer to eat and what to avoid. While anyone can get food poisoning, individuals in these groups could get severely sick from it, according to the CDC. Do your research — and follow your gut. Besides the above safety guidelines, you can also check out inspection reports for restaurants and hotels. (They are usually publicly available in the United States and many other countries, according to Deutsch.) And when you're eating out at a restaurant or hotel, 'don't be afraid to ask questions regarding how food has been handled,' Deutsch said. 'And follow your gut — if you see something that's questionable or if you have a health condition that makes you particularly vulnerable, pack some protein bars.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stein calls on Congress to preserve electric vehicle industry tax credits in Raleigh speech
Gov. Josh Stein speaks with reporters after addressing attendees at the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum: "Future Forward Energy." (Photo: Christine Zhu/NC Newsline) North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Wednesday voiced strong support for retaining and strengthening the state's electric vehicle industry. Speaking at an Institute for Emerging Issues forum entitled 'Future Forward Energy,' at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, Stein said he has communicated with the state's congressional delegation about the urgency of keeping tax credits designed to support the EV industry. U.S. House Republicans passed a budget reconciliation bill last week that would eliminate several tax credits for electric vehicles, a move that advocates say will harm North Carolina's EV industry. The cuts would undo tax credits leading to 16,300 jobs and $20.4 billion in investments in the state, according to nonprofit Electrification Coalition. 'Companies make investments based on policy, and there has to be certainty, there has to be settled expectations, or else they do not know how to invest,' Stein told reporters. He emphasized the importance of drawing businesses to the state to boost its economy and create jobs. 'Many of them have made major business decisions about investing in North Carolina,' Stein continued. 'We've got to preserve those credits so that the companies get the bargain that they struck.' Addressing the conference, Stein spoke about the Energy Saver North Carolina program that he launched with Secretary of Environmental Quality Reid Wilson. This initiative offers more than $200 million in rebates for income-eligible households for the installation of energy efficient appliances and other products, like heat pumps and insulation. Stein said the program is an example of moving forward toward a clean energy economy, strengthening the economy, and putting money back into people's pockets. 'It is about moving forward. That is true nowhere more than western North Carolina,' he said, pointing to the devastation wrought last fall by Hurricane Helene. Stein added that his administration has been 'laser-focused' on helping western North Carolinians recover since his first day in office. He also addressed the issue of climate change and its effects on the state. 'As we do the difficult work of seeking the federal and state dollars and putting them to work and communities, we cannot ignore the fact that North Carolina is experiencing more extreme weather with increasing frequency,' he said. 'As we rebuild our energy infrastructure out west, we must be mindful of the need to adapt to a change in climate and insure greater resiliency for the future.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Onslow County Schools name the 2025-26 Teacher of the Year
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Cason Justice, a Social Studies teacher at Swansboro HighSchool, has been named the 2025-2026 OCS Teacher of the Year by Onslow County Schools. Thenews was delivered in a surprise announcement at the district's annual OCS Excellence in Education event on May 22. As a 13-year educator, a proud graduate of North Carolina State University, and an accomplished, National Board-Certified teacher, Justice brings exceptional academic credentials to his teaching practice. Justice's leadership extends beyond the classroom to his work on Swansboro High's StrategicPlanning Team, where he and his colleagues routinely examine evidence showing the strongcorrelation between student involvement and academic success. As a Fellowship of ChristianAthletes advisor since 2012, he takes student involvement very seriously, striving to create aninclusive environment where students develop leadership skills and connect with their community through service. His leadership has also made an impact at the district level. As part of the Onslow County Schools Teacher Leadership Council, which he served for three years, he helped create the county's Standards Division Documents and Course Outline for World History, resources now used by teachers throughout the district. He has also dedicated his time and expertise to the important job of mentoring beginning teachers and has a particular passion for creating a future for NC public schools where students have access to qualified, well-trained, and well-compensated educators. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Benefits of boiling water with dirty fuels outweigh the risk in areas with unclean resources: Study
Boiling unclean water in many regions of the world results in air pollution from burning dirty fuels, but the benefits of doing so usually outweigh the risks, a new study has found. The boiling process, even at low effectiveness and when using sooty stoves, leads to a daily net reduction in 'disability-adjusted life years,' or the number of healthy life years lost, according to the study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives. 'In places where there is not centralized infrastructure that provides clean water, the responsibility for addressing that risk falls to individual households,' co-corresponding author Angela Harris, an associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at North Carolina State University, said in a statement. 'The advice to those households is often to boil the water before using it,' Harris continued. 'But these households often have to rely on heating sources that carry risks of their own.' While the research community has generally focused on these risks separately, Harris and her colleagues decided to explore how the two factors overlap. To do so, they used computational models to estimate the health impacts linked to the consumption of contaminated water and exposure to emissions from cookstoves. These models, the authors explained, accounted for varying levels of water quality and of pollution from the stoves. 'For example, cookstoves that we accounted for in this work ranged from cooking over an open woodfire to using an electric stovetop,' co-corresponding author Andrew Grieshop, a professor in the same NC State department, said in a statement. They then used their framework to pursue case studies in both Uganda and Vietnam and incorporated public health and demographic data from both nations, Grieshop explained. The scientists calculated the total change in disability-adjusted life years from household air pollution and diarrhea from fecal contamination of drinking water. They determined that boiling water decreased diarrheal disease by an average of 1,100 such years and 367 years per 10,000 people, for those under and over five years old in Uganda, respectively. Similar results materialized in Vietnam, although fewer such years were avoided in children under five there — a variance that the scientists attributed to different demographics. 'Our results reflect the established science that if people only have access to highly contaminated water, then boiling that water drastically reduces risk — particularly for children,' Harris said. Meanwhile, she stressed that if households are already using unclean stoves for food preparation, then using those same appliances for boiling water only causes minimal increases in risk of disease. 'In other words, the modeling suggests that this is a tradeoff worth taking, especially for households with young children,' Harris added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Benefits of boiling water with dirty fuels outweigh the risk in areas with unclean resources: Study
Boiling unclean water in many regions of the world results in air pollution from burning dirty fuels, but the benefits of doing so usually outweigh the risks, a new study has found. The boiling process, even at low effectiveness and when using sooty stoves, leads to a daily net reduction in 'disability-adjusted life years,' or the number of healthy life years lost, according to the study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives. 'In places where there is not centralized infrastructure that provides clean water, the responsibility for addressing that risk falls to individual households,' co-corresponding author Angela Harris, an associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at North Carolina State University, said in a statement. 'The advice to those households is often to boil the water before using it,' Harris continued. 'But these households often have to rely on heating sources that carry risks of their own.' While the research community has generally focused on these risks separately, Harris and her colleagues decided to explore how the two factors overlap. To do so, they used computational models to estimate the health impacts linked to the consumption of contaminated water and exposure to emissions from cookstoves. These models, the authors explained, accounted for varying levels of water quality and of pollution from the stoves. 'For example, cookstoves that we accounted for in this work ranged from cooking over an open woodfire to using an electric stovetop,' co-corresponding author Andrew Grieshop, a professor in the same NC State department, said in a statement. They then used their framework to pursue case studies in both Uganda and Vietnam and incorporated public health and demographic data from both nations, Grieshop explained. The scientists calculated the total change in disability-adjusted life years from household air pollution and diarrhea from fecal contamination of drinking water. They determined that boiling water decreased diarrheal disease by an average of 1,100 such years and 367 years per 10,000 people, for those under and over five years old in Uganda, respectively. Similar results materialized in Vietnam, although fewer such years were avoided in children under five there — a variance that the scientists attributed to different demographics. 'Our results reflect the established science that if people only have access to highly contaminated water, then boiling that water drastically reduces risk — particularly for children,' Harris said. Meanwhile, she stressed that if households are already using unclean stoves for food preparation, then using those same appliances for boiling water only causes minimal increases in risk of disease. 'In other words, the modeling suggests that this is a tradeoff worth taking, especially for households with young children,' Harris added.
