Freezer

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- Army officials say an investigation of three disease samples missing from a Fort Detrick lab found that the samples were likely destroyed. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick said Wednesday that the samples of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis were discovered missing last year in an inventory of a group of samples left by a departing researcher. Spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden says the report that the vials were missing triggered the investigation, which found that the samples were likely among those destroyed when a freezer malfunctioned.

Foods vary in the required temperature and moisture they need to retain quality in storage. To retain quality and nutritive value, stock only the kinds and amounts of food you can store properly. o Begin by purchasing food from reputable dealers, with a known record for safe handling. Select dated products only if the sell-by or use-by date has not expired. While these dates are helpful, they are reliable only if the food has been kept at the proper temperature during storage and handling.

It's not even Halloween, so why am I writing about Christmas? This year, if you are someone who enjoys the slow build up to Christmas with holiday decor and parties, keep in mind there are only four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas as Thanksgiving falls late this year. With November starting on a Saturday, Thanksgiving -- held on the fourth Thursday of November -- is Nov. 27. To maximize your enjoyment and not get stressed from the short turnaround, here are some tips for planning for the Christmas holiday: o Make a plan.

It was a request Maurice Johnston couldn't ignore. When Johnston read in a recent "Our Town" feature in The Herald-Mail that the food bank at St. Mark's Lutheran Church was sorely in need of two new freezers, he got the ball rolling. Johnston, is owner and president of M.S. Johnston Co., a company that specializes in commercial refrigeration and air conditioning. He contacted Brad Sell, executive director of the Community Foundation of Washington County. Through the God's Grace Fund, a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation, two commercial upright freezers were provided for the St. Mark's Food Bank.

Volunteer Courtney Swartwood pulls trays of ice cream from the freezer at the Hagerstown Community College Early Learning Center to serve during the Ice Cream Social Thursday to raise funds for Madisyn Wilson, a student at the center who has been diagnosed with cancer.

Violent storms can happen quickly and unexpectedly during the summer. When that happens, many people wonder about the safety of refrigerated and frozen foods if their home has been without power. Monitoring food storage temperatures can be especially important then. At the same time, opening freezer and refrigerator doors during an outage should be kept to a minimum. Food-safety experts recommend checking food storage temperatures every four hours. The key temperature is 40 degrees.

Instead of baking to a frazzle this holiday season, try chilling out. Bake ahead and freeze foods to avoid last-minute hassles. If you're in doubt about whether a food will freeze well, it's always a good idea to give it a trial run. Try making and freezing a small batch earlier in the season and see if you're satisfied with the results. Or experiment with a small amount this year and apply what you learn next year. You must thoroughly cool baked goods before freezing or they'll become soggy.

From the perspective of your freezer, not all foods are created equal. Turkey and chicken prepared in casseroles are a gem for freezer-savvy cooks. But fried foods and some fresh veggies can be problematic and downright icky once they emerge from the deep freeze. For cooks who have learned how to use it, a freezer can be a handy tool. Many meals, dishes and recipe ingredients can be frozen and later prepared on short notice, so it works for people on the run. But freezer beware: some foods don't do so well in a frozen state and there tricks to proper freezing.

daniels@herald-mail.com It is either courage or folly to launch a new line of pastries at a time when the Atkins and South Beach diets are sweeping the nation. That's just what Smithsburg-based wholesale bakery Hadley Farms did two years ago when it test-marketed its 7-ounce cinnamon roll at a supermarket chain in Virginia. The way Hadley fundraising director Christopher Yeager saw it, dieters are going to cheat, and if they're destined to, they might as well do it with a Hadley Farms cinnamon roll.

kristinw@herald-mail.com On those hot, hot summer days when just standing still makes you sweat, it seems relief from the season's inferno is nearly impossible. Whether you have to work outside, you have no air conditioning, or you'd prefer to live in the Yukon Territory, July's heat can dampen your long, summer days. And August might not be better. There are some things that can be done to reduce the wilting effect caused by the latest heat wave. Gladys Ritchie, manager at Walnut Towers, suggests to her residents they watch what they eat and reduce activity during the heat of the day. Eating light and staying away from salt and caffeine can help make you more comfortable in the hot weather, she says.