Do you like this story?
The answer is … 20. Now what’s the question? (updated with bonus round)
By Gina Spadafori
February 4, 2009
“What is the number of recall releases issued by the FDA related to the salmonella peanut scandal in the last 90 minutes?”
“Correct!”
“I’ll take FDA recalls for $400, Alex, um … no wait! Former FDA commissioners for $500!”
***
Update:
The Food and Drug Administration is alerting pharmacists and consumers about an expanded recall by ETHEX Corp. In 2008, the pharmaceuticals manufacturer recalled more than 60 generic drugs distributed to wholesalers, and two generic drugs, hydromorphone HCl and metoprolol succinate, distributed to retailers.
Miami Herald blurb here. FDA recalls here.
Share & Enjoy
|
Facebook
|
Twitter
|
Google Buzz
|
Digg
|
|
Technorati
|
StumbleUpon
|
Delicious
|
Email
|
Home
Did you see they now have a widget you can put on your blog, with all the latest peanut product recall updates?
On the one hand, this is change you can believe in, because yo, this is very cool and Obama-esque.
On the other hand, dudes: I’d rather you invested in the technology to inspect the foods instead of cool web bling.
That is all.
Comment by Christie Keith — February 4, 2009 @ 2:01 pm
I think I am eating “Unbranded for further distribution” every morning on my toast!
Comment by slt — February 4, 2009 @ 2:04 pm
Yikes - Atkins Daybreak bars and Advantage bars aren’t on the FDA list but if you go to their web site they state they have decided to recall them just in case.
Hmm…I just finished a box of them…oops…got to run to the bathroom!
Just kidding. I hope.
Comment by 2CatMom — February 4, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
What’s killing me on this Salmonella Butter recall is how very similar it is to the 2007 pet food recall.
1. We now know that such diverse brands as Little Debbie, Keebler and Kashi all use the same ingredients (at least as far as peanut butter goes, maybe more).
2. You can check a product’s website one day and it has an announcement reassuring consumers that their foods are safe. But the next day: recall! They didn’t know they were using the contaminated peanut butter from the mildew plant yesterday? Come on!
3. If you try and ask a company why only certain lots are being recalled (when presumably the other lots contain the same ingredients, at least they say so on the label) and if they’ve switched peanut butter vendors, they can’t give out specifics - it’s proprietary info.
4. Non-PB products that were processed on the same equipment as the recalled products now have to be recalled due to cross-contamination cos *they don’t clean the lines* between runs!
5. The Salmonella/Mildew peanut processing plant “lab shopped” until it got the “right” results. Those records only have to be made available to the FDA AFTER people started dying from their greedy scheme.
Comment by slt — February 4, 2009 @ 2:19 pm
I’m pretty sure the web programmer spent about 10 minutes on that (they are actually amazingly easy you should try it!), and I’m also pretty sure that programmer shouldn’t be doing any food testing. We programmers pretty much just sit around all day playing WOW anyhow.
— the anomalous programmer with the Chemistry degree, who actually COULD run analysis in am and code in pm. ;)
Comment by pg — February 4, 2009 @ 2:19 pm
slt … complete agreement with you. It’s all CYA at every level.
I’m telling you, people need to GO TO JAIL over this one.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 4, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
Hear that sound….?
George Washington Carver is spinning in his grave.
Comment by stellaluna — February 4, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
At Obama has ordered a review of the entire FDA, no?
Comment by Lori — February 4, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
wow! mostly pre natal vitimins!
Comment by nancy freedman-smith — February 4, 2009 @ 3:06 pm
So much for the illusion that by buying “organic” or premium “natural” brands that one can somehow sidestep all the cr-p that goes into mass market products. It looks like it ALL came from Those People.
And, if they didn’t clean the equipment between runs, what the heck does that mean for food that is labeled “organic”, which has a legal definition. Possibly honored more in the breach in this case.
Comment by Susan Fox — February 4, 2009 @ 3:33 pm
Gina —
Are any of your journalist buddies investigating what is happening with the recalled product(s)? This is just waaaaaaaaay too much “stuff” to go to the landfill. With the price of milk dropping like a rock, this has “dairy cow feed” and “veal calf feed” written all over it. It’s all stuff (especially all that ice cream) that could easily be fed to cows and in the ag newsfeeds I follow, the dairy folks, especially the smaller producers, are “this close” to folding.
A decent dairy person would realize that once you’ve got salonella in your manure mix, it is very, very difficult to get rid of it, but too many people are too close to the line for rationality, especially this far from Spring, when “free feed” is being offered.
I expect pig feed, too, which is even dicier for animal/human transmission, but if I was an unscruplous business, looking to unload “product” cheaply, I’d be chatting up dairy producers righ now.
In happier news, those of you who are looking to produce your own food, ATTRA, the National Sustainble Agriculture Information Service (the good guys at USDA!) now has a really cool weekly e-mail newsletter on “the best of sustainable ag on the Web.” Go to http://www.attra.org/ and then scroll down for the Sign Up for Weekly Newsletter Box on the left hand side. This week features “Organic Poultry Production in the US” and “Sub-acreage Orcharding” and my favorite “10 Principles of Sustainable Soil”
Comment by Dorene — February 4, 2009 @ 3:59 pm
Thanks for continuing to update us on this issue, Gina. If I hadn’t been following this situation on a PET-themed website, I probably would have eaten that peanut-butter Luna bar in my cupboard.
Comment by cerridwen — February 4, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
“A decent dairy person would realize that once you’ve got salonella in your manure mix, it is very, very difficult to get rid of it, but too many people are too close to the line for rationality, especially this far from Spring, when “free feed” is being offered.”
Comment by Dorene — February 4, 2009 @ 3:59 pm
I’m betting on Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix to put in a bid on the stuff. He’s just that kind of a guy… ;o)
Comment by stellaluna — February 4, 2009 @ 5:20 pm
If it isn’t peanut products, it is the other products FDA thinks are safe like the microchips for pets:
Dog bleeds to death from ID chipping
‘This technology is supposedly so great until it’s your animal that dies’
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/i.....geId=87945
Let’s hope Obama at least completes that top to bottom FDA review he suggested.
Comment by Dennis — February 4, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
Instead of being run over by stampeding mastodons in the process of trying to bring food home like our ancestors, we’re run over by the very companies who want us, the consumers, to buy their products! Makes no sense to me, but that’s greed for ya.
Go to Teh Googles. There are a plethora of recipes on making your own peanut butter. Check with your organic store though about the source of their peanuts. Then haul out the food processor and go to town. Here’s just one.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/rec.....index.html
And make sure the honey you use comes from a local supplier if possible, remembering Christie’s recent post about honey.
That noise you just heard was not only G.W. Carver rolling over in his grave, it was also the sound of my head exploding!
Comment by Anne T — February 4, 2009 @ 7:27 pm
and under the category “Tainted Foods” for $100
….”What did FEMA give ice storm survivors last week in their relief packet?” Yup, you guess it..the answer is..tainted peanut butter..
Comment by Carol V — February 5, 2009 @ 5:07 am
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH.....ut.butter/
well, I guess that MAYBE the kits were tainted…wanted to be correct…I’ll give back the $100….
Comment by Carol V — February 5, 2009 @ 5:11 am
On NPR this morning, they said this is now officially the largest recall ever … more than 1,000 products (and still climbing, since the midnight dump-and-run recall releases continue).
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 5, 2009 @ 7:38 am