814-urtdtst*r Fuming, Sataftday, Much' 14, 1998 ’
Family Lining
Focus
Margaret R. Makhom
Cumberland Co.
Extension Agent
Poison Prevention Week
March 15-21
Young children constantly
explore the world around them,
touching and tasting everything
they see. i Unfortunately, the
results could be devastating
according to The Central
Consumers Can Sniff
Out Odor-
Absorbing Produce
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co ) - Ever crunched a carrot or
munched an apple that tasted
slightly different than normal?
Chances are your taste buds
raised a big stink about odors
absorbed from other foods stored
in close proximity.
Many fruits and vegetables
tend to cause off-flavors and aro
mas in meat, dairy products,
and other fruits and vegetables,
said Peter Ferretti, professor of
vegetable crops in Penn State's
College of Agricultural Sciences.
"The closer and
enclosed the fresh produce is,
the more chance for odors to
intermix,” Ferretti said. "In an
enclosed area like a refrigerator,
odors can really be a problem.
Consumers shouldn't experience
startling taste changes three or
four days after purchase, but
beyond that you might have
problems with off tastes."
Kathleen Brown, associate
professor of post-harvest physi
ology at Penn State, suggests
consumers try to rotate their
produce purchases, using the
oldest fruits and vegetables first
so food items are not stored
longer than a week to 10 days.
Ferretti also warns that
odors are more likely to be
absorbed at higher tempera
tures, which means consumers
should not intermingle refriger
ated fruits and vegetables with
produce that is commonly stores
at or slightly below room tem
perature, such as apples and
onions.
Ferretti says that not every
consumer will notice a difference
in taste. "Taste is a genetic
trait," he said. "Some people can
sharply define tastes, and others
have more bland taste ranges.
Our sense of smell works in tan
dem with our taste buds, so an
off-odor can affect how an apple
tastes, even if the odor has not
truly penetrated the skin."
Ferretti and Brown list some
popular fruits and vegetables
whose odors penetrate other
foods.
•Apples. Apple odor is
absorbed by cabbage, carrots,
figs, onions, meat, eggs and
dairy products. "Many con
sumers store apples in the
refrigerator to keep them crisp,
but in that space their odor may
cause problems," Brown said.
• Carrots. Celery can absorb
the odor of carrots. "It gives cel
ery sort of an earthy taste,"
Ferretti said.
• Onions (large bulb types)
and garlic. Aromas from bulb
Pennsylvania Poison Center, at
the Milton Hershey Medical
Center of Penn State Geismger
Health System. March 15-21 is
National Poison Prevention
Week and we are reminded to
poison proof the house.
onions affect apples, celery,
potatoes and pears.
• Green bunching or scallion
onions. Odors from these onions
affect corn, figs, greens and
mushrooms. "Scallion odor will
noticeably affect flavor,"
Ferretti said.
• Pears. Pear odor is
absorbed by cabbage, carrots,
celery, onions and potatoes.
• Potatoes. Aromas from
potatoes affect apples and pears.
"Potatoes are almost always
stored separately from other
produce, so odor usually isn't a
big problem," Ferretti said.
• Green Peppers. Green pep
per odor will be absorbed by
many botanical fruits, including
pineapples. "Ripened green pep
pers, which usually are red,
orange or yellow, do not have a
strong aroma," Ferretti said.
• Citrus fruit. Citrus odor is
absorbed by meat, eggs and
dairy products.
• Grapes. Most commercial
grapes are treated with sulfur
dioxide for disease and insect
control, giving the fruit a sul
furous aroma. "Produce experts
say don't wash most fruits
before refrigerating them, but
grapes are the exception,"
Ferretti said. "By washing
grapes thoroughly, the sulfur
residue and smell will wash off,
and grape skins protect against
most injury during washing.
Also, people tend to snack on
grapes, eating three or four at a
time. They aren't as likely to
wash a small number of grapes,
so it's better to wash them
before refrigeration."
Brown suggests separating
produce into individual bags, or
using one crisper drawer only
for fruits and the other for veg
etables. Bagged or wrapped pro
duce is less likely to absorb or
emit odors.
If a piece of produce has been
stored long enough to absorb
odors, Ferretti recommends
using the fruit or vegetable in a
soup, stew or casserole where
the flavors and aromas will
intermingle.
Ferretti said consumers can
counteract some of the odor
absorption by placing a box of
baking soda in the refrigerator,
pantry or crisper drawer.
"Baking soda also absorbs mois
ture," he said. "Baking soda can
last quite a while, because only
the top layer absorbs most of the
odor and moisture, so homeown
ers can shake the top layer into
the waste can and renew the
treatment."
more
Children under the age of five
are particularly at risk for poi
soning because at their stage of
development, and as their
mobility increases, so does their
ability to reach for a dangerous
product. By safely managing
the majority of poisoning expo
sures in the home, thousands of
needless and costly emergency
room visits can be eliminated.
• The Central Pennsylvania
Poison Center offers the follow
ing guidelines to help you poison
proof your home.
• All hazardous household
products should be kept in origi
nal, labeled containers; locked
and out of sight of young chil
dren.
• Use only medications with
child-resistant caps and use
them correctly.
• Destroy old medicines by
pouring them down the drain or
toilet, and rinse the container
before discarding it.
• Keep Ipecac syrup on hand
to use only with the director's
directions. Check its expiration
date.
• Teach Mr Yuk means NO,
Don't Touch, and Stay Away!
Any substance, solid, liquid, or
spray can be a poison.
• Place a Mr. Yuk sticker on
your telephone with the Central
PA Poison Control Center's tele
phone number, 1-800-521-6110,
m case of a poison emergency.
• Avoid taking medicine in
front of a child. Many children
frequently attempt to imitate
adult behavior and don't under
stand the risk of certain medica
tion to young bodies.
• Refer to medicine by proper
names, never calling medicine
candy.
Look at your home from your
child's point of view. Help your
child to identify things inside
and outside the home that can
be potentially harmful if mis
used. Before you call the Poison
Control Center gather the facts:
age and weight of the child,
name of the poisoft product. Try
to determine the amount of the
product ingested, and how much
time has elapsed since the poi
soning. Report all symptoms
observed. Call the Pennsylvania
Poison Control Center and give
your name and phone number in
case your call is interrupted.
Follow their directions carefully.
Your efforts to poison proof
your home could save a life. For
additional information or emer
gency poisoning assistance, con
tact the Central PA Poison
Center at 1-800-521-6110. For
Mr. Yuk stickers, send a
stamped, self-addressed envelop
to the Central PA Poison Center,
M.C. H 043, P.O. Box 850,
Hershey, PA 17033.
Wou
This column is tor readers who have questions
but don’t know who to ask tor answers.
“You Ask—You Answer” Is tor non-cooking
questions. When a reader sends in a question, It will
be printed In the paper. Readers who know the
answer are asked to respond by mailing the answer,
which will then be printed In the paper.
Questions and Answers to this column should be
addressed to You Ask—You Answer, Lancaster
Farming, P.O. Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522. Atten
tion: Lou Ann Good.
Do not send a self-addressed, stamped envelope
tor a reply. If we receive the answer, we will publish
It as soon as possible. Please Include your phone
number because we sometimes need to contact the
person to clarify details. We will not publish your
phone number unless you request K.
QUESTION Nancy Wallace, 5240 Diem Rd., New
Holland. PA 17557, would like an old C.W. Wood lard
can. Her father had the business in New Holland until
1949. She has five children and would like a lard can to
give to each of them. Also, she wants old Casper dolls
for her daughter who collects them. She also collects
miniature anvils and glass chicken on the nest if anyone
has some to sell.
QUESTION —John Los, York, has become the own
er of an SBR-16 ham radio receiver built in the late
19505, from instructions in C.Q. magazine. The only
problem he can see with the unit is a lack of filament vol
tage on the 68J6 tubes. He is looking for someone to
help him with that problem and with the use of some of
the 16 controls on the front of the set. It would be nice to
see this old radio up and running again. He also has all
possible paperwork needed for its repair.
QUESTION Helpl Scott Ehrisman, Richfield,
writes that he is going insane because groundhogs are
taking over his farm. It's hard on equipment cow legs,
trucks, and especially soybeans. He has tried smoking,
drowning, trapping, gassing, burning, and shooting
them. Anyone have a surefire way of exterminating
these furry critters?
QUESTION Wesley Martin, Lebanon, wants the
words to the song "Swinging 'Neath the Old Apple Tree,”
and to the poem "I'm Hiding, I’m Hiding, but no one
knows where....
QUESTION—Jean Imm, Reisterstown, Md., is inter
ested in finding a red paper back Spray cookbook print
ed in the 1 950 s or 1960 s that contains a recipe for Herit
age Nut Cake.
QUESTION—Mary Troutman, R. 4, Box 10, Everett,
would like to purchase a Savory roaster, size 9x14 in
good condition.
QUESTION Michael Kramer,l2BB Roundhouse
Rd., Quakertown, is looking for milk bottles or other
items from Oeltjen-Bruns Dairy, believed to be near Egg
Harbor, N.J., in the 1930 s and 19405.
amwef
(Turn to Pago B 28)
V