TASMANIAN DEVILED EGGS — Australian restaurant owner wants govt. to formally acknowledge her innocence in salmonella case

An Australian restaurant owner whose business has been damaged, through no fault of her own, by a salmonella outbreak has asked the government for a formal acknowledgment of her innocence in the matter.

A hundred people were sickened at an event that her business catered. Though the health department has cleared her and pinpointed the source at eggs from a local poultry, Maree Little says her business has fallen by sixty percent because of the bad publicity.

It would seem that the publicity garnered from her actions has achieved more than anything the government could do. Perhaps that was the idea in the first place.

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON FOOD SUPPLY

Executives from Dole and ConAgra, among other companies associated with outbreaks, spoke to a Congressional subcommittee hearing on the food industry and self-regulation recently. According to Reuters, the lawmakers told the executives that they need to do more to ensure the safety of the food supply. The executives said they are doing a lot and will be doing a lot more, and not to mistake the recalls for industry complacency. None of the heads of the Chinese companies responsible for most of the food recalls last year appeared before the committee.

LIST OF HALLMARK MEAT’S CUSTOMERS PUBLISHED

The California Department of Health has released a list of restaurants  that have purchased meat from Hallmark Meat Company, which has been closed for slaughtering “downed” or sick cattle and processing their meat.

The USDA has maintained that it is highly unlikely that anyone could be affected by the meat and, clearly, the restaurants are not purchasing meat from Hallmark any more. But if your favorite restaurant is on the list you can always go back to eating spinach!

BEAST FEAST — Wild game at church potluck turns on participants

A church potluck in Daphne, Alabama, called “The Beast Feast” because it included a variety of wild game, is the source of an E. coli outbreak there. According to the Press-Register, twenty people have reported E. coli symptoms. Six have been hospitalized and two young brothers are seriously ill and have been transferred to a Birmingham hospital for treatment.

Health officials doubt they can find the source because of the wide variety of foods at the event.

FDA STOPS COMPANY FROM MAKING HEALTH CLAIMS

FruitFast Pomegranate Bar Manufactured by Brownwood Acres

The FDA announced a permanent injunction against Brownwood Acres Foods, makers of fruit-based “nutritional” products, from “manufacturing and distributing any products with claims in the label or labeling to cure, treat, mitigate or prevent diseases.”

The FDA press release claimed that the company illegally makes claims such as “chemicals in cherries may help fight diabetes.” The company, which makes fruit bars, soft fruit gel capsules and juice concentrates among other products has a history of making unapproved claims in their literature and on their website.

As of today, the only claim on the homepage of the Brownwood Acres Foods website was that their products contain antioxidants.

OUTBREAK CONFIRMED AS SALMONELLA

Medical tests have confirmed the presence of salmonella in beef tri-tips consumed at a Yuma, Arizona, fairgrounds and then later donated to a mission, according to the Yuma Sun.

There were 92 cases of gastrointestinal illness from the beef, health officials say. Some of the cases were from the fairgrounds and some were from the mission. Hopefully, this will not discourage others from such necessary charitable activities.

HUMANE SOCIETY INVESTIGATOR INTERVIEWED

In a fascinating L.A. Times story, the Humane Society worker who took the videos of the illegal slaughtering of downed cattle at the Hallmark/Westland Packing Co. in Chino gives an inside look at his undercover investigation and reveals that there were far more illegal activities going on than he could shoot. His video led to the USDA ordering the largest recall of ground beef ever.

A STAPLE DIET — Candy imports from China contain pieces of metal

To be fair, do we only hear about poison in our food when it comes from either China or own farms and factories? Or is it that we import so much food from China (an irony in itself) that it is just a matter of statistical inevitability that some of it is going to be bad?

But candy with pieces of razors and staples? Can that be excused by some running of numbers? According to the Los Angeles Times, Sherwood Brands recalled all Pokemon branded Valentine’s Day cards and lollipops from Dollar General stores nationwide after the metal was found in two separate lollipops. After Valentine’s Day? Who cares?

Nobody was hurt and the FDA is investigating.

LARGEST BEEF RECALL EVER ORDERED

To those of you watching this event unfold, it is hardly news. More like “about time.” Yesterday (Sunday? They are working overtime.) the USDA announced the largest recall of meat in the recorded history of such things — 143 million pounds. According to the International Herald Tribune, though, most of that has already been consumed.

Still, Hallmark Beef, from Chino, California, has been ordered to recall all the beef it has produced in the past two years.

It all stems from videotapes of workers forcing sick, or “downed,” cattle into the food supply. Though it is doubtful anyone could get very sick from this, health officials stated, it is clearly a violation of the law.

A SAD WASTE OF FOOD — Ice cream and caramel popcorn recalled

It’s enough to make you cry, all the food going to waste when it is recalled — especially products that could easily be fixed with a quick sticker on the label.

Take for instance the recent recall of Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light Caramel Delight and Slow Churned Light Butter Pecan ice cream. Why? Because the Butter Pecan got accidentally packed in the Caramel Delight cartons. If you are allergic to pecans, that could be bad news. But what about the rest of us? Surely, they wouldn’t destroy 90 perfectly good cartons of ice cream? Please tell us they’ll give it to the stock boys or the bag girls or the checkout people, if not to non-allergic charities.

Then, only a few minutes later, the FDA announced that Rocky Mountain Popcorn Company was recalling bags of its Low Fat Caramel Popcorn (it was a bad week for caramel) because they had traces of tree nuts in them and they aren’t labeled as such. Though nobody reported an allergic reaction, the bags — distributed mostly in Colorado and Fort Worth, Texas, went back to the manufacturer.

Surely, with all the starving people out there, the caramel popcorn will not be destroyed! With the plethora of recalls, can’t there be some means of redistribution? Even with the ground beef tainted with E. coli. There are enough sensible people out there who know that if they cook it to the proper temperature, it will kill the E. coli. Can’t they have some of those tons of beef that will otherwise be destroyed? Surely they’d sign something to let the packers off the proverbial meat hook.