Hepatitis Outbreak & Vehicular Distractions

Hepatitis Outbreak & Vehicular Distractions plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Last week we reported that Townsend Farms in Oregon was under fire due to an outbreak of hepatitis linked to the company's "organic anti-oxidant blend" frozen berries, which was sold at Costco. The CDC reports that 87 people in 8 states have contracted the disease. Now an Idaho couple has filed a lawsuit against Townsend on behalf of Idaho residents who've eaten this product, then gotten blood tests to see if they have hepatitis A. The suit seeks compensation for people who ate the product.

Many states now have laws against talking or texting on a cell phone unless a handsfree device is used. Jennifer Cook with AAA reports a new study says that’s not enough.

COOK: The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety partnered with the University of Utah on a first of its kind study of cognitive distractions and what they found is that even when people keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road there is still significant mental distractions when they engage on the phone or with in-vehicle voice-activated technology devices.

AAA is reaching out to auto manufacturers to request limiting the functionality of these devices while the car is in motion.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

Sometimes while surfing the net for ideas you come across something that makes you say, “wow, why didn’t I think of that”. Take for instance the “breakfast parfait in a jar” idea from Jaymi Heimbuch. On weekends she says she takes old canning jars and layers them with fruit and yogurt. Then during the week her busy “on the go family” can just grab one out of the fridge along with maybe some nuts or granola; saving time and avoiding the usual weekday morning challenge of getting in a healthy breakfast. Brilliant! One thing I caught onto a while back when we had a family brunch at our house was to take leftover waffles or pancakes and wrap them for the freezer; that way I had a quick “homemade” toaster snack for the grandkids who always seem to be hungry. Breakfast burritos are another easy make ahead grab and go food that guys especially like. Make a bunch of them on the weekend, freeze them individually in foil, and they can just grab them and go during the week. There are a plethora of great time and money saving ideas for meals on either state or national ag association websites as well. And don’t forget to utilize the USDA’s My Plate website for healthy time saving meal ideas.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.