NO ILLNESSES REPORTED FROM THE FOOD

I am constantly irritated by a standard phrase in food recall notices "no illnesses have been reported to date," or, words to that effect.

It sounds so comforting, doesn't it? The reader of the recall is likely to think it just a false alarm. Or, assume that the pathogenic E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria or other bacteria (or, other kind of contaminant) are harmless in this case.

But these words are often misleading. They ignore the time delay for symptoms to occur and the fact that reports take a long time to reach and work their way through the government bureaucracy (not just the U.S. but every country: Remember the recent E.coli 0104 outbreak in Germany?). Yes, a piece of sharp metal or certain toxins in your lunch or dinner can affect you almost right away. But not so with most bacteria and other microbes.

Let's take an extreme case - the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, which has turned up in a whole range of ready-to-eat food items in the U.S. during the past ten days. In fact, it was a recent expansion of one of the recalls (the second expansion of three) which got me going on this topic. The products were made by Flying Food Group of Georgia for Starbucks, Core-mark and Race Trac, for distribution in Alabama, Georgia, Florida. This latest expansion now lists 40 ready-to-eat items such as sandwiches, parfaits, wraps, plates, and salads. The recall notice repeats twice - yes, twice, not just once - that no illnesses have been reported as yet.

Yes, the incubation period for Listeriosis (the disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes) can be as short as a few hours - in very rare instances. But usually it is around 12 days for any signs of illness to occur. And, it could take as long as 70 or even 90 days. Bureaucratic processing of illness reports (once recalls are out and doctors know what questions to ask the patient) and laboratory confirmation, often takes weeks. In fact, most instances of food poisoning are never linked up to a specific culprit food at all - ever. So, of course, there are no reports of illness as yet.

In other words, this is basically a meaningless statement unless the foods were eaten at least three months ago.

To your good health,
TSF

RECALL OF FOODS FOR STARBUCKS EXPANDED AGAIN

On July 19th, Flying Food Group of Georgia, recalled two kinds of ready-to-eat (RTE) products it had made for sale in Starbucks restaurants in Georgia and Alabama in the U.S. Testing had found Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

On July 26th, the recall was expanded to include more Starbucks items as well as foods sold to Race Trac and Core Marc, Atlanta. Today, July 28, the recall was expanded again, to now include 40 RTE foods, 21 of them made for Starbucks (see also posts of July 25 and July 19). As the last "enjoy by" date is July 26, most likely the majority of these items have been eaten.

But those who ate them may just be starting to become ill. The symptoms of Listeriosis can reportedly take up to as long as 90 days to develop, but usually it's around 12. Therefore, if you ate at a Starbucks in Georgia or Alabama, and especially if you are pregnant of have a weakened immune system, you may want to try to recall what you ate, and call your doctor if you are worried. But remember - just because they are being recalled, does not mean that all were contaminated with Listeria.

Here's the latest Starbucks list.

• 6.6 ounce packages of “Egg Salad Sandwich” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 5.9 ounce package of “Chicken Chipotle” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 7.5 ounce package of “Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwich” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 5.0 ounce package of “Roma Tomato & Mozzarella” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 6.4 ounce package of “Turkey and Swiss Sandwich” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 5.5 ounce package of “Ham and Swiss” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 8.1 ounce package of “Strawberry and Blueberry Yogurt Parfait” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/16-7/27
• 8.1 ounce package of “Dark Cherry Yogurt Parfait” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/16-7/27
• 6.1 ounce package of “Greek Yogurt & Honey Parfait” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/16-7/27
• 8.3 ounce package of “Sesame Noodles Bistro Box” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15 – 7/26
• 5.3 ounce package of “Cheese & Fruit Bistro Box” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 6.8 ounce package of “Protein Bistro Box” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 5.9 ounce package of “Tuna Salad Plate Bistro Box” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 5.1 ounce package of “Hot Panini Roasted Tomato & Mozzarella” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 6.1 ounce package of “Hot Panini Roasted Vegetable” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 6.1 ounce package of “Hot Panini Chicken Santa Fe” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26
• 5.2 ounce package of “Hot Panini Ham & Swiss” that have “Enjoy By’ dates of 7/15-7/26
• 8.4 ounce package of “Chipotle Chicken Wraps Bistro Box” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/16-7/26*
• 6.3 ounce package of “Chicken & Hummus Bistro Box” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/16-7/26*
• 4.6 ounce package of “Salumi & Cheese Bistro Box” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26*
• 7.3 ounce package of “Chicken Lettuce Wraps Bistro Box” that have “Enjoy By” dates of 7/15-7/26*

To your good health,
TSF

PARASITE DRUGS IN IMPORTED BEEF

The Safe Food Handbook (the book, that is, not this blog) makes what may seem like an odd statement when discussing parasites in meat: "Nowadays parasites in North American beef and poultry are much lower risk than they used to be, thanks to safety measures being taken by the industry. In fact, we may be as much at risk from getting a dose of an anti-parasitic drug from our steak as we are for catching a tapeworm." Recent events seem to agree.

Northwestern Meat, Inc., a Miami, Fla. firm, has announced a recall of some 6,240 pounds of frozen boneless beef products because the animal drug Ivermectin was found in a sample of it. This drug is a strong de-wormer, used in animals and poultry. Alright, it is also used for humans, but it can be dangerous for children under 5 years of age, and for those who react to it. In other words, it should be used in a selective and controlled way, under a doctor's supervision. We shouldn't be essentially dosing ourselves from our dinner. Particularly if we don't have parasites.

Nor is this the first time that Ivermectin has turned up in our meat. For instance, in 2010, Sampco, Inc., Chicago, recalled over 25 tons of cooked canned and frozen beef products (mainly corned beef) because this drug was found. There have been other instances as well. And you had better believe that many cases are not caught by inspectors - probably most.

The beef in this week's recall was imported from Honduras. The beef in the 2010 recall, came from Brazil. Is this telling us something? Yes, parasites tend to be more common in warm and moist climates such as these, and controls are weaker. This results is more parasitic infections in animals, which in turn leads to heavier use of anti-parasitic drugs such as Ivermectin since animals don't grow and fatten well if they are infected with parasites, which would undermine profits.

In the end, it's all about money. Our health may be a casualty along the way.

To your good health,
TSF

E.COLI 0157:H7 FOUND IN U.S. BEEF

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seems to be having a busy month. Two more meat recalls today. That makes fourteen recalls in July. This time, it is not ready-to-eat products (see my earlier posts of today and of July 19 and 20). Just beef. One of the recalls is because of a finding of that very nasty E.coli 0157 bacteria. The other is due to a finding of dangerous drug residues (the drug is Ivermectin - see next post).

Tri State Beef, a Cincinnati, Ohio, is having to recall some 228,596 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. But this E.coli contamination may not be as bad as it sounds since it was sold to other companies in Chicago, Ill., Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, Iowa and Virginia for further processing and distribution.

Reportedly, it was not sold directly to consumers. The meat will undergo cooking before it ever reaches the consumer. Hopefully, such cooking will be done properly so that it will inactivate any bacteria in the meat. Since the facilities are federally inspected, such inspection should make sure that this was the case. Let's hope those inspectors are doing their job!

In sum, this is not expected to be a recall that the consumer has to worry about.

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

EXPANDING FOOD RECALLS

If you follow food recalls, you will realize that they often start small and get bigger. What I mean is that originally we are told that a few specific products and lots of a food item may be contaminated. Then, some days or even weeks later, we are told that there are actually a few more, and then even more. It happens over and over again.

And it happened this past week. The recalls involved ready-to-eat meat products that were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. One recalling food producer was Flying Food Group, of Georgia, which produced these products for Starbucks and the other was the well-known Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation of Texas. Both had to expand their recalls six days after they were initially made, to include additional items produced at the same plant, which had not been named in the original recall.

What happens if bacteria are found, is that other foods produced at the same plant or using the same suspect ingredients, or, the same equipment, are tested as well. And that is when additional contaminated products often start turning up and more have to be recalled.

So what does this have to do with the health-conscious consumer? Actually, quite a lot. Say, for instance, that you are a pregnant woman who needs to involve being exposed to Listeria bacteria at any cost. In that case, as soon as a recall is announced for one of a company's products, avoid any similar ones for at least a week or two, in case they turn out to be risky as well - just in case. If you read my alerts, you'll see that I often advise this. Such precautions may sound a bit extreme. But they really aren't. Not if the life of your unborn child could be involved.

To your good health,
TSF

UPDATE: Flying Foods Group issued a third expansion of th recall on July 28. Here's a summary of how it has gone so far: July 19th - 2 RTE foods recalled (made for Starbucks only). July 26 - recall expanded to cover 10 items. July 28 - recall expanded to cover 40 items (with now 3 distributors). Ugh!

UPDATE ON THE SAFE FOOD HANDBOOK BLOG

A change of topic: this is an update on the blog itself. For those who don't know - the blog carries the name of my book on food safety, published in January 2010: The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food. The book is being sold in bookstores in the U.S. and Canada and on the internet, and is now also available in the e-book version.

This blog now has 204 posts on food safety, of which 161 have been written this year (phew..I've been busy - less than 7 months). It is being read by tens of thousands of people all over the world. Whereas the initial focus was food safety issues in North America, I realized that the audience was increasingly global and so are many of the issues that affect our food.

The blog does not repeat or extract from the published book, although several general topics or themes are also in the book where they are dealt with in more depth. Many posts focus on current issues.

The most popular post of all time has been: "Foods Pregnant Women Should not Eat." Next in popularity have been several posts on the super-toxic E.coli bacteria outbreak in Europe (originating in Germany, and eventually traced to sprouts) and those on radiation in food (and water) in Japan (following the March 11 disastrous earthquake, tsunami and problems at the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant).

My audience statistics show that the blog's main readership is in the U.S., followed (in this order) by UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia, India, Netherlands, France, Malaysia. I have also noticed good audience numbers on and off in such countries as Russia, China, Philippines, Jamaica, South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain -(not a complete list).

And finally - for those of you who want to know what "TSF" stands for, here goes:

To your good health,

The Safe Foodie (TSF)