Eeyores News and View

Prepping 101Posted by: Kurt
I’m talking to the intelligent ones amongst you: you know who you are. You’
re the ones who, when you do your weekly shopping, you pick up a few extra
cans (or cases) of stuff that you and your family regularly eat. Chili,
beans, tuna, Mac & Cheese, Cheese Whiz, etc.
Then there are those of you who have the famous “but Safeway is only down
the street so I can rush down there before there’s a disaster” mentality.
Good luck and God help you, ‘cause no one else will.
There are four levels of “survival food” preparation and use:

Level 1: Shop using your local food ads for the food you normally eat.
It’s simply a point of logic (and economics) to “stock up” on foodstuffs
that you eat anyway. Here in North Idaho, every Wednesday and Sunday the
food ads come out. Just by watching these ads, I buy bread at $ .10 to $ .25
a loaf, milk at $1.65 a gallon, beef from $ .99 per pound, canned chili
around $ .15 a can, various canned fruit from $ .25 to $ .50 a can, and on
and on. Being the cheap guy I am, I simply buy a case of whatever’s on sale
when ever I see a good deal.
My wife has this weird idea that 100 jars of peanut butter is “too much”. Go
figure.
So that’s the easy part of “survival food”. Just follow your local food ads
and do a bit of stocking up. You can easily allocate 5% of your income to
these “extra” purchases. Use common sense when stocking up and don’t waste
your money on things like soft drinks and potato ships. Canned and solidly
packaged items that can be shelf-stable for at least a few years should be
your target.

WARNING! NEVER BUY DENTED CANS!
The interior of cans is coated with a food-grade shellac, which prevents
biological activity and growth. If that coating is damaged (as in a dented
can) the food in the can will immediately start to react with the tin and
start the formation of bacteria. Depending on the type of canned food, this
could lead to YOUR DEATH!
Example: as we all know, the staple diet of a teenaged boy is Mac & Cheese.
Super One Food has them on sale (periodically) at 5 for a dollar. Where else
can you feed someone for under a quarter? We bought two cases (48 boxes) and
to protect them from nibbly critters, we took each box and put it into a
zip-lock baggie, then put all the baggied-boxes into large plastic storage
tubs with lids.
Tuna? Three cans for $1.00 here on sale. Perfect source of protein so get at
least 24 cans per person in your household, and use that as a “rule of
thumb” for your survival storage purchases.

Level 2: Buy food stuffs that can be used to “stretch” you normal stored
foods.
Ok. So now you’ve got hundreds of cans of chili, beans, rice, Mac & Cheese,
tuna, etc, and you figure that you might have a one year supply of food for
the family (if all you eat is this canned and packaged stock). So now we
plan on how to stretch this supply.
Dehydrated foods are those foods that have had about 99% of moisture removed
from them. Standard packing procedure is to then place an amount of food
(green beans, peas, corn, soup mix, etc) in a #10 can (about a 1 gallon
size), add an oxygen absorber pack, flush with nitrogen (to remove any last
traces of oxygen) then vacuum seal in the can. Now you have a can of
something-or-other that will have a shelf life (depending on your storage
temperature) of up to 20 years. Dehydrated food generally weigh 50% to 75%
less then the original version of that food.
An example would be dehydrated BEEF TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein -
another name for tasteless soy bean meal. Various flavorings are added to
make it more palatable like beef, chicken, ham, taco and bacon flavor). You
would rehydrate 1 cup of beef tvp and fry that up like normal hamburger.
Cook up 1 cup of rice (which makes 2 cups of cooked rice.) Toss together
with any of the seasonings you’ve stocked up on (which is as important as
food - seasonings can make the most vile food taste like sirloin steak!),
and you have enough for 4 to 5 meals. By adding dehydrated food to your
stocked “normal” food stuff, you now have two to four times the amount of
food available.

The pros about using and storing dehydrated foods are:
1) Longer storage capability than “normal” canned food stuffs (10 to 20
years as opposed to 1 or 2 years).
2) Dehydrated foods weigh 50% to 75% less then their original weight.
3) As dehydrated foods are used as “ingredients” (not complete meals) you
can be more creative in preparation. Example: (and obviously after it’s been
properly rehydrated) Beef TVP can be made into a paddy like regular
hamburger, fried with seasonings and used in a burrito, cooked in spaghetti
sauce - use it anywhere you’d normally use hamburger. The same with the
other flavor TVP’s. In fact, we use the Bacon TVP on salads, potatoes and
eggs. You probably do to, except you might know it as “Bacon Bits”!

The cons about using dehydrated foods:

1) You must have a source of clean water to rehydrate the food.
2) All you’re gaining is longer term storage capability - it still takes
time to cook.
3) Depending on where you buy, they could be more expensive then their fresh
counterparts.
4) As the concept here is “storage”, you’ll need lots of space to stack
these cans

Canned dehydrated food is in use daily by most restaurants for soups, sauces
and seasoning. Dehydrated foods are hundreds of times more “shelf stable”
then their fresh counterparts, and still have up to 95% of the same
nutrition still intact.
NOTE: Though dehydrated food will last years in it’s original, sealed can,
once it’s opened, you’ll need to use it up within a few months (if it’s left
in it’s covered can on a shelf) or you could refrigerate the can and it’ll
be safe for many months.

Level 3: Buy long term storage, easily prepared, food stocks (complete meal
style)
For long term storage (I mean 20 to 50 years), the only company to use will
be Mountain House. The company is owned and operated by the original
creators of the long term, freeze dried food concept. Other companies (such
as AlpineAire) offer fine tasting, light weight freeze dried meals, but only
Mountain House products have any long term storage capability (depending on
your storage temprature, up to 50 years).
Freeze dried foods have 100% of their moisture removed. Then they’re packed
either in a can (usually the standard #10 size) or in light weight, easily
carried foil pack (after having the oxygen flushed out with nitrogen and
adding an oxygen absorber).
Mountain House #10 canned foods have a 30 to 50 year shelf life. Their foil
packs have about a 10 year shelf life. All other freeze dried companies have
around 1 to 2 year shelf life on their foil packs and cans.
Most freeze dried foods are what’s called “complete entree” style. Examples
are Chicken & Rice, Beef Stew, Mexican Style Chicken, etc. All you do is put
your desired helping in a pot, add the appropriate amount of hot water (that
’s how, stir and cover for about 15 minutes, then eat. Everything is
included in these products: meat, sauce, rice, seasonings, etc. These style
of meals are quick and simple to make.

The pros about using and storing freeze dried foods:
1) Extremely light in weight.
2) Extraordinary long term shelf life (depending on storage temperature)
3) Less than ½ hour to finished meal.

he cons about using freeze dried foods:

1) Cost. They are very expensive, but you have to consider that you’re not
buying a “meal” - you’re buying food security that can last you and your
family for up to 50 years.
2) You must have a source of clean water to rehydrate the food.
4) As the concept here is “storage”, you’ll need lots of space to stack
these cans

Level 4: Grab and run
So now, the “wolf’s at the door” and danger is eminent. You want to grab
something and just get outta Dodge. For quick and easy, you can always rely
on MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat). You can find either the original, higher
calorie content, USGI versions around or the waaay overpriced civilian
versions (check Ebay). MRE’s are compact, quick and tasty. Unfortunately,
they have a storage life of around 5 years (less if stored above 65
degrees), are very expensive ($5.00 to $7.00 per meal pack) and are hard to
find in bulk.

The optimum source of emergency food are what’s called “Survival Food
Tablets”. Back in the 1960's the Federal Government was searching for a food
source that could be used in emergency and/or survival situations. The
objective was to find a product that would provide the best possible
nutrition in the smallest possible volume. Rescue vehicles, survival pods,
downed planes, etc.
The resulting research was extremely involved and intense, and the product
that evolved was used in the Early Space Program. Eventually, a tablet was
perfected and used widely as an emergency food. It came to be known as the
Survival Tab. These tabs are about the size of a marble, are chewable and
taste like malt or chocolate.
The Survival Tabs will keep you alive and moving for months at a time, on
the amount you can carry in your backpack.
Survival Food Tabs come in a plastic, food grade bottle that holds 180
chewable tabs. The bottle will fit perfectly into a GI canteen holder and
can double as a canteen. This is enough food to keep me (6'2", 250 lbs)
alive for over a week.
So now you get a general idea of the where’s and whyfores of food storage.
Just remember to "cycle" any food stores you have. Use the oldest stuff
first and replace with fresh, newer stuff. In an emergency, life-or-death
situation, you don't want to open a can of anything that's gone long past
it's experiation date.
KW
http://www.survivalenterprises.com/news.php


Solvatten Solar Jerrycan Purifies Water Using Nothing But Sunshine
By Elaine Chow, 12:30 AM on Tue Jan 13 2009, 10,322 views
Providing clean water is an integral part to any effort to raise third-world living standards. Solvatten, a Swedish-designed water purifier, does its job using nothing but a couple of hours in the sun.
The Solvatten looks like a standard jerrycan sliced in half and divided into two 5 liter compartments, each of which has a clear face. The two chambers are exposed to sunlight, which naturally heats the water to a pathogen-killing temperature of roughly 130° F. An indicator changes from red to green when the water is safe to drink.
The whole process takes about 3 to 4 hours when its sunny, and 5 to 6 when it's cloudy. While that's not perhaps the fastest way to cure water, the amount of resources it saves compared to boiling over gas stoves makes it ideal for making sure some clean H2O will be on hand later.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5129971/solvatten-solar-jerrycan-purifies-water-using-nothing-but-sunshine

UK jobless rise of 40,000 in a week just 'tip of the iceberg'
The unemployment total has risen by more than 40,000 in little over a week, with experts warning that this is only the "tip of the iceberg".
The unemployment total has risen by more than 40,000 in little over a week, with experts warning that this is only the "tip of the iceberg".
In one of the darkest days for UK employment in recent memory, companies said they planned to cut over 3,400 jobs, including Barclays and Jaguar Land Rover.
A further 6,300 jobs are also under threat with companies struggling to stay afloat in the face of an almost unprecedented slump in business activity over Christmas.
Households were warned to brace themselves for repeated waves of redundancies lasting all the way until 2011 as the UK sinks into the deepest recession since the Second World War.
The number of confirmed job losses in the past 10 days alone has mounted to over 40,000, with a swathe of businesses joining Woolworths in either closing down or slashing back their workforces.
News of the latest cuts came as shares in London fell sharply despite the Government's announcement of a £21.3bn package of guarantees for lending to small and mid-tier companies.
Barclays announced it is to cut a further 2,100 jobs – on top of the 2,130 it announced on Tuesday – with the latest round of redundanciess coming from its retail and commercial banking branch.
The bank is one of the few UK institutions to have avoided so far having to call on the Government for emergency cash injections but has acknowledged that its balance sheet has been compromised by the financial crisis.
Elsewhere, Jaguar Land Rover, the troubled car maker, is cutting 450 jobs as it and other manufacturers see their sales slide.
The company, which has been appealing for government support following steep falls in new car sales, said it had axed staff to "help address the immediate challenges posed by the credit crunch". Chief executive David Smith said it was "critical" that the company "becomes a more efficient and dynamic organisation".
Administrators for music, DVD and games retailer Zavvi closed 18 of its branches, resulting in 353 job losses, while pharmaceuticals group Pfizer said it will cut up to 240 UK jobs and manufacturing group Fenner cut 290 positions.
Freemans Grattan, the home shopping company, owned by the German mail order company Otto Group said it would undertake a restructuring that would lead to significant job losses among its 3,800 staff. A spokesman said the job losses will run into "four figures".
Denby Pottery said its 700-strong workforce could be at risk, while telecoms equipment group Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection, which could affect 2,000 UK staff.
A number of economists now expect unemployment to mount tolevels seen in the early 1990s. Capital Economics predicts that the number of people out of work will rise to 3.5m – some 11pc of the workforce.
John Philpott, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development chief economist, said: "You can't necessarily judge the full picture from the redundancies that we're seeing.
"A lot of jobs will also be lost by simply not re-hiring staff when they leave. The redundancies are just the tip of the iceberg."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/4244581/UK-jobless-rise-of-40000-in-a-week-just-tip-of-the-iceberg.html

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Feds confirm salmonella contamination at Ga. plant
January 16, 2009 - 9:36pm
By KATE BRUMBACK and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) - The latest national food safety investigation took on new urgency Friday as federal officials confirmed salmonella contamination at a Georgia facility that ships peanut products to 85 food companies. On Capitol Hill, the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested records as it opened its own inquiry.
The outbreak has sickened hundreds of people in 43 states and killed at least six. Earlier this week, it prompted Kellogg to pull some of its venerable Keebler crackers from store shelves, as a precaution.
Although the investigation has gone into high gear, Food and Drug Administration officials say much of their information remains sketchy. And new cases are still being reported.
"This is a very active investigation, but we don't yet have the data to provide consumers with specifics about what brands or products they should avoid," said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's food safety center. Although salmonella bacteria has been found at the Georgia plant, for example, more tests are needed to see if it matches the strain that has gotten people sick.
But clearly, what began as an investigation of bulk peanut butter shipped to nursing homes and institutional cafeterias is now much broader.
It includes not just peanut butter, but baked goods and other products that contain peanuts and are sold directly to consumers. Health officials say as many as one-third of the people who got sick did not recall eating peanut butter.
"The focus is on peanut butter and a wide array of products that might have peanut butter in them," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, director of the foodborne illness division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officials said they are focusing on peanut paste _ which is essentially ground up peanuts _ as well as peanut butter, produced at a Blakely, Ga., facility owned by Peanut Corp. of America. The concern about peanut paste is significant because it can be used in dozens of products, from baked goods to cooking sauces.
"It could be a very broad range of peanut-based products here," said Donna Rosenbaum, head of STOP, Safe Tables Our Priority, a consumer group. "We don't know exactly what comes out of this plant. They really don't have their arms around all that."
Federal officials said they are focusing on 32 of the 85 companies that Peanut Corp. supplies, because of the time period in which they received shipments of peanut butter or paste. The companies are being urged to test their products, or pull them from the shelves as Kellogg did.
The government is also scrutinizing a grower, raising the possibility that contamination could have occurred before peanuts reached the processing plant, which passed its last inspection by the Georgia agriculture department this summer.
Peanut Corp. initially recalled 21 lots of peanut butter made at the plant since July 1 because of possible salmonella contamination. But late Friday the company expanded its voluntary recall to include all peanut butter produced at the Georgia plant since Aug. 8 and all peanut paste produced since Sept. 26. The company, which suspended peanut butter processing at the facility, said none of its peanut butter is sold directly to consumers, but is distributed to institutions, food service industries and private label food companies.
"We deeply regret that this product recall is expanding and our first priority is to protect the health of our customers," Peanut Corp. CEO Stewart Parnell said in a statement. "Based upon today's news, we will not wait for confirmation of the DNA strains and plan to recall all of the affected products produced during the time period."
Parnell added that the plant would be closed immediately for the investigation.
But Kellogg Co., which gets some peanut paste from the Blakely facility, asked stores late Wednesday to stop selling some of its Keebler and Austin peanut butter sandwich crackers. The company said it hasn't received any reports of illnesses.
Peanut Corp. said it is cooperating with federal and state authorities. On Friday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote the company requesting inspection and internal records dating back four years.
"Peanut butter is not supposed to be a risky food," said Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food & Water Watch. "What went wrong? And what does this mean about foods that are considered high-risk, such as raw vegetables?"
Sundlof said salmonella does not thrive in peanut butter, but can remain dormant. Then, when somebody eats the contaminated peanut butter, the bacteria begin to multiply. "That is apparently what happened in this case," he said.
Meanwhile, state health officials on Friday announced that a sixth death has been linked to the outbreak which has sickened more than 450 people in 43 states.
An elderly North Carolina man died in November from the same strain of salmonella that's causing the outbreak, North Carolina health officials said Friday. Tests taken the day before he died indicated the infection had overrun his digestive system and spread to his bloodstream, said Dr. Zack Moore, an epidemiologist with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho has reported one. Four of those five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died, though their exact causes of death haven't been determined. But the CDC said the salmonella may have contributed.
The CDC said the bacteria behind the outbreak _ typhimurium _ is common and not an unusually dangerous strain but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk. The salmonella outbreak is the second in two years involving peanut butter. Salmonella is the nation's leading cause of food poisoning; common symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

On the Net:
FDA: http://tinyurl.com/8srctw
http://wtop.com/?nid=106&sid=1572219