I have learned a lesson and I have learned it well.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Last Saturday evening I went into my kitchen looking for something to munch on. I didn’t feel like making anything, just wanted something to grab and eat. Sitting in a pan on the stove was some leftover Hamburger Helper from dinner that I ate about 4 hours earlier. Hmmmm, I ate a little to see if it still tasted okay, it did, so I ate about 10 pieces of the hamburger, skipping the noodles. I went to bed about an hour later at 8 pm as I had worked that day and was tired. I had a lot to do on Sunday.

At about 2:30 am, I awoke with a terrible headache and my stomach was in knots. I took some Advil, passed some gas and went back to bed. I woke up about 2 hours later still feeling like crap. I went to the bathroom, took a couple more Advil, and per my usual routine, turned on my computer and headed here to the StraightDope forum. I figured I had a case of food poisening but I should feel better as the day went along. I struggled through the day, exchanged some earrings I gave my wife for her birthday (one lost a stone) and visited an antique store and made a pitch to sell some of the items from there on Ebay. I didn’t feel any better either.

I went to work on Monday and Tuesday, feeling better than I did Sunday except for a nagging sore throat. My wife got me into see my doc on Tuesday night and he determined I had a bacterial infection. He doubted the food poisening caused the sore throat, but he said my immune system was compromised and something I normally would have shrugged off took hold. I got a prescripiton for some antibiotics and some vicodin for pain and was on my way. I had the prescriptions filled, went home and went to bed.

Wednesday morning I felt worse than ever. Vomiting, diarrhea, fever. I called in sick and spent the day sleeping and on the computer. Thursday was the same thing, I still felt like crap. On top of that, all 3 of my grandkids caught something and of them were taking turns getting sick. I went back to the doctor and this time he took blood and urine samples, none were taken on the first visit. I managed to get up Friday, feeling just a bit better and drug my butt to work. My supervisor asked me what was wrong and I told her I had a bacterial infection, she told me to go home. She had missed 2 weeks of work last fall for the same thing and the last thing she wanted was someone making the other employees sick. I went home and just like the 2 previous days, slept and played on the computer.

About dinner time Friday the phone rang, it was the doctor’s office calling. The doctor asked how I was feeling (throat still sore and the antibiotics make me dizzy) and told me to keep taking the antibiotics. He also told me the blood test showed I had contacted botulism and that all my problems all stemmed from the food poisening. I was also responsible for the stomach problems the grandchildren suffered and that others in the house also run the risk of getting sick. My step daughter had her turn today running to the bathroom every half hour. What scared me is when he told me if I didn’t start the antibiotics when I did, I probably would have become very ill and could have died. The bacteria levels in my blood were were extremely high even though I had taken the antibiotic for 2 days. I am not one of those that runs to the doctor for every ache and pain, I see him about every 2 years. I didn’t think I needed to see him Tuesday but my wife made an appointment without telling me.

I feel better today, the sore throat comes and goes, occasional headaches and the antibiotics still make me dizzy. I had planned on going to a Dopefest for Seattle area dopers today but did not make it. I finally ate something besides toast and Ritz crackers (A Wendy’s hamburger) since last Wednesday. Did I learn anything from this little episode? I sure hope so, I don’t ever remember being this sick even when I have had the flu. The doctor told me it will take another week or two till I fell normal and that I should call him if I start feeling bad again. No one has ever told me I could have died before. I sure don’t want to hear that again. And no more snacking on leftover Hamburger Helper.

2

racer,

That sounds bloody awful. hug

What in the blue blazes is Hamburger Helper? Do I really want the answer to that question? shudder

Max

3

Hamburger Helper helps your hamburger …

{clap}
{clap}

… Make a great meal.

“I don’t know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh? I like it better than tuna helper myself, don’t you, Clark?”
Cousin Eddir, Vacation

Hamburger Helper is the greatest invention mankind has yet come up with. DO NOT dis the Hamburger Helper.
What?
Yes master.
No, it wasn’t me! It was them!
Please! No more beatings!

4

Hamburger Helper

My favorite is Cheeseburger Macaroni.

5

For some reason this question makes the whole idea of Hamburger Helper a lot funnier.

My dear Maxxxie, Hamburger Helper is merely a box of pasta and topping/sauce packs, like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. The difference is that Hamburger Helper is marketed as a Dinner Entree…they suggest you add hamburger meat or chicken to it, to make an easy skillet casserole.

And they have a 3-D white glove that is their mascot…and it talks, and giggles, and tells you how Hamburger Helper Makes A Great Meal, because this glove is supposed to be the Helpful Hand of Hamburger…er…and…er…you know, these marketing campaigns make a lot more sense when you don’t explain them.

:wink:

Jack Batty is right, though; Hamburger Helper is perfectly fine on its own…they have a spiral pasta with Nacho Cheese Sauce that is perfecto without any meat. MMMMMM…

I’m very glad you’re feeling better, Racer. That makes my ugly bout of potato-salad food poisoning look like child’s play. Ugh.

6

Maxxxie, the “hamburger” referred to in “Hamburger Helper” is minced meat if that helps any. I know that was a point I was confused on for a long time.

7

Hamburger meat is actually ground beef, not really minced. Ground into tiny little granules kinda like a coarse sand. It’s usually either formed into patties and cooked and then served as a hamburger (like what McDonald’s sells) or cooked without having been formed and used as an ingredient in a meal.

Botulism is not pleasant, and it’s one of the more fatal of the common food poisionings because the bacteria create toxins. Rupture a bacteria and the toxin is in your bloodstream. Perhaps you’ve heard of botox? That’s what it is: The toxin produced by botulism causes paralysis, so injecting it into the muscles right beneath the skin removes wrinkles.

And having it for lunch could cause death. Consider yourself lucky and a bit wiser.

8

A) Sorry! I’ve had BAD food poisoning, it sucks!

B) 4 hours? 4 hours? That is all the time the food was sitting out before you ate it again? Something doesn’t add up. Hamburger helper is loaded with salt, you cooked the hell out of the food just to get the noodles soft enough and sitting in your pan on the stove is not like leaving it on the floor or near an open window. I can’t believe that the bacterium was able to multiply that much in that amount of time. That just doesn’t make sense. Are you sure you didn’t touch a surface that the raw meat was on, and then rub your eyes or something?

Not questioning what happened, just how it happened. I got my bad food poisoning from under cooked chicken. But the way I remember preparing H.H. is along the lines of “and let simmer for 20 minutes” which is plenty of time to kill just about anything. But if it didn’t, then having the surviving bacteria replicate enough in 4 hours to make you sick…that just seems weird.

Well, I hope you feel better! It took me a week to recover, and that was no fun.

-Tcat

9

Racer, egads! That’s horrible! But I have to agree with Tomcat that something just doesn’t add up. Could it possibly have been something you ate earlier in the day? An undercooked hamburger? An unwashed egg? This just doesn’t sound logical to me (not that I’m the queen of logic:)).

As for the Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper, next time you make it, try adding a can of seasoned diced tomatoes just before it’s done cooking. Yummy! One of the things I kinda miss on my “no sugar, no flour” diet.

10

IANAToxicologist, but from what I’ve learned talking to my dad (who’s an MD), I’m with Tomcat here. “Botox” is what is left behind following the growth of botulinus in a foodstuff. But AFAIK, botulinus an anaerobic bacterium. If I’m correct, the botoxin left behind would have had to have grown in an air-free environment. I also don’t think it would be communicable, unless the bacteria were alive. Is there a possibility that everyone was infected when they first ate the hamburger, not from you after 4 hours?

11

Oh, and BTW, I’m really sorry to hear of your family’s distress. In the past I’ve had giardiasis and baccilic dysentery, so I know how awful it can be. Glad everyone’s getting better.

12

and to think i’m going to get botox injected into my eye muscles! ouch!

13

4 hours is MORE than enough time to grow a SHIT load of bacteria. Most bacteria can replicate in under 20 min. And will replicate as quickly as possible until all food is excaused.

And the closer the temperature of the growing location is to body temp the faster the bacteria grows.

And it is quite easy to spread bacteria from food poisoning. Improper hand washing then food handling will spread the bacteria into the food and everyone else in the house will get it.

While high salt content will kill most bacteria, sometimes the salt concentration required to kill the bacteria is so high that you can’t eat the food.

My guess would be that the hamburger helper was either left in a heavy pan (which retained heat) or was left on a burner that was turned on.

I believe that after you were done eating it if you put a lid on the hamburger helper and brought it up to a boil then removed it from the hot burner it would have been fine to eat 4 hrs later. Since heating to boiling would have killed any bacteria that entered the pan since you finished making it and having the lid in place would keep additional bacteria from falling into the hamburger helper AFTER you removed it from the heat.

14

I dunno. IANAD, but this doesn’t sound like a lot like botulism. According to this, http://www.tarakharper.com/b_botuln.htm , onset is 18-36 hours after exposure and is marked by weakness, lassitude, vertigo, and dry mouth. And botulinus is anaerobic so it’s possible but not likely that an uncovered dish would have ideal conditions for germination of the spores.

It may not have been the HH – did you eat any canned goods of dubious origin earlier in the day – either old or home-canned?

15

Ack! That’s horrible, racer! Hope you ‘n’ the kids get better soon.

16

This is shaping up like an episode of CSI Doperville.

17

Botulism! Blehh!

Glad to hear you’re recovering. I guess a little food paranoia might be the ticket for a bit.

18

Holy crap, CRorex, that’s scary. I do stuff like in the OP all the time. I never wrap up leftovers immediately after cooking, since I know I’m always hungry after a couple hours. Am I just tempting fate by letting my food continue to warm for some time before finishing it?

And man, that sucks racer72. Glad you caught it in time. One of my coworkers ate some bad blackberry pie over the holidays and had to have kidney dialysis and it sucked. Hope you feel better!

19

:eek:

Near-death is an acceptable excuse for missing a Dopefest. :wink: Glad to hear you’re on the upswing.

20

It really depends on the situation. And keep in mind I’m speaking as someone who uses sterile technique (keeping bacteria/fungus/mold out of nutriet rich cultures) and NOT food prep. But I figure sterile technique is sterile technique regardless of whats going where.
Some interesting things to keep in mind, some of which I picked up from the lab.

  1. Bacteria like warm conditions. And conversly, cold conditions slow bacteria growth (it still happens! but it happens slower). The two BEST temperatures are 24-27 C and 37C — That’s room temperature and body temperature.

  2. Bacteria is HEAVIER than air. VERY useful to know. So if you place something, like a pot lid or aluminum foil on top of a dish of food (or just keep the food in the pot you cooked it in) no NEW bacteria can enter the food.

So:

Possibly the BEST way to store food, one I use all the time when I make stir fry, gumbo and lots of other foods. Is after I’m done eating and ready to put the food away I’ll bring the food up to a boil, or other VERY hot temerature cover the top of it and take it off the burner and let it cool. This way all of the food is heated up again to kill any bacteria and I have a cover on it so no new bacteria can get in it. IF you do this, since no bacteria can get in and all the bacteria inside is dead you DON’T need to refridgerate immediately. You still do need to, but you can probably leave it out for a few hours.

Now, I do this ALL the time in the lab. I’ll make bacteria broth. Basically cow and yeast extract, add water and I’ll autoclave it (using high pressure steam I’ll bring the temperature of the broth up to 121C for 20-30 min). Each flask of broth will have an aluminum foil lid SECURELY taped down. These flasks of broth (which are ideal for growning all sorts of goodies) remain sterile for several months. At room temp. I see no reason why the same principle would not work with food.