MORE SANDWICHES MADE WITH RECALLED EGGS

The list goes on and on. It's amazing how many different kinds of U.S. salads and sandwiches contain eggs. And unfortunately, it turns out that many of them contain eggs from Michaels Foods which have been suspected of carrying Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

Here is another sandwich recall in addition to those that I have already blogged.

Grand Strand Sandwich Company of Longs, SC, is recalling its 4.5oz and 5 oz Chicken Salad Sandwiches, with the following labels: Grand Strand Sandwich, Lunch Box Sandwiches, and Country Harvest Sandwiches. They just found out that their sandwich manufacturer, Bost Distributing bought some of the Hard Cooked Eggs that were produced by Michael Foods which has an ongoing recall on those eggs.

Notice...The eggs were laid by hens on farms, then sent (directly or indirectly) to Michael Foods, which sent them to Bost Distributing (among others), which then made chicken salad sandwiches containing those eggs, which sandwiches were then sold to Grand Strand Sandwich Company, which then sent them for sale to us consumers at convenience stores in the U.S. southeast. There they sit around for weeks in the cooler waiting for you to buy them as "fresh sandwiches."

Ugh.....I think I would rather starve. Or, just eat a banana.

And on top of all that, look at all those mysterious ingredients in that so-called healthy and fresh sandwich (the photo of the label may not be clear enough for you to read them, but examine the label yourself the next time you are tempted to buy a ready-made sandwich).

To your good health,

TSF

EXPANSION OF THE BOILED EGG RECALL

Here we go again - paying the price for our industrialized food supply and our increasing dependence on convenience foods. That tiny bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, is giving us more worry and misery. Pregnant women and vulnerable people watch out!

The boiled egg recall is now on a nationwide expansion path in the U.S. Michael Foods, Inc. is recalling hard-cooked eggs in brine sold in 10 and 25-pound pails for institutional use. From its Wakefield, Nebraska facility these eggs were sent to food distributors and manufacturers in at least 34 states (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WV).

And, as usual, and to confuse the issue further, a product from such a large food company is sold under various names - all of them sounding healthy - Columbia Valley Farms, GFS, Glenview Farms, Papetti’s, Silverbrook, Wholesome Farms. (I think I am going to steer clear of any product which has "Farm" or "Farms" in its name..There have been just too many "farm" recalls lately).

Avoid convenience foods - if you can.

To your good health,

TSF

A BAD FEW WEEKS FOR READY-TO-EAT FOODS

At least in the U.S., and no doubt elsewhere as well, there are regular recalls for ready-to-eat, or "convenience" food products. The reason is usually that testing has turned up dangerous bacteria in the food. Since they are "ready" for eating, and are therefore rarely cooked, such bacteria are also more likely to cause illnesses.

For instance, between July 5 and July 26 - a period of just three weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued 11 recalls for meat-containing ready-to-eat foods. Two of the product recalls were simply for mislabeling or undeclared allergens (which I do not blog) However, nine recalls are taking place because testing by USDA turned up pathogenic bacteria in the food. Of these, 7 (counting two expanded recalls) were due to Listeria monocytogenes bacteria being found . The other two were for Salmonella bacteria.

You can see why I keep saying that pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems should go easy on eating ready-to-eat foods.

To your good health,
TSF