Riceplus Magazien is a quarterly magazine that publishes research articles including industry realted for the rice sector.It shares global and regional articles on rice.Riceplus Magazine also publishes two digital magazines on daily basis namely Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter & Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter for entire global agriculture community.For more information visit on www.ricepluss.com
Webinar on Rodent Hot Spots and Control -Food Processing on 12 August 2020
Don't miss out on the opportunity to attend our live webinar, 'Rodent Hot Spots and Control – Food Processing' tomorrow!This event will be taking place live on 12 August at 3pm (UK) / 4pm (Europe).
Twenty percent of the world’s food supply is believed to be contaminated by rodents. These pests carry many pathogens around facilities, and they can even transmit harmful diseases. Rodents are known to cause severe property damage with their strong jaws and burrowing skills. Unfortunately, food processing facilities offer the ideal habitat for rodents with access to their favorite food sources, potential entry points and nesting places.
Furthermore, there is the added problem of resistant rodents. Are the rats and mice infesting your facility actually resistant to the rodenticide baits being used?
Join entomologist and Orkin International Technical Services Director Dr. Ron Harrison and Sharon Hughes, the BASF Global Technical Marketing Manager for rodenticides, as they bring their expertise to your facility with a free webinar to discuss solutions and strategies to help prevent rodents from placing your facility at risk.
During this hour-long webinar, you’ll learn about:
- The threats rodents pose in food processing facilities
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tactics to help eliminate sources of rodent issues
- Involving suppliers and staff in a comprehensive IPM plan
- Rodenticide resistance how to identify it and tackle this both reactively and proactively with a Resistance Management Strategy (RMS)
- Protocols to put in place to achieve and measure success.
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Can't make 12 August?
Register now and we will let you know when this webinar becomes available to watch on-demand, at a time that suits your busy schedule!
This brief sets out survey findings from Punjab, Pakistan on how the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected farmers and highlights respondents’ policy priorities.
A key issue raised is that higher prices for farm inputs threaten the forthcoming rice crop. The brief also notes that vegetable and fruit growers have been severely affected by market closures and restricted movement of goods and that milk producers have seen prices and sales fall. Survey respondents prioritized four policy suggestions as follows: (i) ensure price stability for agricultural produce, (ii) ease loan repayment conditions or provide loan waivers, (iii) remove restrictions on marketing produce, and (iv) ensure the availability of agricultural inputs.
Agriculture and farming, Communicable and vector-borne diseases, Crop cultivation, Diseases, Industry and trade, Livestock production, Rural development
Fried rice debate: Malaysian comedian Uncle Roger checks out BBC Food host Hersha Patel’s cooking skills (VIDEO)
Monday, 10 Aug 2020 02:52 PM MYT
BY MARK RYAN RAJ
'Uncle Roger' puts an end to any doubts people may have had of Patel’s ability to cook rice. — Screengrab via Youtube/mrnigelng
PETALING JAYA, August 10 — A couple of weeks ago, Asians all over the globe were left confused at BBC Food host Hersha Patel’s “different” way of cooking rice.
In a video uploaded in April last year, Patel started by cooking unwashed rice in a pot of water, drains the water out with a colander before the rice is fully cooked and then rinses the rice under tap water.
Although the video was published last year, it went viral last month after UK-based Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, who goes by his alter ego “Uncle Roger,” watched it and poked fun at Patel’s cooking methods in a video on his YouTube channel, mrnigelng.
Now, just over a month after uploading the comical reaction video, Ng has finally tried Patel’s egg fried rice dish for himself, after visiting the award-winning presenter at her home in London.
Uploaded onto his YouTube page last night, Ng said that Patel had invited him over to her home to prove to him, and everyone else who has criticised her cooking, that she does indeed know how to cook rice.
Upon entering her home, Ng was shocked to find Patel’s “dreaded” colander collection in her kitchen.
“This woman has so many colanders. I think this woman in love with colander. She sleeps with colander at night,” said Ng in his Uncle Roger accent.
Patel then explains to Ng that she wants him to try her egg fried rice recipe, the way she cooks it.
Patel said that she uses one cup of Basmati rice to make the dish and showed Ng that she also washes the rice first, before refilling her pot with water to cook the rice.
But “Uncle Roger” still wasn’t too satisfied with the way Patel measures how much water to use, as she goes by a “two parts water to one part rice” ratio.
While Patel looks to have passed Ng’s test, he still isn’t impressed with some of her cooking methods. — Screengrab via Youtube/mrnigelng
“Haiya. She measure water with the cup again. Just use your finger. All Asian people use finger. This is magic measuring. You are not a scientist, why using measuring cup?” said Ng.
Patel then proceeds to boil the rice on the stove, before putting it on a low heat to “simmer” with the lid on “halfway” to let some steam escape — despite Ng’s skepticism.
“Usually when simmer Uncle Roger like to keep the lid on the pot. Because then the steam can steam the rice. Different culture make rice differently. Just some culture is wrong,” Ng joked.
“I still think Aunty Hersha needs to buy a rice cooker. Make life simple. Buy rice cooker. It’s super easy to make, spend more time with family.”
Once there is almost no more water left in the pot, Patel then turns off the heat and covers the pot with a lid to rest for five minutes before serving.
Then, it was time to taste the plain white rice — which got the thumbs up from Ng.
“It’s okay. At first I was skeptical. I thought this woman was going to mess it all up. But now I think it’s at least a four out of 10,” said Ng.
Once she was done proving that she knew how to make proper rice, Patel then went on to make her egg fried rice dish.
Ng is happy to see that Patel uses staple ingredients like soy sauce and spring onions in her fried rice recipe. — Screengrab via Youtube/mrnigelng
To make the dish, Patel uses cold rice, one egg mixed with sesame oil, finely chopped spring onions and a dash of soy sauce, and tosses the rice over high heat.
Ng was initially amazed that Patel uses the “tossing” technique but was left unimpressed after she “screwed up” and tossed the rice right out of the pot.
“I knew she was faking. She never tossed rice before until Uncle Roger come. Wasting rice. My mom would have beat me to death already,” said Ng.
Despite her mishap, Ng was pleasantly surprised by how good Patel’s egg fried rice dish tastes.
“Taste test. It’s good, it’s good. If I buy this from a Chinese takeaway, I will not be their customer ever again. But for home cooking, very nice. Not bad, six out of 10,” said Ng.
Ng’s video has since been viewed over 1.6 million times on YouTube with nearly 13,000 comments in under a day.
Social media users praised both Ng and Patel for meeting up and creating the playful video together, with many calling Patel the “nicest lady of the year” for being able to take a joke.
After Ng’s first post criticising Patel’s rice-cooking was uploaded on July 8 this year, the cooking show host received a lot of backlash online with many attacking her for “cooking rice wrongly.”
A couple of weeks after Ng’s post went viral, he met up with Patel for dinner and uploaded a video asking social media users to stop bullying her online.
MedWatch - The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program
A MedWatch Safety Alert was added to the FDA Recalls webpage.
TOPIC: Hand Sanitizers: FDA Updates on Recalls Due to Dangerous, Potential Presence of Methanol (Wood Alcohol)
AUDIENCE: Consumer, Health Professional
ISSUE: FDA is warning consumers and health care providers that the agency has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination.
The agency is aware of people ingesting hand sanitizer products contaminated with methanol that has led to recent adverse events including blindness, hospitalizations and death.
Methanol is not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizers and must not be used due to its toxic effects. FDA maintains a list of FDA-tested and recalled hand sanitizers on the agency’s website, which will be continually updated as dangerous products are discovered. FDA’s investigation of methanol in certain hand sanitizers is ongoing.
Do not use any products on this list of hand sanitizers with potential methanol contamination, and continue checking this list often as it is being updated daily. This list outlines the information on hand sanitizer labels for consumers to use to identify a product that has been tested by FDA and found to contain methanol. FDA advises consumers not to use hand sanitizers from these companies, or products with these names or NDC numbers.
The agency will provide additional information as it becomes available.
BACKGROUND: Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death. Although all persons using these products on their hands are at risk, young children who accidentally ingest these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute, are most at risk for methanol poisoning.
RECOMMENDATION: FDA reminds consumers to wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially:
After going to the bathroom
Before eating
After coughing, sneezing, or blowing one’s nose
If soap and water are not readily available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend consumers use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol.
Health professionals and consumers are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:
Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178.
