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

BOILED EGG AND SPINOFF RECALLS

I have to admit that I used to be one of those people who believed that a boiled egg would spoil less quickly than a raw egg. Not true. It will actually spoil faster. The reason: once an egg is boiled, the protective coating on the egg is removed and bacteria can enter more quickly.

Then, if the boiled egg is also peeled, it can become contaminated even faster, including during the peeling process itself. In that case, the most likely bacteria to get in is not the usual egg-contaminant Salmonella, but Listeria monocytogenes, the one that is most common in ready-to-eat foods. And, the one that is so dangerous for pregnant women and anyone with a weak immune system.

So the ongoing boiled egg recall in the U.S. in the state of Michigan provides some useful lessons. Michael Foods Egg Products Co. - a large distributor of hard-boiled eggs has found Listeria monocytogenes in some of its products. This recall has a number of spinoffs, because the suspect eggs distributed by this company have been used in making a variety of deli products by its clients.

For instance, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Spartan Stores has had to recall eight deli products containing these hard-cooked eggs including egg spread, sandwich with egg spread, small and large chef container salads, seven layer and seven layer no-meat container chef salads, and small and large no-meat container chef salads. Sell-by dates are Jan. 20 through Feb. 1. In West Michigan, the recalled products were sold at D&W and Family Fare.

Another Michigan deli - 18th Street Deli Inc., is recalling some 118 pounds of julienne salad products with turkey, ham and hard-boiled eggs. According to local news reports, some salads containing the eggs were also sent to Michigan schools. And I bet there are more recalls to come.

By the way, notice that these "ready-to-eat" egg products have also been used to make pre-packaged sandwiches, which I have been writing about for the last two days...

And of course, this gets back to my mantra about how dangerous ready-to-eat "convenience" foods are...And that doesn't just apply to Michigan, or just to the U.S., but everywhere in the world. This Listeria monocytogenes bacterium is running amok.

Watch out!

To your good health,

TSF