Fall has officially started and we should be thinking about beef stew and other hearty cool weather dishes. But the bad news about contaminated foods just keeps on coming.
Those of us in the Bay Area should not be smug; if you shop at the big chain supermarkets, you are at risk of buying e-coli contaminated beef, pork containing foreign materials or cantaloupe infected with listeria. Californians love their salad. Well, read on down about the 2500 cartons of listeria contaminated lettuce from a California farm.
Even Velveeta cheese isn't safe!
Outbreaks of listeria and other serious illnesses linked to tainted food are becoming more common, partly because much of what we eat takes a long and winding road from farm to fork.
A cantaloupe grown on a Colorado field may make four or five stops before it reaches the dinner table. There's the packing house where it's cleaned and packaged, then the distributor. A processor may cut or bag the fruit. The retail distribution center is where the melons are sent out to various stores. Finally it's stacked on display at the grocery store.
Imported fruits and vegetables have an even longer journey.
California-based Manning Beef is recalling 80,000 pounds of beef products over possible E. coli contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
"The establishment is recalling a variety of beef primal and subprimal cuts ... and manufacturing trimmings due, in part, to insanitary conditions as reflected by an unusually high number of confirmed positive E. coli" test results, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said on Friday.
The beef products were produced on September 23 and shipped from the Pico Rivera, California, operation to retail establishments and food service centers in Arizona and California and to another federally regulated establishment in Nebraska, the USDA statement said.
The E. coli variety that may be involved, O157:H7, is a bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness, it said.
Calif.-based True Leaf Farms recalled nearly 2,500 cartons of chopped romaine lettuce distributed to 21 US states and Canada that's potentially contaminated with listeria, which is also behind the contaminated Colorado-grown cantaloupes outbreak.
Also, according to Forbes, Kraft Foods is also recalling 3 varieties of its Velveeta Shells & Cheese single-serve microwaveable cups as small, thin wire bristle pieces may be inside the cups.
On Monday, Allentown, Penn. company K. Heeps recalled an estimated 5,550 pounds of pureed pork products. The reason? The products may contain foreign materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reported. The single product subject to recall is the 4.5-lb. boxes of Imperial Sysco "Puree Shaped Meats Country Style Pork and Binder Product." According to an article from Bloomberg, the pureed pork product in question was produced on June 16 and shipped to California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, among other states.
On Tuesday, September 27, Kansas-based company Tyson Fresh Meats issued a ground beef recall on approximately 131,300 pounds of ground beef products potentially contaminated with E. coli, reports the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Get the full list of products included in this recall before heading to the store this week.
So, follow all food safety tips, buy locally and from reputable sources. If you use a local butcher, discuss his (or her) food sources before buying. Try to get produce from a local farm; here in the Bay Area, we have numerous sources but the sustainable produce movement is national wide.
Staying healthy trumps any amount of savings at the grocery store.
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