Page 8 - 042220-Market-Bulletin

PAGE 8 FARMERS AND CONSUMERS MARKET BULLETIN – 404-656-3722 – agr.georgia.gov WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020
Guest Column: Read labels, exercise caution when using disinfectants

By Michael Merchant, PhD, BCE by the EPA and allows you to reference it. For example, the EPA
Professor and Extension Urban Entomologist has developed a list of all disinfectants that are believed to be
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus (List N). If you want to
know whether your disinfectant is likely to be effective against
DALLAS, TEXAS – What do “pest control” and public health coronavirus, you can look it up by its registration number.
campaigns against SARS CoV-2 have in common? Both activities • Read the precautionary statements. Precautionary statements
use pesticides. In the eyes of the law, sanitizer and disinfectant include specific requirements on what you must wear when ap-
products are considered pesticides. And if you’re a little wary of plying the product. If you’re an employer or supervisor, it’s criti-
using pesticides, you should exercise the same caution when choos- cal you provide training to ensure employees know disinfectant Georgie’s Drive
ing and using a disinfectant. instructions and have the proper safety equipment. In a recent
Let’s start with some basics. The term “pesticide” refers to any case, employees of a large company were told to switch from
substance or mixture of substances used to prevent, destroy, repel mild green-cleaning agents to a powerful disinfectant to deal Thru Gainesville
or mitigate a pest. All pesticides are regulated by the U.S. Environ- with the coronavirus emergency. Not used to the new product,
mental Protection Agency, which gets to decide if, how and where janitorial staff became ill and suffered red, itchy skin and burn- Hello! I’m Georgie, the Georgia Grown mascot. I travel
they can be used. ing eyes. the state of Georgia promoting our No. 1 industry – ag-
Pesticides that fight microbes are generally called antimicrobi- • Pay attention to contact times on the disinfectant label. Many riculture! Have you ever made a model of the solar sys-
als. Antimicrobials that fight germs affecting human health can be disinfectants must remain wet on surfaces for an extended time tem? You know, take a couple of coat hangers and paint
further classified as sanitizers, disinfectants, virucides and steril- (usually 1 to 10 minutes) to effectively kill viruses and bacte- some Styrofoam balls, then turn it in during science class.
ants. ria. Don’t assume you can immediately wipe down a surface Well, somebody built a scale model of our solar system in
About 275 active ingredients are found in antimicrobials, and that you treat with a disinfectant. downtown Gainesville about 20 years ago. It serves as a
must have an EPA-approved label (a few sanitizer products – such • When deciding on a safe disinfectant to use in your home or walking tour that covers nearly two miles in the downtown
as alcohol gels – for use on skin are considered drugs rather than workplace, consider the signal word. The signal word provides area from start to finish. At the starting point on the town
pesticides, and are regulated as such by the Food and Drug Admin- a quick reference to the relative hazard associated with using a square is a model of the sun. A large polished ball is fixed
istration). Most of the effective products that fight the SARS-CoV-2 product. One of three signal words – DANGER, WARNING, or atop a pedestal that describes the solar system, the speed of
virus (the virus that causes coronavirus or COVID-19) are consid- CAUTION must be on the front panel of any disinfectant prod- light, the size of the sun and lots of other information that
ered disinfectants or virucides. uct. DANGER signals the highest warning. Such products may I had forgotten through the years. Each planet and the as-
Since January be highly toxic when ingested or may induce irreversible eye or teroid belt are represented by similar pedestals. The sun’s
we’ve watched endless skin damage if used without proper protective gear. WARNING pedestal also shows the scale of the model, which is 2 bil-
news clips of sanitary labeled products are moderately toxic if ingested or may cause lion miles=1 mile, so each celestial body is spaced out to
workers cleaning sur- reversible skin or eye irritation. CAUTION labeled products scale from the sun. The closer planets of Mercury, Venus,
faces, and even entire will be the least hazardous, and would be best for home envi- Earth and Earth’s moon are all in the town square with the
buildings, with disin- ronments, especially where children are present. sun monument. Mars, the asteroid belt and Jupiter are near-
fectants. Shopping for • Pay attention to what surfaces the disinfectant is designed to by and across the street. The rest of the system is scattered
groceries has become be used on, and what kind of application methods are allowed throughout the downtown area. Being true to scale, Pluto is
an adventure in disin- by the label. If a product is labeled for use on hard, non-porous 1.83 miles from the sun in Longwood Park!
fectant wipes and hand environmental surfaces, it shouldn’t be used on carpet or furni-
sanitizer. And the emp- ture. Something designed to be applied with a sponge should not
ty shelves in the clean- be used in a fogger or sprayer.
ing supply sections of • Care should be taken with even with the simplest task of re-
stores attest to our new moving disinfectant wipes from their plastic tubs. We have
obsession with clean, reports of people getting disinfectant in their eyes from tiny
clean, clean! droplets erupting when towels are pulled too quickly from the
But how many of container.
us stop to consider
the health effects of disinfectants, or to read the labels on these Treat all disinfectants with the same respect you would any
products? If you find yourself using disinfectants, or touching dis- pesticide. Since coronavirus began its spread, the EPA has been
infectant-treated surfaces, now’s an excellent time to brush up on receiving more health-related emergency calls about improper use
disinfectant safety. Specifically let’s review some of the important of disinfectants. One common problem occurs when people use
things we all need to know about reading and understanding dis- Clorox wipes to wipe their faces – not good. One couple thought
infectant labels. they could drink bleach to cure COVID-19. And there are many
more cases of people being hurt by mixing chlorine- and ammo-
Read the label nia-containing products (resulting in production of the toxic gas,
• Unlike instructions on a box of mac and cheese, instructions on ammonium chloride). None of these are good ideas and none are
a disinfectant label are the law, not suggestions. Using even a recommended on the label.
little more disinfectant than the label allows in a cleaning solu- Our office provides training throughout the year to folks in the
tion or failing to wear the proper safety gear specified on the pest control, public health and outdoor landscape maintenance in-
label, to give two examples, is a violation of state and federal dustries. One of the things we drill into our students is the impor-
pesticide laws. tance of reading the label for safety and legal purposes. All of us
• Look for an EPA registration number (see label to right). This need to exercise the same caution when using disinfectant prod-
is a unique number that tells you the product has been reviewed ucts. They are, after all, pesticides. The sun always shines in Gainesville. (Lee Lancaster/GDA)

Cook GeorGia Grown: Tamale Pie with Vidalia® onions

-Adapted from Serious Eats Tamal de Cazuela 2 Tbsps pepper jelly chicken thighs in batches, and set aside.
2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar
Ingredients 2 cups chicken stock Add half of the onions and sauté until soft,
1 can of black or pinto beans with liquid charred in spots and golden. Transfer to an-
For masa crust: 1 orange, half zested, then juiced other container and reserve. Continue to sauté
3 cups masa harina (found in the Mexican or 3 Tbsps masa remaining onions, adding more oil as neces-
baking section of the grocery store – sary. Add chopped garlic to the pot and sauté
Maseca is a widespread brand) Directions until fragrant. Add spices, chipotles and adobo
3 cups chicken broth sauce, pepper jelly and tomato paste and sauté
¾ cup cold shortening Make masa dough: Combine masa and chick- until fragrant and darkened slightly. Add orange
1 tsp salt en stock in a bowl and mix thoroughly until juice, vinegar and chicken stock and transfer
2 tsps baking powder smooth. In another larger bowl, combine short- mixture to a blender with roasted garlic. Puree
ening, salt, and baking powder. Using a mixer, until smooth, then place puree back in the pot
For the filling: whip shortening mixture together. Add 1/4 of with chicken thighs and let mixture simmer until
1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs masa dough into shortening mixture at a time, reduced and thickened slightly, about 30 min-
2 Vidalia onions, sliced thinly beating between each addition until thoroughly utes.
2 Tbsps canola oil incorporated. Cover and refrigerate. grease a 9-inch cast iron skillet or 3-quart cas-
6 cloves garlic Remove chicken thighs from the pot and shred. serole dish. Scrape 2/3 of masa dough into the
skillet and press to form an even layer on the
1 ½ tsps ground cumin Preheat broiler and lightly coat 4 unpeeled Place back into the pot with the reserved on- bottom and sides of pan. Add 2 cups of the fill-
1 ½ tsps ground coriander cloves of the garlic with olive or canola oil. Roast ions, masa, and can of black beans and let sim-
½ tsp ground cloves until soft, about 5 minutes. Peel garlic and set mer for another 10 minutes until thickened and ing, and gently form a top crust with remaining
½ tsp ground allspice aside. Roughly chop remaining 2 cloves. flavors have melded completely. filling, folding the edges down slightly to bind
together.
1 tsp dried thyme Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a large,
1 tsp dried oregano heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium high Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool slightly
2 canned chipotles in adobo, plus 1 Tbsp heat. Remove any excess moisture from chick- Rehydrate masa dough by whipping again before serving, then slice and serve with sour
adobo sauce en thighs. Season with salt and pepper. Brown with a couple of tablespoons of water. Lightly cream, hot sauce and cilantro.
2 Tbsps tomato paste