August Newsletter | "The Great Scoop on the Great Stink"

As families rush to get in that last long weekend or that final get away before summer ends and the kids get back to school, don't forget the NeutrOlene -- before storing that closing up the RV until your next trip, your pop-up trailer, hiking backpacks and camping tents. Same for bedrolls, hiking boots, pool shoes and sandals.

For items smelling of mold or mildew, simply wash as usual, adding a cup of NeutrOlene for medium to large loads...and before closing your storage space until next summer, spray it liberally with NeutrOlene to avoid being greeted by wonky odors next season. Same for your pool house as you prepare it for the off-season or cooler weather.

Want to visit the world's stinkiest city? Rotorua, New Zealand, a geyser-filled city might just be the only thing that stinks in this beautiful country. Nicknamed “Sulphur City”, Rotorua was built on top of a geothermal hot spot, and there are numerous geysers, vents, and hot pools. If you can get past the rotten egg smell, jump into one of the natural hot pools to chill out...and while you’re there, try zorbing -- an adrenaline-filled activity that’ll launch you down a hill in a giant hamster ball!

'Scent jars' helping save lives in Citrus County: An elderly Florida woman who went missing was found by a police dog in about five minutes after police found a jar containing a sample of her scent. She had used a scent preservation kit to capture her smell. The kits can hold scent for up to seven years. Kits include a jar, lid, label and gauze pad. Users must rub the pad on their underarms three times, then place it in the jar and close the lid. The jar should be labeled with name and date and not opened again. The kits are often provided to individuals with mental illnesses, making them vulnerable to wandering, according Scent Evidence K9, the kit maker.

Great news! NeutrOlene is zero calories and can help you lose weight! Here's why: According to a new UC Berkeley study published in Cell Metabolism, your sense of smell is linked to weight gain, possibly because the smell determines whether your body stores fat or burns it. “Sensory systems play a role in metabolism," said study author Andrew Dillin, Distinguished Chair in Stem Cell Research. “Weight gain isn’t purely a measure of calories taken in; it’s also related to how those calories are perceived.”

Researchers put mice into three groups — “super-smellers” with a boosted sense of smell, those with a temporarily disabled sense of smell and a control group — and had them eat the same, high-fat “Burger King diet.”

The super-smellers gained the most weight, doubling in size, while non-smeller gained a maximum of 10 percent of their body weight. The control group gained less than the super-smellers, but more than the non-smellers.

This study indicates a connection between our sense of smell and not only to appetite, but also to metabolism. Food you can’t smell gets burned instead of being stored as fat, while food that stimulates your nasal senses likely gets stored, hence the added weight gain. In other words, those who can’t really smell the beefy, cheese goodness of a Taco Bell Chalupa, are probably metabolizing it significantly better and faster.

But that doesn’t mean plugging your nose to lose weight. Researchers said it’s common for people who’ve lost their smell sense -- due to old age and diseases like Parkinson’s or injuries -- to become depressed and stop eating.

Using these findings, science may find a way to help “super-smellers” as well as those who have lost their sense of smell properly stabilize their metabolism. “If we can validate this in humans, perhaps we can make a drug that doesn’t interfere with smell but still blocks metabolic circuitry," Dillon said.   

Quick Tip: Always spray First Call vehicles with NeutrOlene after every removal.

The scoop on the Great Stink: During the summer of 1858 in central London, unusually hot weather heightened the stench of untreated human waste and industrial effluent present on the banks of the River Thames. The problem had been mounting for years, due to aging and inadequate sewer systems emptying directly into the Thames. The resulting miasma was thought to transmit contagious diseases. Indeed, three outbreaks of cholera before the Great Stink of'58 were blamed for the river's problems.

The stink, and people's fears of its possible health effects, prompted action from the local and national officials who had been considering possible solutions (too bad NeutrOlene hadn't been invented!) The officials accepted a proposal from Joseph Bazalgette, a civil engineer, to move the effluent eastwards through a series of interconnecting sewers beyond central London. Work on the new sewers started in early1859 and lasted until 1875. To aid the drainage, pumping stations were built to lift sewage from lower levels to higher pipes. 

Two of the more ornate stations, Abbey Mills in Stratford and Crossness on the Erith Marshes, are  listed for protection by English Heritage. Bazalgette's plan introduced the three embankments to London in which the sewers ran—the Victoria, Chelsea and Albert Embankments.

Bazalgette's work ensured sewage was no longer dumped onto the shores of the Thames and brought an end to cholera outbreaks. His actions saved more lives than any other Victorian official. His sewer system still operates and some believe Bazalgette to be an unsung hero of London.

It may be time to stop and smell the sausage:  Researchers say they have discovered way to ferment sausages that could turn the fatty meat product into a health food similar to probiotic yogurts. The secret ingredient? A type of bacteria found in baby feces.

Although this may sound like either the stupidest or the most disgusting thing you’ve heard from scientists in recent years, the research - published in the February issue of the journal, Meat Science, is actually a fascinating insight into the common usages of bacteria in the food industry.

Bacterial fermentation is already a big part in making sausages and many varieties (including favorites such as pepperoni and salami) owe their rich and tangy flavor to bacteria, which even create lactic acids that stop the development of germs in the meat.

However, while traditional manufacturing techniques rely on naturally-occurring bacteria in raw meat, researchers in Spain have been experimenting with adding probiotic bacteria instead. The reason for the sensationalist headlines? They've been collecting their samples from human feces -- baby poo to be exact.

While it may sound bizarre, in fact -- it's a standard (if not common) method for isolating probiotics.  Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, a commercial strain of probiotics found in yogurts and ‘daily dose’ drinks, was first isolated from human feces in 1983. (I can't pronounce it but I'll be checking for this in my food from now on...just saying.)

And why feces? Because, if you’re looking for naturally-occurring bacteria that have been helping the body, then examining material that has recently passed through the body of a healthy individual is a good place to start.

Co-author Anna Jofré, a food microbiologist at Spain's Institute of Food and Agricultural Research's (IRTA) food-safety program, added that “infant feces are natural, easily-obtained samples.”

After isolating the bacteria from their samples (this process involves letting the bacteria develop in a petri dish – it’s not simply plucked from the feces and dropped into the sausage), the researchers created six batches of fuet - a Catalonian pork sausage similar to chorizo minus the paprika.

Of the six strains of bacteria isolated, only one successfully took up home in the fermenting sausages, with the strain growing to levels of “100 million cells per gram of sausage”, enough to “produce health-promoting effects to people,"  Jofré said.

The sausages were sampled by professional tasters who confirmed the flavor was indistinguishable from regular fuet - even though they all contained less salt and less fat. You may not like the idea of sausages made in this way, but bacteria found in feces is probably already a part of your diet - so don't complain when it makes your sausages healthier too.