P.S. ON FOOD RECALLS

In the years I have been following food product recalls in the US, I have learned a few things. Here are five that may surprise you:

• The recalling food company is often not the one guilty of contaminating the food being recalled. They could be an innocent victim. The contaminant could have entered from their ingredient supplier, at their packer's, or during transport. Or, they could simply be a distributor or retailer, who bought bad food products, thinking they were safe.

• You cannot assume that the product being recalled is always the right one - that is, the food that has caused an outbreak of illnesses. Mistakes happen and trace-back is not that easy. Strawberries have been recalled, when it was really raspberries that were contaminated, tomatoes recalled instead of peppers, and more. Just keep your fingers crossed.

• Many recalls start small and expand, so the safest approach is to leave a wide margin around the food that is recalled for a while. That is, if peanut products are being recalled by one company, avoid all foods containing peanut products for a while to allow the FDA to do more testing. If certain alfalfa sprouts are being recalled, avoid eating any for a while until you hear more, as the problem could be in the seeds distributed to many growers. If three cheeses made by a cheese maker are being recalled, avoid the other five they make until the FDA does more testing in case the problem is contaminated equipment or something else they all share. And so on.

• Many recalls are a case of "too little too late." It is not unusual for the "Best-by" date to have expired by the time the recall is announced. That is, we have already eaten the food. So think back on what you ate - not just what is still sitting in your refrigerator or cupboard. Of course, this is even more important if you are ill.

• Many recalls go on for a long time, sometimes in a type of start, stop and start-up again pattern, as more testing is done (see the Alert column on this blog for a 6 mos. recall by Fresh Express, and remember the peanut product and pistachio recalls that went on even longer). So don't assume it will be over in a day or so. We have a complicated food system.

TSF

FIVE FOODS I WON'T EAT IN 2011

I'm an omnivore. I have even eaten barbecued bugs in Asia, sheep's eyes in Greece, some very odd root foods gathered by Bushmen in Africa, and well...a whole lot of other things I would rather not think about these days.

But the other night someone I met at a party asked me if there are any types of North American dishes or meals I simply won't eat because I consider them too unsafe. Yes, there are. Here are five that I plan to pass on in 2011, both when eating at home and when eating out:

• Salads or sandwiches made using raw sprouts.
Sprouts are simply too easily contaminated, even when producers use best FDA recommended procedures, and even if you grow them yourself.

• Raw oysters in any form.
True, I don't care for their slimy texture, but there is also a major health risk: Vibrio vulnificus bacteria which can make you very seriously ill and even be fatal.

• Farmed fish imported from China.
Too many drug residues have been found in these fish, and the FDA probably isn't even catching a small fraction of the ones that are there.

• Cheeses made with unpasteurized ("raw") milk.
I love them, but the latest outbreaks are showing that the 60 day cheese aging rule is not working to kill all bacteria.

• Sunnyside-up eggs.
I don't consider eggs to be a very risky food, in spite of the 2010 large Salmonella-associated outbreak. But they're easy to give up. I mean, they're not like chocolate. So why risk it?


TSF

10 TIPS FOR 2011 FOR EATING SAFELY

1. Eat as few ready-to-eat (RTE) products as possible, because they are likely to be many times more risky than those you cook yourself (that includes sliced up and RTE fruits and vegetables, as well as deli salads, spreads, sandwiches, and others). The added convenience is simply not worth getting ill.
2. Remember that eating out is likely to be more risky than eating in your own home, or in the home of someone you know - so choose where and what you eat with care.
3. Check the country-of-origin of your food products and give preference to local rather than "remote" foods - that is, those that have travelled thousands of miles to your plate and been stored for long periods of time.
4. Avoid eating any undercooked meat, poultry, fish or shellfish (that includes undercooked salmon, and those undercooked mussels and clams - not just hamburger, steaks and roast chicken).
5. Avoid eating undercooked eggs or dishes that contain undercooked shell eggs (unless the eggs used have been pasteurized).
6. Avoid raw dairy, including unpasteurized milk and raw milk cheeses - even those raw cheeses that have been aged for 60 days (as required by US government regulations). The latest outbreaks argue that this safety measure is not enough to kill all bacteria and it needs to be changed.
7. Avoid any food that is moldy, especially in the case of nuts and grains, nut-containing products, or grain-based foods. Although some will do you no harm, others could contain carcinogenic mold toxins. Who wants those?
8. Remember that poor handling, preparation, or incorrect storage of foods will also put you at more risk, so be careful, and discard foods that are past their expiry dates.
9. Hand washing may be old fashioned, but it is more important than ever. Remember to do it immediately after you handle any food that could be contaminated - not just human food, but also pet food, and especially pet treats. You would be surprised about the number of people who have caught salmonellosis from dog treats.
10. Never assume that any type of food, such as organic or sustainable or natural or anything else will be risk-free; it won't. Anything and everything can be contaminated with one thing or another. How safe it is, will be partly up to you. Be a smart consumer.

SAFE FOOD HANDBOOK - Update

The Safe Food Handbook
Heli Perrett (Author)
January, 2011

Trade Paperback • 368 Pages
ISBN 9781615190171

 Now Available at (partial list):
Online Booksellers: Amazon.com, A1Books.com, Barbes & Noble.com, Books-a-Million.com, BordersStores.com, Buy.com, ecookbooks.com, Hastings.com, IndieBound.org., Powells.com, Target.com, WalMart.com and several others.
Local US booksellers: Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Borders, Book Passage, Chapters, Cole, Indigo, Hastings, Indiebound, Target, Walmart
Local Canadian Booksellers: Chapters, Coles, Indigo
International Online Orders: Amazon.uk (England), Amazon.ca and Chapters.Indigo.ca (Canada), Amazon.fr (France), Amazon.de (Germany), Amazon.co.jp (Japan), Amazon.ca (Canada), ebay.com.au (Australia), Fishpond.co. nz (New Zealand), loot.co.za (Zambia).
Domestic and International offline orders: For bulk purchases - The Perseus Books Group
Customer Service Department, 1094 Flex Drive, Jackson, TN 38301

 Upcoming Bookstore Events in January, 2011:
• At the Green Arcade, 1680 Market St, San Francisco, California - January 12, 7.00pm
• At Book Passage, The Ferry Building, San Francisco, California - 01/19/2011 6:00 pm
• On KRON-4 TV News - Interviewed by Henry Tenenbaum on Sunday, Jan. 15, 9-10am.
• On KQED Public Radio Forum - Interviewed Friday, Jan. 28, 10-11am.




 Reviews and News:
LIBRARY JOURNAL, Dec. 2010, BOOK REVIEW - "VERDICT -
Perrett writes in a manner that clears the fog of claims surrounding food risks and safety. This book will be an eye-opener for anyone who has had questions about food safety.
—Ginny Wolter, Toledo-Lucas Cty. P.L."

USA WEEKEND MAGAZINE - Nov.21, 2010: ”They save time, but pre-washed, pre-cut, ready-to-go packages of fruits and veggies can be problematic. “Proportionally more outbreaks of produce-linked illness come from fresh-cut produce than from produce left whole,” says Heli Perrett, author of The Safe Food Handbook. Some studies found that slicing before packaging can multiply the risk by six or more."

RUTH WINTER, Award winning science writer, author of 28 books: “The overburdened, understaffed agencies that are supposed to inspect and eliminate contaminated food in the United States cannot do an adequate job since most of our edibles are imported. The best protection against unsafe food, therefore, is our own knowledge. Dr. Perrett presents well-balanced, solid information about foods we may choose to eat. She answers many frequently asked questions about pre-packaged food, organic products, and what precautions to take with dishes such as sushi and raw beef. She even answers questions readers may not think to ask such as how to avoid distasteful, contaminated spices.”
—Ruth Winter, MS, author of A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives.

TSF
(Signing out with exhaustion)

SALMONELLA CHOCOLATE

The description of Dogoba chocolate reads like poetry. Just take a look at their website (http://www.dagobachocolate.com/). Besides, it is organic, Fair Trade Certified, Kosher, and at least some of the cocoa ingredients are purchased from eco-friendly farmers in places such as the Dominican Republic. You would be tempted to buy it even if you didn't love chocolate, which I certainly do. A chocolate and coffee first thing in the morning, to get me moving.

But Artisan Confections, the U.S. makers of Dogoba chocolate, is currently recalling one of its products - Dagoba Organic Chocolate new moon organic Rich Dark Chocolate -74% cacao. The reason - yes, again - is that Salmonella bacteria have been found. This chocolate is sold at specialty stores and health and organic food retailers such as Whole Foods Market, and has been distributed throughout the U.S. So far only one lot is being recalled, but don't bet that this is the end.

Nor is this the first time that Dogoba chocolate has been involved in a recall. It was Salmonella problems again, back in March, 2006, resulting in the recall of a large number of Dogoba chocolate products. Then there was that lead contamination in May/June of 2006. The company upset a lot of people - especially Dogoba-Chocolate consuming pregnant women - by not being more forthcoming with information and coverage of testing. What is causing these problems at Artisan Confections? Is it contaminated imported ingredients (maybe the nutmeg used in some - see next blog), poorly cleaned equipment at the plant, ill workers, contaminated packaging? Whatever it is, Artisan Confections needs to take action to quickly identify and solve the problem or it will lose its healthy image -and its loyal customers. I think Whole Foods Market should be reconsidering selling their products.

TSF

POISON PEPPER

It is always nice to be proven right, although I know I should really not be pleased since people are becoming seriously ill all over America. But I did predict that the next big outbreak would be caused by Salmonella bacteria. And I did warn that spices are much more deadly than those innocent little pinches of taste suggest.

It is a long story, but basically what has been going on for the last few weeks is an outbreak of Salmonella montevideo bacteria in black and/or red pepper. Yes, Salmonella has proven itself quite able to live for months in dry environments, such as spices. And of course, it may soon move to a much pleasanter home when such spices are used as ingredient in many processed and ready-to-eat foods - or, in our homes.

In this case it started with people becoming ill from eating a variety of ready-to-eat Italian-style meats distributed by Daniele International Inc.in Rhode Island(see earlier post). A trace-back of ingredients by the FDA eventually pinpointed pepper as the suspect ingredient, and the likely source as two companies - Overseas Spice Company, Dayton, N.J.; and Wholesome Spice Company, Brooklyn, N.Y. (some irony in the 'wholesome' name, right?). Both of these companies had supplied pepper to Daniele International. Of course, both also sold to other commercial companies as well, who incorporated them into their own products, or packaged and sold them under other labels.

As a result we now have a spreading outbreak and multiplying number of food product recalls - not just spicy sausage, but also recalls of black and red pepper - whole black pepper, crushed red pepper, and ground red pepper and of dips mixes and a variety of seasonings- too many to list. Two of the distributor are Dutch Valley Food Distributors, Inc. and Frontier Natural Products Co-Op. Frontier not only sold under the Frontier brand but also under the Whole Foods Market brands (poor Whole Foods - here's another recall for you). This is just the tip of the iceberg, or the beginning of the landslide.

In the meantime, illnesses caused by such Salmonella contaminated pepper have occurred in 44 states. So far there have been at least 249 confirmed cases, with many more winding their way through the reporting system, and more still to come.

The FDA is continuing its investigation of the original source of these pepper products. It isn't saying at the moment. My guess would be China, where a lot of such spices come from these days. I'll see what I can find out.

Bon appetit (but take it easy on the peppers and spicy sausages and hope your retailer is keeping up with the recalls).

TSF

From Cheeseballs to Italian Sausage

A kind of update to the previous post on ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. It drives home the point of how risky this type of food is.

The latest: a recall of about 1,240,000 pounds of ready-to-eat Italian sausage products by a Rhode Island firm. That is a whole lot of sausage. And it's not even Listeria bacteria. No, it's one of the common Salmonella bacteria again. Not as likely to cause death in the short term, but there is a chance that it will not only give you a few miserable days, but also leave you with longer-term health problems like reactive arthritis or something else.

And just a few days earlier, it was cheeseball time, recalled by a Wisconsin-based distributor who got their cheese from Parkers Farm, which has had to recall a lot of their products recently because of Listeria bacteria. The cheeseballs may also be carrying it.

What will be next?

Bon appetit (but avoid RTEs whenever you can)

TSF

ANOTHER BAD NUT

I suppose it was simply a matter of time before we had another nut-related outbreak.

Remember the peanut-linked one last year that seemed to go on for ever, then followed by a smaller one associated with pistachios? Well, the holiday season brought with it an outbreak in hazelnuts. True, hazelnuts are nowhere near as popular in the US as they are in Europe, but a lot of us do tend to eat them at least this time of the year. Otherwise, we just love them in chocolates and certain other baked goods.

Anyway, another outbreak of salmonella contamination in nuts was not what we wanted. The first recalls came out about mid December. It was only associated with hazelnuts that had been shelled (not those in shells), both organic and non-organic, and seems to have started at a large company that shells the nuts and then supplies other companies and retailers. My guess - another case of contaminated equipment.

And don't think this was just some small incident. In the end some of the higher-end retailers such as Whole Foods, and Harry and David, as well as several others, had to conduct product recalls at their busiest and most lucrative time of year.

Which reminds me, I ordered several Harry and David products to be sent to people such as my doctor and her staff. I hope they didn't contain hazelnuts. I had better check the FDA -Harry and David product recall list. How does one notify one's doctor that you may have sent her contaminated goodies as a thank you gift?

Bon appetit!

TSF

HOW SAFE WAS MEAT IN 2009?

Meat is not the most risky food we eat. More illnesses are caused by contaminated produce. On the other hand, our meat isn't all that safe either.

Let's take a quick look at how safe American meat was in 2009. We can get some idea from looking at how many recalls were announced for bacteria-contaminated meat or meat products by food companies - often under strong pressure from the USDA, which is in charge of keeping our meat safe. Mind you, this kind of data badly underestimates the real situation. Much of the time - who knows how much - contamination is either not caught, or else, is hidden, so that a costly recall will not have to take place. Also, bacteria are only one possible food contaminant, including in meat. Finally, much of meat and other food contamination occurs at later stages, for instance, at the meat market, in a restaurant, or in our homes. This would not result in a recall of products that have been distributed to wholesalers or retailers. Keeping all this in mind, here's an overview of meat recalls in 2009 that were not caused by bits of plastic, allergens, mislabeling or such other problems, but were due to 'bad bugs' that entered at early stages in the farm-to-fork process.

• Bacteria caused at least 22 recalls of meat or meat products (such as sausages, cold cuts, meat pastes) in 2009, some small, others large-scale and multi-state recalls. In all, probably about 2 million pounds of meat were 'recovered' (read that as 'arrived back at the recalling company' ). We can assume that an even larger amount was eaten (recalls come too late, retailers and consumers don't hear about them).
• The USDA announced one or more recalls of bacteria-contaminated meat or of a meat product every month of 2009, except for March (when there was just some allergens and mislabeling of products).
• The most common bacteria involved in a recall in 2009 were the deadly E.coli 0157:H7 which was identified as the cause of fully 50%, or eleven meat recalls, in 2009.
• Listeria bacteria (very dangerous to pregnanat women, people who have serious illnesses) were tied to seven outbreaks in 2009, usually in connection with processed products (such as smoked beef brisket, sausages, duck confit, bacon bit products and the like).
• Salmonella bacteria caused four outbreaks.

Which is the most dangerous meat to eat? It's still the same as it has always been - ground beef, and especially ground beef made into hamburgers that you can just throw on the grill or into the microwave.

Bon appétit!

BEEF'S TURN

Well, now it's beef's turn to come up contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. On August 6 the USDA announced that Beef Packers, Inc., based in Fresno, California, is recalling approximately 825,769 pounds of ground beef products that may be linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis. That is a whole lot of beef. The ground beef products were sent to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah.

So, we just avoid eating it, right? No, unfortunately not, because we don't know what brand name they were sold under. The product was shipped in bulk, and then repackaged by other different companies into smaller packages with different names. Who knows what they all are. Besides, the 'use or freeze by' date has long expired. The meat was sent out on various dates in June, and the latest use-date was before mid-July. In other words, the chances are that it has already been eaten. That nasty bout of diarrhea, vomiting, fever etc. that you had a few weeks ago, that you thought was the 'flu - well, it could have been that medium-rare hamburger you ate (or, well-cooked one you made without using careful kitchen hygiene). To make matters worse, this is a particularly nasty member of the Salmonella family - Salmonella Newport because it is resistant to many commonly prescribed antibiotics. And that is not mentioning the risk of longer-term effects on our health, like arthritis and worse.

So, what do we do? Well, if you are presently eating in California, Arizona, Colorado or Utah, the safest approach is to only buy ground beef from a store that grinds up their own. Or, maybe skip eating any ground beef meals for a while altogether. Try a turkey-burger instead. It is better for you, and actually quite good, particularly if you throw some garlic and herbs on it, and maybe a pile of cream sherry-soaked sauteed red onions on top, served on an onion bagel...

Bon appetit,
TSF

SWINE FLU IN FOOD

Well, it happened before I got down to writing on it. 'Swine Flu,' which is really not really the pure porcine variety, but a 'novel' type of Influenza A (H1N1) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Americans are anticipating a huge immunization campaign in late September and traders are happily buying shares of all the companies promising to have masses of the vaccine ready by then. At least 3 companies are at the field trial stage with their vaccines. Meanwhile, there are some great scam vaccines being sold over the Internet.

Many schools are still shut down, people are nervous, and the number of illnesses keeps growing. From April 15, 2009 to July 24, 2009, a total of 43,771 confirmed and probable cases of infection were reported in 53 states, DC and Puerto Rico. Of these cases reported, 5,011 people were hospitalized and 302 people died. On July 24, 2009, the CDC gave up counting. According to one model it developed, which takes underreporting, lack of testing and other such factors into account, there have most likely been around a million cases of this flu in the U.S. between April and June.

I was one of them. No, it wasn't much fun. But frankly, not that bad either. I've had worse. And while it is reputed to be very contagious, my husband did not get it. Nor did my friends.

To the main issue: the question in many peoples’ minds has been whether one could get this unpleasant flu from eating pork or pork products. The answer is 'NO' - well, at least, not from pork.

The markets certainly have seemed to think so. Because there had been a number of cases of ‘swine flu’ in the U.S., and more were expected, U.S. hog prices and even the value of shares in meat companies fell as a result. Several countries banned U.S. pork and there was fear that more would join in.

The FDA ,the CDC and other government and private organizations with vested interests, have busily telling consumers - and reassuring our trading partners - that our pork is perfectly safe to eat. This flu virus is spread person-to-person like any other ‘flu virus, usually when an infected person sneezes or coughs or when the virus lands on a surface that you then touch and later touch your food, bite your fingernails or suck your thumb. Naturally, we don’t normally go around licking door knobs or stairway banisters, and hopefully, not sucking our thumb too often either. Although, certainly, this is a very 'fingernail-biting' time in our economy and many of us are taking up the habit every time we check our bank account or credit card statement.

But what about restaurants? The same situation applies, but of course, if a restaurant worker sneezes on your fresh tomato or lettuce – or, your fork - and you then put it in your mouth ….well…..Although the FDA and CDC are not admitting it, it is quite possible for people to catch swine flu from their food – but maybe from their salad instead of the pork chop.

Bon appetit!

TSF

THE FOOD FIX

Since the peanut product contamination incident hit the media, there has been a lot of talk about what needs to be done to fix America's food supply. "The safest food supply in the world?" You have to be kidding. Whoever said that (and I forget which bureaucrat it was) has to be eating his words...and hopefully getting indigestion.

Actually, in many ways we are way behind most of the European countries and even some Asian ones in terms of food safety. Stricter legislation is hard to pass because of the power of the food industry coupled with inadequate government resources. But this is not the only reason we are lagging.

One of the weaknesses in our system is that responsibility for the safety of our food is divided up among a number of agencies. Depends how you count it: 3 main ones, maybe 12 at the next level, and if you really want to be comprehensive, you can get to 21.

The division of responsibility between the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is particularly strange and leads to some totally irrational situations in practice and shifting of blame when things go wrong and the public is up in arms. Some of this is happening during this peanut butter and product outbreak. It was also obvious during the 2007 tomato/not tomato contamination. Several European countries like France and even Canada realized that to do the job properly, you had to have a single agency in charge. We still haven't got there.

And of course, if you don't have enough resources, you can't do the job. Take the ongoing peanut contamination and safety at the plant where it all started. One government inspector was responsible for some widely scattered 260 facilities, one of which was the Peanut Corporation of America plant. And don't think that food safety inspectors spend all day every day running around inspecting. Or, that all you have to do for a thorough inspection is to take a two minute look-see about. It takes more - and, a thorough inspection takes time.

Most people would agree that it is even worse with our imported foods, where some of the plants are in developing countries, in remote areas, with terrible road access. Not to mention the fact that salaries are low and the bakshish is tempting. I've spent a lot of my life working in countries where much of U.S. food comes from these days, and I know how things work.

So where do we go from here? President Obama - I know you have your hands full right now, and this is not what you needed, but you did make a promise. For starters, there was that Food-Borne Illness and Surveillance Response Act you introduced in July, 2008 to make our food safer. To quote, your words were: "We must do everything we can to ensure that our families don't get sick from the foods they eat." On...on...

But remember, that is just the beginning.

TSF

UPDATE: We now have the updated and improved legislation (as of 2010), but not enough money to do the job properly. One without the other doesn't do much good. I guess we'll have to wait until...what? The end of the recession?

PEANUT REDUX

As I expected, this peanut related contamination of our food supply is growing and growing, expanding every way: more confirmed cases of illness, more deaths, a wider time frame for risky foods, and many, many more possible suspect products. Yesterday there were some 32 new alerts in my mailbox. It's Sunday today, but I bet there will be another bunch today. It's no longer just peanut paste and bulk shipments of peanut butter to institutions, but also peanuts themselves and wonderful things like trail mixes.

Now that it has got to the peanuts, I am beginning to wonder if the source of the contamination (or, sources) is not limited to the Peanut Corporation of America facilities. I would not be the least surprised if it also pops up elsewhere. Maybe even at the peanut grower level. Jimmy Carter - are you involved?

As for recalling hundreds of peanut products going all the way back to January 1, 2007 - let's face it, that is a bit unrealistic. I bet we have already eaten most of it.

Just to be safe I am throwing out any item I have bought that contains peanuts. What is considered safe today, will probably be unsafe tomorrow. By the way, I found that my favorite pecan oatmeal bars also contain peanut paste. So much for the label.

I wonder if they have peanut futures on the commodities exchange? Maybe it isn't too late to sell some calls or buy some puts, so I could make some money for a change.

Bon appetit!
TSF

PASS ON THE PEANUT

Peanut butter is clogging my mailbox, if not my arteries. Today there are nine new recall notices from the Food and Drug Administration of products containing peanut butter paste which might be contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium bacteria. Yesterday there were six new recalls, and the day before, four. .....I am losing count, but I believe that by now some 125 - 130 products have been recalled because of this outbreak. Some of these foods were distributed nationwide, and are particularly popular with children, as well as some of my neighbors and friends - foods such as peanut butter cookies, ice cream, candy, crackers and more. There have been close to 500 confirmed cases of illness so far in 43 states, and some 7 suspected deaths. Multiply that by ten and you are likely to be closer to the real numbers, since only a small percentage of this type of illness gets reported.

How did this happen? It is believed that the contamination occurred at the Peanut Butter Corporation's Blakey, Ga. plant (now closed). At least, a very similar strain of this bacteria was found in a crack in the floor, near where the pallets were stored. Mind you, that still doesn't explain how it got into the vats. What, the roasted peanuts, peanut butter or paste landed on the floor and were then scooped up and put back into the containers? My guess is that this is not the end of the story. There will probably be more twists and turns, as usual. Stay tuned... We are on the case.

I have given up my favorite peanut-butter oatmeal bars, and am avoiding chocolates with peanut butter (sigh...), just in case. At least it is good for that belly bulge that arrived during the holidays. At the rate things are going, what is not on the recall list today, will probably be there tomorrow. I am just glad that I am not in some nursing home, hospital, university or school with food service that received the large tubs of contaminated peanut butter. Several people in long-term care facilities have become ill, and of course, any additional illness is worse for them than for those of us that are healthy.

The nonprofit National Peanut Board says Americans eat 700 million pounds of this yummy stuff every year. Apparently millions of pounds have been recalled. If peanut butter follows the route of the nationwide spinach outbreak in 2006 or the 2007 tomato scare (no, not tomato but Jalapeno and Serrano pepper) , we are going to be eating a lot less of it in the future - at least for a few years. Poor Peanut Corporation of America. Plus the others that produce it. This little bacteria is going to cost them.

The list of suspect products is too long to reproduce. The growing list of recalls is on: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html. This list has now expanded to include some pet treats as well - not so dangerous for Fido, but could be if a child handles the treat and then does not wash his or her hands afterwards before eating. Most likely not all the recalled products are contaminated, but all the small producers did use peanut butter or paste from the suspect factory in making them.

But there is a bright side - at least until we know otherwise. Apparently some peanut butter/paste products are safe for us to eat. Here are some of the companies that are swearing they don't use any peanut paste or butter from the Blakey plant in making their goodies, and, unless we find out otherwise, it is perfectly safe to eat them.

• See's Candies of California, Hershey, Rees's and Russell Stover Candies.
• Kraft products such as Nabisco and Planter brands.
• Quaker Oats granola bars or snacks.
• Products of Sport protein bar company PowerBar, a division of Nestle.
• Energy Bars made by Bonk Beaker of California.
• Tiger's Milk nutrition bars made by Schiff Nutrition of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Keep eating...

TSF

Is that Melamine in our Food Supply?

There was another one today. In all, that makes at least three in December, and one in early January. What I am talking about is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerts about yet another melamine-contaminated food product.

Melamine? Wasn't that the contaminant in pet food in 2007 that sickened some 8,500 of our beloved cats and dogs and other pets and killed many of them? Yes, it was. Wasn't it also the industrial chemical that got into milk in China (and maybe a bunch of other foods as well, such as eggs, meat, and soy). Yes, it is. The official estimates on the China incident: about 30,000 or so infants sickened, and about 6 killed. I would bet my beloved new Breville super-automatic toaster and electric kettle (that my son bought me for Christmas) that this is a huge underestimation.

So what is a nitrogen-based compound used in making plastic items, such as eating utensils and laminates, whiteboard wall paneling, flooring and Formica countertops doing in food? The answer is greed...A get-rich quick scheme by unscrupulous people who thought they could get away with a little sleight-of-hand. This was not a case of turning water into wine, but of turning water into milk (with a little help from melamine). And you thought the latest financial scams were bad?

Back to melamine in the U.S. food supply. Bottom line: it's there, but we don't yet know all the food products that are involved, or how bad it will be for us. The FDA testing is ongoing. It takes time. Hang in there. We'll keep you informed. Just waiting for those scientists to get over their vacation sloth and for the new and more honest administration to come in, so we get the real facts.

But why? Why is melamine in our food? Well, that's what globalization gets you. We love imported foods, and food manufacturers love cheap imported ingredients. It all translates into better profits. China is a great soure of both. And, no prejudice involved, but that's where it began. But it could have been some other chemical in some other country. There are plenty to choose from.

The warnings are dribbling in to the public, except that most of us remain blissfully ignorant. Not that it matters much. By the time the warnings are issued the products have usually been on store shelves for months, and most have been eaten. Yumm...Did you notice that lovely crunch of plastic in your chocolate bar? Feel an odd kind of tickle in your kidneys a few days later?

Let's take today's announcement. National Brands recalled topaz wafer rolls. Going backwards, the alert on December 20th, announced the discovery of melamine in gourmet cocoa products. On December 18th it was Wonderfarm biscuits. On December 6 it was found in chocolate bars held by cute teddy bears that were sold at Walgreens. And yes, in November it was found in low levels in three major brands of infant formula sold in the U.S. In between there have been other incidents. Most of the melamine contaminated products were sold in several states or nationwide. And it is not just one food manufacturer or distributor involved, but many.

What makes it worse, is that most of the contaminated products identified so far are eaten by infants or children, who are more vulnerable. Of course, all the announcements downplay the risks and say no illnesses have been reported. But let's not be fooled. As we found out in the case of melamine in pet food, it can take a while for melamine to create kidney and other problems. And it takes a lot longer to track it back to a specific food product. As for the low dosages, let's hope they are too low to do any harm. But it might be a good idea to remember that findings in other countries have shown that the levels in a single type of produce - such as chocolate bars or candy - can vary tremendously from one chocolate bar or candy to the next. There are also a lot of things we still don't understand about how melamine works in the body, what the cumulative effect is, how melamine and cyanuric acid work together, and in what situations melamine is most likely to be dangerous.

So how do we avoid it? At this point I would love to give a magic answer. But frankly, I don't know. Much of this melamine contaminant is probably reaching us through foods produced in China, or, ingredients produced in China that are then used here in the U.S. Some is also coming from other countries that have imported melamine contaminated ingredients and used them to produce foods that are then exported to the U.S. One such recent case is the 'his and hers' gourmet cocoa products produced in Quebec, Canada.

Perhaps the best way to be safe is not to eat any manufactured food products that might contain milk ingredients. But I would not be at all surprised if it did not soon turn up in soy as well. Or, something else, like our eggs.

Stay tuned.

In the meantime: bon apetit, buen provecho, guten appetit, bete'avon, buen appetito, kale orexe, itadakimas, est gesunterhayt, afyet olson, priiatnogo appetita, buon appetito.......Is that enough for now?

TSF

Is Organic Safer? (The Dental View)

I had a chat with my dentist today. That is, as much as anyone can say anything, while that sadist has a drill in your mouth and goes on ad infinitum on issues to which you can't reply. He asked me what I had been doing lately (probably the kind of safe conversational question they teach you to ask in dental school when you can't remember a thing about your current patient). I answered that I was writing a book on Food Safety, surprised that I actually managed to get out a total of 8 words before he jammed more cotton and drills in my mouth.

'Oh,' he said. 'Great...very interesting. Of course, I just eat organic fruit and vegetables so I don't need to worry about that. No need to wash off chemicals or anything like that. Perfectly safe. Wonderful....Apple a day to keep your gums healthy and all that'....etc. etc. There was about 10 minutes more along the same lines. I kept having drill-powered dreams of him clutching his stomach in agony with a bad case of food poisoning.

'Arfff..Ugh...no...fruff'...I said. Or something that sounded like that. He paid no attention. When he eventually gave me a breather, and after he had expressed his views on about 5 other topics, 4 of which I strongly disagreed with, but had to suffer in silence, I asked: 'Back to organic produce - you mean you never ever wash any organic fruit or vegetables?'

'No, he answered. 'No need to. No pesticides. Good clean stuff.'

I was amazed...horrified. But afterwards I found that a couple of my friends shared his view. But of course, they're wrong. While research has shown that organic produce that is grown and processed according to the standards of the USDA’s National Organic Programme has less chemical residues than nonorganic produce, it can carry some - roughly about a fifth as much. This may be from previous land use, contaminated irrigation water, pesticides in rain or groundwater, chemical sprays drifting from neighboring non-organic farms or mixing or mis-labelling of the produce. Disillusioning, yes, but unfortunately true.

And what about bacteria and other microorganisms? A few years ago a TV programme created an uproar because it argued that organic produce may actually be more dangerous than traditionally grown fruit and vegetables. Some food scientists also argue that Organics’ heavy use of animal manure and other organic waste can pose health risks. On the other side of the fence, organic advocates say that is not true because of the very ridid safety measures organic producers use.

Whatever the case, if you don't want to risk it, wash it, organic or not organic. Organic may be safer in terms of chemicals, but can be just as dangerous in terms of microorganisms. And who wants those.

Keep eating...

TSF