THE TSUNAMI, EARTHQUAKE AND RADIATION IN FOOD

With the ongoing reports of increasing and spreading radioactivity from several of Japan's nuclear reactors, a lot of people are becoming worried about radioactivity in their food. Yes, it's true that radioactive material in the air can not only get into the body directly, but also indirectly, through food and drinking water. Radiation can be washed down by rain into the soil where food grows, into waters where fish live, and onto grass where cows graze.

The experts say that cow's milk, dairy foods and fresh fruits and vegetables will be especially vulnerable in this sort of situation. Those most at risk are young children and unborn babies. Radioactive materials in sufficiently large doses can cause various types of cancer and abnormalities to the fetus.

Right now, people living in Japan are of course most likely to be at risk both from direct exposure and from their food. However, it is likely that the radioactive plume will be carried to other countries as well, though with lower levels of radioactive materials.

But what about countries which import fresh and processed foods from Japan? Reuters reports that Asian nations nearby, such as India, Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore and the Philippines have ordered that imported Japanese foods be tested for radioactivity. It looks like China may start to do the same.

What about nations in Europe and countries such as Russia, Britain, the U.S. and Canada? I haven't seen any reports yet, but it is likely that similar precautions will be taken. If anything is found, such imports will be banned.

In the meantime, I don't see any reason for those of us living outside Japan to worry about imported Japanese foods. We don't need to avoid eating in a Japanese restaurant either. (I have noticed that some in my neighborhood seem to be emptier than usual.) Anything from Japan that they are serving currently would have come before the recent earthquake, Tsunami and related radiation leaks (there are too many logistical problems at present for much export to take place). And as for irradiated food, it has nothing to do with irradiation.

TSF

UPDATE ON THOSE SALMONELLA EGGS

A few days ago, a friend asked me how we know that a food recall is over or "finished."That was a very sensible question from someone I consider to be one of my most sensible friends.

From what I have observed, the FDA and USDA (whichever one oversees that particular recalled food) posts an update to say the recall is now complete. But, notices are not posted all the time. Other times the product just quietly goes back into the food supply.

And don't think it is just a matter of days: often the recall of a contaminated food is not finished for months, or even a year, as one after another food product is affected. This is particularly the case when the contaminated item is used as an ingredient in a number of foods - as in the case of nuts, powdered milk, or something similar. At times, of course, the companies have to do time-consuming cleanups, and even to close down plants for a while.

By the way, another friend asked: "What happened to those egg producers in Iowa? Don't tell me they are back in the market." Yes, they are. For a while they were only allowed to send eggs for processing into liquid egg product (which is pasteurized, and therefore safe). Then Hillandale Farms was cleared for selling shell eggs again. About four months after the recall started (end of November, 2010), Wright County Egg was also given the "all clear." So yes, we are now eating their eggs again. But hopefully, a little safer than they were before. At least the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says they are.

To quote the Commissioner, Margaret A. Hamburg: "During the outbreak, I said that FDA would not agree to the sale of eggs to consumers from Wright County Egg until we had confidence that they could be shipped and consumed safely. After four months of intensive work by the company and oversight, testing, and inspections by FDA, I am satisfied that time has come."

But don't hold your breath. Salmonella has a nasty habit of doing repeat appearances. It is safer to just cook your eggs well.

FDA FLEXES ITS MUSCLES - AGAIN

Well, it looks more and more as though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been listening to all those critics who say it needs to stop acting like a wimp bureacracy. Now it is flexing its "food safety" muscles. A month or so ago (see earlier blog, it clamped down hard on a renegade alfalfa grower who had been refusing to clean up its alfalfa production practices for years. Then it was the turn of a rat-infested chili warehouse in New Mexico, that the FDA finally closed down - again, after it had repeatedly thumbed its nose at the government regulators (I have a feeling I am getting my metaphors in a mess here..).

Today, it was announced that the FDA had filed an injunction against a juice manufacturer in Jamaica, New York, which had been refusing to do as it was told for at least 14 months. It had been selling its products to food service establishments primarily in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

The company, bearing the wonderful name of "Mystical One LLC" or "Mystical One Juice LLC" manufactured Fresh Carrot Juice, Magnum Food Drink, Pineapple Ginger Drink, Sorrel & Ginger Drink, Sea Moss, and Peanut Punch - which were anything but clean. In fact, they could be downright deadly (as in "lethal" to anyone who drinks it) because of risks of Clostridium botulinum bacteria that can germinate in the carrot juice. The infractions cited by the FDA include failure by Mystic One to:

• adequately heat low-acid vegetable juices to destroy or prevent growth of dangerous microorganisms;
• properly clean food-contact surfaces; and
• maintain and monitor sanitation conditions at the manufacturing facility to prevent sources of possible food and water contamination.

Naughty, naughty....

The official statement said: "Mystical One failed to adhere to food safety guidelines and we have stopped their operation."
Congratulations FDA!

TSF

FOOD RECALLS 101

Friends have been asking me to explain food recalls. So here are the basics on how they operate in the United States. But keep in mind that the actual situation is much more complex - and may be changing under the new food safety laws.

Why do food recalls take place? Because a food product that is contaminated, adulterated or mislabeled has got into our food supply, and needs to be quickly removed before it causes harm.

Who does the recalling? Recalls are almost always done by the food company responsible for releasing the product. They have to pay the costs of getting the products back, and suffer the negative publicity, damage to their brand and liability threats.

What does government do? At present, government can request, but not order a company to recall a dangerous food product (except in the case of infant formulas and foods which are "vectors of communicable diseases"). And yes, it can lean on the company pretty heavily at times, even to the point where it eventually forces the company to do the recall, or, go out of business. The two federal agencies involved are the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, depending which food product is involved. How they deal with the culprit company varies to some extent.

How voluntary are recalls? The game that is played - and the language often used in recall notifications - is that the recall is "voluntary" or even "precautionary, voluntary." Sometimes even words such as "out of excess of caution" are used. But let's face it - what company wants a recall?

What should consumers do if they hear of a recall? Yes, "if" is more correct than "when" - since many people don't hear about food recalls, and many food products that are recalled don't even reach the FDA or USDA public alert system. What consumers should do is to : 1) check whether these products have been sold in their state and their area stores; 2) check whether they have bought and/or eaten any recently; 3) avoid purchasing any until the "all clear" is issued. On the last point: don't assume that your stores always quickly remove recalled foods from their shelves , or have a checkout block that stops you buying them. Some slip up, or just don't hear about the bad news (usually smaller stores). All said and done, you have to take care of yourself.

TSF

FOOD RECALL ROUNDUP

I have just done a food recall roundup for the last 6 mos. of 2010, using official FDA and USDA data. Alright, I should have done it for the year, but this analysis is taking ages to do, because the goverment sites are not well organized. I also did not want to get into counting those hundreds of shell egg and HPV-related recalls that occurred earlier this year (see previous blog).

The below information represents one way of looking at the facts. Remember - I do not cover allergens, mislabelling, or foreign material such as bits of plastic, metal, pins, nails, whatever that is frequently found in all kinds of food. Nor do I include any "maybe" cases of contamination - just proven ones. The statistics could also be analyzed differently (e.g. by number of products recalled, number of illnesses and so on). I would guess that accuracy is about 90%. I should really check this twice more, as I usually do with any data, but don't have the time. Maybe later.

OK so here is a preliminary overview of hazards in the US food supply, as indicated by food recalls:

Most common cause of recalls: Salmonella bacteria (see earlier blog again). But remember, this is NOT counting those huge Salmonella-caused recalls earlier in the year. That would make it even worse. Salmonella caused some 30 recalls in the past 6 mos. Foods contaminated ranged from produce and meat to unexpected ones such as black pepper, sesame seeds, chocolate, nuts, cereal and soup bases. Well, just about anything and everything you could put in your mouth.

Most commonly contaminated type of food: Ready-to-eat foods, such as washed and pre-cut fruits and vegetables, sandwiches, deli salads, meats and other deli products and so on. The most common contaminant of these was Listeria monocytogenes bacteria (so dangerous for pregnant women because of harm to the fetus).

The single most often recalled food: cheese. Yes, this has been a bad year for cheese, especially cheese made from raw milk, which is always the most dangerous (see earlier blog). It has been the vehicle for E.coli, Staphyloccus, Enteroccus, Listeria and Salmonella bacteria. And yes, cheese has outpaced ground meat this year(which is usually contaminated with E.coli 0147).

Most unexpected contaminants: But note that I have covered these in the Safe Food Handbook (why? because I believe they are much more important than we believe). These are high levels of aflatoxin (a possibly carcinogenic fungal toxin) in white corn flour; high levels of lead in pommegranate juice concentrate.

Emerging contaminant nomination: Goes to E.coli 0145 (see earlier blog)in romaine lettuce. It was caught by the New York State Public Health Laboratory (I think I will send them a fan letter) when testing a bag of shredded lettuce that was shipped to a school district in New York. But it turned up in other states as well. I bet this very dangerous E.coli is around much more than we know - except food testing in most laboratories has only been done for E.coli 0147. My guess is that we will see much more of it in 2011.

How's that for a roundup?

TSF

IS CHEESE OUR MOST DANGEROUS FOOD?

This has been a very bad year for cheese. We used to think of it as a safe food. But not after the last few months! And it is no longer just those Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes bacteria that are cropping up in cheese. It is E.coli 0157:H7 as well and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (which can also be deadly, particularly if antibiotic resistant). Recently there has been "an outbreak of outbreaks" linked to our cheeses.

Almost all the contaminations have been in raw soft or semi-soft cheeses, many of them produced by higher end artisanal cheese makers, sold in the more expensive stores and served in upper end restaurants. In the United States, raw milk cheeses are only supposed to be sold if they have been aged for 60 days (which is expected to allow most bacteria to die). Well, after this year, the government certainly has some ammunition for extending that time period, or, prohibiting raw cheese sales altogether.

Let's take a look at a six month period, July through December, 2010. In July, there was a recall of - yes, aged - raw milk cheddar cheese made by Milky Way Farm in Pennsylvania. Staphylococcus aureus and enterotoxin bacteria were found in samples of the cheese. Also in July, Azteca Linda Corp. of New York, had to recall a number of fresh cheeses and string cheeses because of Listeria monocytogenes contamination.About 5 weeks afterwards, they had to do another recall for the same reason. Then in August Queseria Chiplo of New Jersey had to recall a huge variety of their fresh and string cheeses again because of Listeria. This was followed in early September with a cheese recall issued by Morningland Dairy of Missouri, which had a double contamination of its cheeses - Listeria and Staphylococcus aureus, distributed under both its own name brand and that of Ozark Hills Cheese. The "healthy" Whole Foods Market admitted that it had sold the recalled Morningland Dairy Cheese and the Ozark Hills Cheese, and conducted its owns recall.

Also in early September, Estrella Family Creamery of Monstesano, Wash. was found to be selling Listeria contaminated cheeses, but resisted recalling them (this is an interesting side issue for a future blog). Things were quiet for a month or so, but then in early November we got a new cheese contaminant - E.coli 0157:H7. And guess what - Costco found it was selling Gorganzola Cheese distributed by DPI Specialty Company which carried that deadly contaminant. Even worse, it had offered the cheese in store tastings. This was followed by a cheese recall by Del Bueno which included a range of cheese types (fresh, Ricotta cheese, dry cheese and more) again because of Listeria. In mid December, Sally Jackson Cheese was forced to recall all its soft cheeses made from raw cow, goat and sheep milk. To complicate matters, these cheeses apparently did not carry codes. Whole Foods was caught out again. It had repackaged the cheeses when cut up and placed its own store label on them.

If I have counted correctly - and haven't missed any - that makes some ten incidents associated with cheese in the last six months of this year. Well - not quite six months yet. A few days to go. Will there be more?

TSF

NEW FOOD SAFETY LAWS

Well, it did and it didn't. What I mean is that, yes, the Senate did pass the Food Safety Modernization Act (S510) by a sizeable majority a few days ago, but no, it didn't really pass it. Bottom line - it has to go for another vote because of (politely called) "a technicality." A less polite description(as my husband would say) is "a screwup."

Here's the American Public Health Association summary of what happened (I can't improve on it):

"After Senate passage of the bill, House lawmakers from the Ways and Means Committee discovered revenue raising provisions that would raise fees for various enforcement measures were included in the Senate bill. The constitution requires that all revenue raising measures originate in the House of Representatives. House leaders are working to try to identify options to move the bill forward including potentially attaching it to a House bill and sending it back to the Senate for a final vote. However a potential road block awaits as all 42 Senate Republicans recently sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowing to block any future legislation until all of the expiring Bush tax cuts are renewed and all FY 2011 appropriations bills have been passed by the Senate."

Frankly, I find it very hard to understand how they missed such an obvious issue - unintentionally, that is. And I don't like the blackmail either. Our politicians are playing with the American public's health and lives. The current basic food safety legislation dates back over 80 years. Our food supply has changed, hazards in our food have changed - and other countries, such as Canada and the EU nations have updated their key laws ages ago.

No, this is not Big Brother telling us what we can and cannot eat. Such regulations exist in all modern countries, and much of what this law is proposing is actually already taking place, except that our government agencies have very little clout and money to enforce food safety standards.

Let's move it!

TSF

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

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?