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When it comes to food processing equipment, there are many health and safety regulations. There are also many health and safety regulations that are ignored, resulting in accidents and injuries of the digit variety among others.
People do some stupid things when it comes to the safety of their fingers and thumbs. I’ve seen that first hand – excuse the pun! My brother in law decided to adjust the chain of his ride-on lawn mower while it was running bringing about the loss of one finger and lo and behold, the following year saw him stick his hand in the engine of a Land Rover losing another finger.
Ok, so we may have multiple fingers where other body parts are usually limited to one or two but they are all there for a reason and we find it very difficult to manage without. My brother in law couldn’t play the piano after losing the first digit and gave up the guitar entirely once the second one was a gonna too.
Of course, our hands are exposed all the time and this makes them more susceptible to damage. That is precisely why health and safety regulations are implemented and the thought of lost body parts in food processing equipment is a stomach churning thought.
A plant in the UK that uses food processing equipment has seen two workers lose digits recently. They claim that the machinery had been reported as faulty recently but management had neglected to implement repairs. This food processing equipment plant supplies food to major supermarkets and in this age of compensation claims, they surely cannot afford to misplace digits.
Workers who use vibrating machinery in cold temperatures, as food processing equipment often is, are also liable to the ravages of Vibration White finger. The results are pins and needles, tingling, whiteness of the fingers and numbness. In extreme cases, fingers can be lost and compensation claims for this have seen five figure sums being bandied about.
A woman in the US has made a pretty good income of fake compensation claims. Her career has been brought to an abrupt end recently with the discovery of her antics. She claims to have bitten into a workers amputated finger in her burger in a fast food outlet in California. The bad publicity led to the loss of $2.5 million.
The woman responsible, it was discovered, had done this before. Other establishments had paid her an out of court settlement to avoid bad press even though no workers had reported losing any fingers in food processing equipment. You’d think they would notice!
The woman was actually able to produce a real finger that she had purchased for $100 from a construction worker who had it amputated in an earlier accident. How she managed this several times, I do not understand.
Does she have a disembodied finger collection? Does she advertise for amputated body parts? Maybe she buys them over the internet – god knows, some people will sell anything these days!
Of course, if extra fingers are freely available, it would give her a distinct advantage when it came to eating a bag of hula hoops. Even the extra big bags you can buy these days, or the multi packs, she could eat them in the same time it takes the average person to eat a small bag!
I’m quite sure the hula hoop manufacturers are extremely careful when it comes to fingers in their food processing equipment. After all, what’s the point of advertising food that fits like a ring on your finger if the staff are a few digits short of a full hand?

In China, food and its preparation has been developed so highly that it has reached the status of an art form. Rich and poor, the Chinese people consider that delicious and nutritious food is a basic necessity. There is an old Chinese saying “Food is the first necessity of the people”.

This art has been cultivated and refined over hundreds of years. Legend has it that the culture of Chinese cuisine originated in the 15th century BC during the Shang dynasty and was originally introduced by Yi Yin, it’s first Prime Minister.

The two dominant philosophies of Chinese culture both had extreme influences on the political and economic history of the country but it is less well known that they also influenced the development of the culinary arts.

Confucius emphasised the artistic and social aspects of cookery and eating. The Chinese don’t gather together without involving food – it is considered to be poor etiquette to invite friends to your home without providing appropriate food.

Confucius established standards of cooking and table etiquette, most of which remain to this day. The most obvious example of this is the cutting of bite-sized pieces of meat and vegetables during the course of the food preparation in the kitchen, rather than using a knife at the table which is not considered to be good manners.

Confucius also encouraged the blending of ingredients and flavourings to become a cohesive dish, rather than tasting the individual components. Harmony was his priority. He believed and taught that without harmony of ingredients there could be no taste. He also emphasised the importance of presentation and the use of colour, texture and decoration of a dish. Most importantly, cooking became an art rather than a task to be endured and certainly he was instrumental in promulgating the philosophy of “live to eat” rather than “eat to live”.

On the other hand, Tao encouraged research into the nourishment aspects of food and cookery. Rather than concentrating on taste and appearance, Taoists were more interested in the life-giving properties of food.

Centuries on, the Chinese have discovered the health-giving properties of all sorts of roots, herbs, fungus and plants. They have taught the world that the nutritional value of vegetables is destroyed by over-cooking (particularly boiling) and in addition have found that things with a great flavour also have medicinal value.

Home cooked Chinese food is extremely healthy, even though much of it is fried. This is due to the use of polyunsaturated oils (used only once and discarded) and the exclusion of dairy products. In addition the inclusion of animal fat is minimal because portions of meat are small.

Food has been described as ambrosia and the elixir if life. For some, eating is a biological necessity for others it is a passion that can turn into an obsession. Experts define food addiction to be a disorder where the addict is preoccupied with food, the availability of food, and the pleasure of eating. There are three recognized addictions:

• Overeating, where the addict has no control over the amount or the number of times he eats. The person has no concept of being overweight or the servings a person must eat normally. Being an overeater, the addict will indulge in uncontrolled eating binges. Being obese, the addict will be prone to hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis, and cancer.

• Bulimisa Nervosa, where the addict binges and then tries to maintain weight by vomiting, using laxatives, excessive exercise, or even fasting. Such addicts will develop dental problems like thinning of enamel, excessive number of cavities, swollen salivary glands, fluid and electrolyte disturbances, as well as calluses and scars.

• Anorexia Nervosa, where the addict fears weight gain and so starves himself. Obsessed with weight gain and body shape anorexics will exhibit obsessive behaviors in maintaining themselves. In the process, they develop problems like disruption of menstrual cycle, emancipation, hair loss, unhealthy skin pallor, and a lack or fluids.

The most common health problems are obesity, alcoholism, diabetes, bulimia, food allergies, and food intolerance.

The signs that you are addicted to food are:

• Uncontrolled cravings for particular foods. Some are addicted to sweets, others to soft drinks, yet others to coffee.

• Continuous or frequent eating. No fixed meal times an addict will eat throughout the day.

• Sharpened hunger on consumption of specific foods.

• Anxiety attacks, feelings of nervousness, low sugar, a headache, stomach gripes and grumbles.

• Withdrawal symptoms.

• Fatigue.

• Extreme irritations.

• Intolerance to foods.

• Feelings of guilt at having eaten.

The very cornerstones to curing the addiction are to:

• Identify and avoid what are known to be trigger foods or drinks.

• Put into practice a diet that is nutrient rich, healthy, and helps maintain or loose weight.

• Make lifestyle changes. Adopt a healthier lifestyle and include plenty of fresh air as well as exercise.

• Focus on personal and spiritual development. Seek inner peace, calm, and joy. Practice meditation and deep breathing.

• Plan to have activity filled days to distract the mind from food.

Even if you have a niggling doubt that you may be a food addict you must seek help. Nip the problem in the bud before it grows into something unmanageable and serious. You must consult a nutritionist, doctor, psychologist, or an eating addiction center or specialist. There are programs run by groups like Overeaters Anonymous that run 12-step programs which are extremely beneficial.

Odds are good that you know someone who suffers from food allergies – possibly a mild aversion to nuts, dairy, eggs, fish or some other food. You may even know someone who suffers from extreme allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis, and must carry an epinephrine injector with them at all times in case of such a reaction.

But if you yourself suffer from food allergies, then you know firsthand the challenges of avoiding one or many kinds of foods, particularly in a society of refined food products that may often include all of the items you are allergic to even in a case where this seems unlikely.

This difficulty is compounded by the ambiguous ingredient listings which are often included on foods, with names such as “natural and artificial flavorings”. As a way of helping consumers to deal with the sometimes unclear ingredient list on food products, Congress passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect on January 1 of 2006.

This law mandates that food manufacturers declare when any one of the eight major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, tree nuts, soy, wheat, peanuts, crustaceans) are present in a food product. As such, if a product that you are examining on the shelf was packaged before January 1, it may not include the full declaration of allergenic substances.

That situation becomes increasingly unlikely as time goes on, however many products now have extremely long shelf lives – there may be product sitting on shelves for some time which was manufactured before the New Year.

When preparing foods if you or someone else in your family (or at an event) suffer from food allergies, be sure to pay close attention to the ingredients in anything that you use, as well as to use clean utensils to prevent the possibility of contamination from a previous usage.

Learn the specific scientific names for allergens, such as casein (allergen in milk)so that you know what to look for when examining labels. Living with food allergies is not easy, but with some effort you can avoid putting yourself or you allergy-suffering loved ones at risk.

Today’s New York Madison Avenue marketing push is all about natural skin care products for beautiful skin. Did you know the Japanese have simple food secrets for beautiful skin?

The leading Japanese food secret for beautiful skin starts by staying extremely hydrated. It has been reported they drink 8-12 cups of green tea daily and significant quantities of spring or mineral water. Western cultures recently recognize hydration as critical to the facial beauty we all desire. Unfortunately, many of the products on the market are loaded with sugar and other sweeteners. Japanese women have unequaled beauty as they age in their skin tone as a result of hydrating properly with simple mineral water and green tea.

European spas, on the other hand, have as a leading food secret for beautiful skin fasting at least monthly, but preferably weekly (if you have health problems consult a medical professional; but the absence of food is itself a food secret for beautiful skin). Fasting may further aide other health problems such as overweight, acne, menopause symptoms, and glucose levels.

Food secrets for beautiful skin from many non-western cultures, is to totally avoid fried foods. Skin that has lasting beauty and ageless beauty just cannot be maintained on a diet of fatty, greasy, fried foods.

Japanese food secrets for beautiful skin are largely driven by eating fresh, organic foods. Stay away from packaged/processed/manufactured foods, refined sugars, and white flour, eat small quantities of meat, do eat mostly fish, and consume dairy in moderation except organic yogurts with active cultures, which should be consumed once daily.

One of the most significant Japanese food secrets for beautiful skin is in their consumption of raw fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. It has also been said using sesame oil for cooking, and even the consumption of one tablespoon per day directly, has mystical properties, which are the secret to the facial skin beauty Japanese women enjoy as they age.

It goes without saying that eating fast food, and certainly on any regular basis, could be the most unhealthy food consumption habit practiced by western cultures.

To summarize, Japanese food secrets for beautiful skin start with staying extremely hydrated by consuming green tea and mineral waters. Totally avoid fast and fried foods, processed and manufactured foods at all costs. Menopause symptom relief and skin that has natural and lasting beauty are clear side benefits of Japanese food secrets for beautiful skin.