Regarding the spice debate:-
As we all know, salt has been used to prevent meat from spoiling since waaay back.
The use of salt as a preservation agent relies on the inability of food spoilage organisms and food pathogens to grow in a high salt environment. What is actually happening is that the osmotic pressure in the high salt environment "sucks" water out of the bacteria ... and like any organism that relies on water to survive and reproduce, their growth is limited (I'm not going to say they are killed because this isn't strictly true). Osmotic pressure is also what is happening in fruit preserves and honey - the high sugar content prevents any bacteria in the food from obtaining enough water to grow and divide.
It is important to note that in both these cases (curing with salt and preserving with sugar) that the growth of the food spoilage and food pathogenic organisms are prevented in the first place. Rubbing salt (or honey) on rancid meat
will not make it safe to eat. This is because the bacteria have already grown and salt is not a strong bactericidal agent (neither is sugar). So I'm inclined to think that with spices that are rubbed on food prior to cooking that these are purely for flavouring and not for "food safety". Spices that are rubbed on freshly butchered meat that will be stored for a while ... perhaps this might be for preservation, but I would be surprised. One of the reasons that I would be surprised is that spices sold in the UK are tested (and sometimes found positive for) food pathogens such as
Salmonella spp, E. coli, etc. Rubbing contaminated spice on meat for storage is a
really bad idea.
Ah.. I had always wondered about the time difference for onset. That makes good sense.
Any idea how long it takes Staph aureus to produce dangerous levels of toxins after
Gary, this is a "how long is a piece of string" question unfortunately. There is no definite answer on how long it would take as the answer will vary depending on initial level of contamination, the food type, the storage conditions, how the food was handled/prepared at the time of initial contamination and how the food was handled directly prior to final preparation for eating.
Lets look at some of those in more detail:
Initial level of contamination: obviously the more bacteria present initially then the sooner the level of toxin reaches critical.
Food type: dry foods will be less prone than wet foods
Storage conditions: cold inhibits food pathogen growth
Food prep at initial contamination: a piece of meat kept as a single piece will be safer than a piece of meat ground up for burgers.
Food handling prior to cooking: washing food directly before cooking will reduce the number of bacteria on the surface.
Having said all that, I'm sure that someone has done the work to show what level of toxin produces the reaction. I can still remember my immunology lecture at university when we looked at superantigens and if I was going to guess (and it is just a guess), I would say that given the nature of them, it would be a relatively low amount (although again this is a guess and the levels would vary from person to person). Its also interesting to note that it is
Staph superantigens that cause toxic shock syndrome!
Again, to reiterate the bottom line. Basic food hygiene principles are easy to learn and follow (although I have seen lapses in people who should know better!).
bit like marmite I suppose 
