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Beef Recalled in Eight States
First eggs, now beef.
The United States Department of Agriculture announced this weekend that a supplier to B.J.’s Wholesale Club warehouse stores was recalling more than 8,000 pounds of ground beef, after it was revealed that the meat might be tainted by E. coli bacteria. At least three people in Maine and New York are thought to have become ill after eating the suspect meat.
B.J.’s Wholesale Club stores in Connecticut, New York, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Virginia sold the beef.
E. coli causes a range of symptoms from diarrhea to, in the most severe cases, renal failure. It can be fatal to children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
This is the point in the article where I am supposed to tell you about the steps you can take to prevent E. coli bacteria from making you and your loved ones ill. These steps include making sure you skip the rare meat, since one excellent way to combat this awful illness is to make sure one’s steak or hamburger patty is cooked to at least 160 degrees fahrenheit.
Consider yourself informed.
Now contemplate something else entirely: How have we reached the point where food and product recalls are an almost weekly occurrence, with so many taking place that we forget about them almost as soon as they occur? The egg recall is the big news this month, but it is far from alone. There was a frozen fruit recall due to typhoid contamination less than two weeks ago, as well as yet another perambulator recall, this one of the Zooper Tango Double Stroller which, apparently, had a distressing tendency to suddenly attempt to shut itself while children were sitting in it. Yes, I am glad to know how to stop E-coli in its tracks, or to discover, per Strollerderby blogger Bethany, healthy protein substitutes for eggs, but what I really want to know is how to prevent contaminated food and faulty products from reaching our stores in the first place.
Any thoughts?
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Kikiriki commented on Aug 30 10 at 8:57 amSure, here’s my thoughts. What we really need in this country is a government agency that is not only funded, but staffed by enough people to actually DO the job of regulating and testing places, going on surprise spot inspections, making sure that companies aren’t cutting corners or slacking. Until that happens (and it never will, in my opinion, because we’ve been cutting corners for decades now), the best thing to do (if you’re not avoiding them altogether) is to buy organic eggs from a small company and if they have a website, check it periodically for any news. As for beef, if you’re going to eat it, buy organic if you can and if you have a food processor, make your own hamburger. It takes very little time, tastes much better, and cuts down on the risk of E Coli and other pathogens since you can wash the outside of the meat before you chop it (which you can’t do with preground hamburger). Alternatively, you can buy bison meat, which at this time is not raised or processed like regular hamburger.
michelle commented on Aug 30 10 at 11:13 amGreat comment kikiriki. The FDA is totally unable to do its job because we refuse to fund it or give it any real power. Then we act shocked that these industries knowingly sell us contaminated food, only recalling it when someone gets sick. I agree that unfortunately the only short term solution is to buy organic grass fed since it’s less likely to be produced with industrial farming methods (a major cause of E coli contamination). However, if you are already buying the good stuff, it doesn’t make it any safer to wash and grind your own. You can probably skip that step. Washing doesn’t kill E coli.
NoHo Mom commented on Aug 30 10 at 11:59 amSure. Big Government. Sorry folks, it’s the only way. I get mad when tax dollars are wasted, but spending tax dollars to regulate the food supply sounds like a solid investment to me.
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