A BAD WEEKS FOR EGGS

Yesterday I blogged the organic egg recall. Now, believe it or not, there's a recall of frozen egg product. This is much more unusual, since egg product is pasteurized, which is likely to kill bacteria. But there can be slipups - even in pasteurization.

What managed to get through was our old enemy, Salmonella. American Egg Products of Blackshear, Georgia, is recalling cartons of frozen egg product, Lot #272-1, because they may be contaminated with this bacteria.

This is not a recall that the consumer needs to worry about since this egg product went in large, five pound cartons to Georgia and Florida and sold to three distributors and/or further food manufacturersfood producers. So, we don't have any way of avoiding it.

Let's save our worrying for all the other contaminated foods that are currently out there in the American food supply.

To your good health,
TSF

SALMONELLA IN ORGANIC EGGS AGAIN

No, Salmonella has not disappeared from our eggs yet, much as everyone is trying and hoping (see all those posts I wrote during that huge Wright Farms egg recall in August, 2010).

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture are investigating Larry Schulz Organic Farm of Owatonna and the eggs it produces. It seems that the eggs were only distributed to restaurants, grocery stores, food wholesalers and foodservice companies in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan - not elsewhere.

Oh yes, the eggs are organic. I hope my very nice doctor at UCSF Medical Center is reading this (certified organic egg production keeps hens in free-range conditions: we had a related discussion last week when I saw her).

What we know so far is that the illness of at least six people (both children and adults) in Minnesota seem to be connected to eating this farm's eggs, and, that lab tests have turned up Salmonella Enteritidis in samples taken from the farm's environment with the same genetic footprint. Sounds suspicious.

And of course, as usual, and just to add to the confusion, our industrialized food supply means that they have been sold under several brand names: Lunds & Byerly’s Organic, Kowalski’s Organic, and Larry Schultz Organic Farm. The eggs are packed in bulk and varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons). If you want a full product descriptions and a list of stores where the suspect eggs were sold, go to www.mda.state.mn.us.

Well, that brings us to an important point again that I keep repeating: forget about sunny-side up eggs or other forms of undercooked eggs or foods that contain them (see The Safe Food Handbook for a long list - there is a whole chapter on Salmonella in eggs). Yes, they may taste great. But think of it this way: you'll taste them for say, 5 minutes, but if you get sick from Salmonella, you'll feel totally miserable for days.

To your good health,
TSF