Excuse the
cross-postings:
This tidbit
is from
our food safety officer. From this piece, it makes absolutely no
sense
whatsoever to me. I did a bit of digging - here's a wiki entry
on the
concept: http://en.wiki
pedia.org/wiki/Molecular_gastronomy
But no more information about this incident than
below.
Have any of
you heard
of this? Do any of you might have some insight on how this
incident
might have occurred? We have a large and active Food Science
department
and they're always coming up with new ways to produce food. We
would
like to be able to head them off from something dangerous before we
have a
similar incident.
Thanks for
your
speculation and input.
Debbie
---------------------
Debbie M. Decker, Campus
Chemical
Safety Officer
Environmental Health and Safety
University of
California,
Davis
1 Shields
Ave.
Davis, CA
95616
(530)754-7964/(530)752-
4527
(FAX)
dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu
Co-Conspirator to Make the
World A
Better
Place -- Visit www.HeroicStories.com and join the
conspiracy
From:
Susan Cummings
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
5:05
PM
To: Debbie M.
Decker
Subject:
Experimental
cook blows hands off trying molecular
gastronomy
GERMANY:
Experimental cook blows hands off trying molecular
gastronomy
14.jul.09
Sydney Morning
Herald
AFP
http://www.smh.com.au/world/experimental-cook-blows-hand
s-off-trying-molecular-gastronomy-20090714-dj0r.html
An
experimental German cook accidentally blew off both his hands
attempting to
concoct a "molecular gastronomy" dish with liquid nitrogen, a
newspaper report
said on Monday.
The 24-year-old man from Stahnsdorf near Berlin
somehow obtained
some of the dangerous chemical and was poised to try out a new recipe
from the
school of molecular cooking, which aims to apply scientific processes
to
gastronomy.
There was an "enormous explosion", according to the
Berliner
Morgenpost daily.
The man lost one hand in the explosion and the
other was
so badly injured it had to be amputated.
The man, who was staying
at his
girlfriend's mother's house, was rushed to hospital where his
condition was
described as life-threatening. He is on artifical respiration.
He
claimed
he was trying to fill a gas lighter, but his girlfriend said he was
trying to
empty a canister of liquid nitrogen.
