Consulate General, Edinburgh
E-Newsletter, February 2007
We want to keep you updated on events that affect Americans across the world and to notify you of events of interest in Scotland. Feel free to forward this e-mail to friends or co-workers.
E-Newsletter February 2007
http://london.usembassy.gov/scotland/
Edinburgh-Info@state.gov.
Consulate Temporary Closure
From February 12, 2007 through the end of March 2007, the U.S. Consulate General in Edinburgh is closed to the public due to construction taking place on the entrance and waiting room areas. American citizens with serious emergencies may phone our answering service at 01224-857-097. All other services must be deferred until after April 2, 2007. For services requiring personal appearance that cannot wait until April, the U.S. Embassy in London and the U.S. Consulate General in Belfast are available to assist you. You may reach the Embassy in London at 020-7499-9000 or the Consulate in Belfast at 028-9038-6100. We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time period. The Consulate is closed all Scottish and U.S. Holidays.
IRS Office at the London Embassy
Tax time will soon be upon us. If you have questions, the London Embassy’s IRS Office provides a taxpayer service line from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for British and U.S. holidays. The number is 020-7894-0476 or 020-7894-0477. For more information on the services provided by the IRS office, visit http://london.usembassy.gov/irs/index.htm. If you need tax forms, please visit www.irs.gov.
American Women’s Club Tax Night with the Expert
Monday, March 5th from 7:15 - 9:15 p.m. in Edinburgh. A Glasgow night is also in the works. Get your American Income tax questions answered by Florence Grant, CPA and FCCA. Please bring a copy of your form 1040, form 2555 Foreign Earned Income and any other forms you think you may need. Cost is £3 per person, £5 per couple. For more information, contact Corey at social@awccs.org or 0131-478-9231.
Diabetics: FDA Alert
The FDA has issued an alert regarding counterfeit "One-Touch" glucose test strips (used with LifeScan monitors) that could cause false readings. Further information is available on the FDA website at this URL: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01528.html
The counterfeit test strips are:
One Touch® Basic®/Profile® (lot #272894A, 2619932, 2606340, 2615211 (added October 23, 2006) and 227078A (new lot)) test strips, and
One Touch® Ultra® (lot #2691191 and 2691261 (added October 23, 2006) test strips.
Update Information Regarding Polonium-210
This Warden Message is meant primarily for Americans who were in Britain from November through December 2006. It is an update to the December 11, 2006 warden message concerning events in the United Kingdom involving the radioactive material Polonium-210 (Po-210), which have caused concerns for possible public health risks.
The UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) has advised people who were in The Pine Bar of the Millennium Hotel in London on October 31, November 1, or November 2 to contact the National Health Service (NHS) Direct, at 0845-4647 inside the UK, or by email at overseasadvice@hpa.org.uk if you were outside the UK. The HPA posts updates on this issue at:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/polonium/default.htm
.
Recent media reports have suggested that persons who visited the Millennium Hotel Pine Bar through mid-December 2006 may have risked contact with Polonium-210.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively assessing this incident in close cooperation with British health authorities and will revise public guidance on this subject as necessary. For more information from the CDC on Po-210 public health issues, please visit their website at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/isotopes/polonium/qa.asp.
The CDC advises that if you visited the Pine Bar of the Millennium Hotel prior to its closure on November 23, and have specific concerns about your health, see your health care provider, who should be able to advise whether further evaluation or testing is needed. Your health care provider may contact your state health department for additional information on assessing your Po-210 exposure or contamination. The CDC is also available to assist you, your health care provider, and your state health department in interpreting results of any tests that you and your health care provider may decide to undertake.
You may also contact the CDC by phone via their 24/7 Operations Center at (770) 488-7100, or by email eocop@cdc.gov.
Turkey in the UK: Is it safe?
The influenza season is certainly underway, at least among birds, with Turkey now reporting an outbreak (not to mention Japan's continuing outbreak and human cases in Egypt and Nigeria). Turkey also continues to be an issue here in the UK, judging from the recent news stories. A press release by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) does, in fact, seem to link the virus causing the outbreak in Suffolk with one detected in a goose farm in southeastern Hungary in late January.
The UK Food Standards Agency considers that avian flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers. For more information, see: http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2007/feb/avianflu
But, supposing some infected bird flesh had slipped past the existing screens and barriers. For those of you with inquiring minds, below is a reiteration of the CDC advice for those living in risk areas: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/avian_flu_ig_americans_abroad_032405.htm\
Take precautions regarding food and food preparation
Eat only poultry or poultry products that have been cooked.
Do not eat dishes containing uncooked (raw) or undercooked poultry or poultry products such as eggs, and including dishes made with uncooked poultry blood.
Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw poultry and eggs.
Prevent cross-contamination by keeping raw poultry and its juices away from other foods.
Clean cutting boards and other utensils with soap and hot water to keep raw poultry from contaminating other foods.
Use a food thermometer to make sure you cook poultry to a temperature of at least 74°C (165°F). Consumers may wish to cook poultry to a higher temperature for personal preference.
Even if poultry and eggs were to be contaminated with the virus, safe cooking would kill it.
Recent studies have shown that the cooking methods that are already recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for poultry and eggs to prevent other infections will destroy avian influenza viruses, as well.
Cook eggs until whites and yolks are firm.
We recognize that some questions have come up about “processed” turkey cuts. The processing, we would expect, should be equivalent to cooking the meat. But, there could be uncertainties, such as in handling after processing. Until more is known, “When in doubt, throw it out.” For more information, visit
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/avfluqa.html#eat
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/micro/avian/en/index.html
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