Each state has its own Health Department specifications for food preparation areas. You will need to touch base with your local Health Department before starting your food preparation area to get approval for the materials and system you will use. Your Health Department inspector will want a smooth, easy to clean surface which is continuous down your walls and curving on to your floor. Most departments want at least a 4 inch cove up the wall and with as small a lip at the top of your flooring as possible. The transition from the wall to the floor should have at least a ¼ inch concave curve but can be wider as needed. The floor and the cove should show no breaks and there should be no pockets for dirt to accumulate in. Epoxy is called for .. more >>

The miracle fruit. Is it a label, an actual plant or just another myth spread by the organic/green/health food crowd? The answer depends on who you ask. To the botanist (or well informed green grocer), Synsepalum dulcificum is the scientific name of an African berry known as the Miracle Fruit or Miracle Berry Plant. In this case, miracle fruit gets its name from an unusual ability to block sour tastes thanks to a compound it contains called miraculin. People who eat this miracle fruit can then eat a lemon and it will taste sweet, not sour.  A miracle? Scientific studies that identify new qualities in a wide range of already known plants and accompanying news headlines have created the concept of a “miracle fruit” in the press. The problem is the actual fruit changes .. more >>