I dislike food recalls, but not because they scare me in any way. Anybody who knows me will tell you that I will eat expired food, drink murky water, munch lamb testicles. Hell, I even ate a bean burrito from Taco Bell the other day. You get the point.
What irks me about food recalls is the communal spazzing out. I know, I know, that makes me sound like a jerk. But I’ve traveled a lot and eaten street food everywhere I’ve gone, which often means fanning away swarms of flies just so you can get to the market to buy your dinner. Meanwhile, back in my country of origin, five people get a stomach ache because of tainted bologna and it’s like a national emergency, DEFCON Five style.
But for those of you who are concerned about such things: This peanut butter recall is now officially off the hook! And it’s not just peanut butter! Tahini is affected, too! EVEN YOUR HUMMUS ISN’T SAFE!! Time to freak the fuck out people:
Sunland Inc. today announced a voluntary expansion of its ongoing recall of all products manufactured in its peanut butter plant because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Specifically, the recall is being expanded to include all products manufactured in its peanut butter plant after March 1, 2010.The scope of the initial recall covered 101 products manufactured between May 1, 2012 and September 24, 2012. The expanded recall adds 49 products that are currently within the manufacturer’s recommended shelf-life, that is, the “Best-If-Used-By” dates have not expired. The expanded recall also adds 90 products consumers may still have in their homes which are older than the “Best-If-Used-By Date”. Distribution of many of the products being added to the recall was discontinued some time ago. The expanded recall covers all previously identified Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, and Tahini products as well as Roasted Blanched Peanut Products. New product categories being added to the list are several varieties of flavored butters and spreads, including Thai Ginger Butter, Chocolate Butter and Banana Butter.
To be fair, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems really are at risk. I hear tons of this stuff got distributed through local food banks as well.
This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2012.
Wow, even the Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s crowd can’t avoid Food, Inc’s contempt for the consumer. Even the guys selling honey on corners and migrants hocking tamales in the parking lots have better quality control!
Don’t be annoyed by the seeming paranoia in the recall. The frustration you have is misplaced. I know I’ll probably be safe, and so do you by the looks of your post. But this really is the result of the mass industrialization of farming in the US and the world. Those bumper stickers that say ‘do you know your farmer?’ Mean something. The word local means something. Farmers markets mean something. Organic (should) mean something. No, I’m not some ass hat that says he only lives on organic local produce, but I do and we all should look think about what these mass product recalls point to instead of saying ‘pffft, suck it up’. That gives too much credit to food corporations, and gives people like Romney (or Obama) fuel to do things like strip power from the FDA or the EPA.
As someone w/a “highly compromised” immune system, I also find these recalls ridiculous. I eat a jar of Trader Joe’s peanut butter and almond butter a month. Have been for years. No problem here. What I love most about them besides the taste? The fact that the ingredients are “peanuts, sea salt”/”almonds, sea salt” (unsalted avail too). Americans are so obsessed with bacteria that our children’s immune systems are the most compromised. Antibiotics are so over prescribed that bacteria/viruses are mutating to no longer be affected by the medications. As kids we ran barefoot in the mud, had chicken soup and rest for colds. To this day I still garden barefoot and splash in puddles and mud when it rains. The scariest thought is someday these “super bugs” are going to have a major impact on the population someday.
I understand the contempt and mistrust for the corporate/industrialized food machine, but local and organic are not the answer, maybe a partial answer at best. When dealing with a myriad of problems and issues there is rarely a singular solution. Organic and local food are a partial solution for a small fringe group in this country, mainly consisting of a certain socioeconomic subset. The fact is even most “organic” food is a part of the machine and is not local. Whether it is organic or not, food has to be moved around the world in order to satisfy our market and nutritional demands. Can you imagine how much water, land and amended soil we would need to feed just the Tucson population with “locally” produced food? Even at our local farmers markets there are a number of entrepreneurs who just buy non-organic produce imported from Mexico and sell it at a stand right next to the local stuff, people have no idea.
If organic and local are only a small, partial solution to the problem, as I contend, then what are the real solutions? I think we have to accept the notion that our food is ever increasingly going to be moving not just across state lines, but international borders as well, as our populations grow. We are not France, we do not have a geographically constrained population with close access to our best agricultural areas. The corporate and industrialized food system is here to stay for the vast majority of consumers; so one of the most important answers is education of the public and reform of state and federal regulatory control of the agricultural sector.
While we cannot eliminate the system that we need to feed billions of people on this planet, we can update and fix the rules that govern their operations and production techniques.
For some people, with the means, it is easy to go outside of the main stream and buy an alternative lifestyle, go all organic and shop only at farmers markets. For most people this choice is not easy. We can start by encouraging the development of farms and gardens at K-12 programs; supplementing school nutrition while also educating the next generation about food and where it comes from. How do we build a more efficient transportation hub, not just for shipping but for human transportation as well? When enough people are educated we can demand change from our representatives at both the state and federal level, because beyond everything changing the rules and regulations will have the biggest impact for society as a whole.
On a more personal note, I am disappointed in the recall because the Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flax seed from Trader Joes, at $2.99, is the best deal around for a high quality PB product and I am almost out of it and cannot buy anymore. Does anyone know if I can just microwave what I have left to sterilize any potential contamination or if I haven’t had any issues yet, just roll with it?
Or we could all stop having children for a while. That honestly seems like the best solution until we figure out some of the big problems we have regarding feeding ourselves, maintaining our economies, treating our sick. Just an idea.
Think about “pink slime.” A healthy and FDA approved bi-product that used all the beef parts to efficiently feed as a legitimate ground beef product (additive) was killed by popular opinion — not government intervention.
Then think about those recently killed by meningitis with FDA “approved” steroids and “just one” slip-up.
Think about the last time you missed work because of a stomach upset, or even worse food poisoning.
It is not a perfect world — but for the COMMON good, food and drug inspection does work against the soulless corporate machine of selloing the imperfect as perfect, healthy and good.
As one of the elderly — I do not have a “compromised immune” system as yet, and I sure do not need to get one by eating or imbibing e coli or salmonella infected foods. What little regulation and inspection our underfunded FDA and Health Departments can accomplish is well appreciated.
To make their programs more meaningful would cost more — but in the current climate of corporate and 1 per center greed — raising taxes for the common good seems to be out of the question.