By Laura Holland
Remember when the news was flooded by scary reports of tainted products from China ? Remember when everyone was talking about buying American products to be safe?
Well, those days are far behind us as we face what the FDA’s food safety center says is one of its largest recalls. And the salmonella tainted peanut products were manufactured right here in the U.S.A. at a Georgia processing plant.
Here is another scary thing: the recalled peanut products—peanut paste, peanut meal, peanut butter, roasted peanuts and granulated products—are wholesale ingredient in hundreds of retail grocery products. Even though the manufacturer is a relatively small company, thanks to its place in the supply chain its reach is fairly broad.
The recall has been extended to products manufactured for the last two years, amidst allegations that on twelve occasions in 2007 and 2008 the manufacturer shipped out products that initially tested positive for salmonella after retests came up negative.
Federal officials found problems with sanitary conditions at the plant, citing holes in the roof, water leaking near food products, mold on the ceiling and walls, and roaches. Wait, there’s more: dirty equipment, sinks used for washing hands and cleaning floor mops, gaps in doors large enough for rodents to go through, and the failure to clean the equipment even after the salmonella was detected.
EEEEWWWW!!!!
Wait a minute. Where was the government in all this? How did these violations slip by?
The FDA says it relied on state officials from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Georgia is saying that its state inspectors found only minor infractions. But, the FDA says that its own recent inspection indicates that theplant should not have been allowed to operate at all.
Let’s not forget that this is not just about the ick-factor (high though it may be). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that 501 people in 43 states have been infected by this latest salmonella outbreak. There were 108 hospitalizations and eight reported deaths as of the end of January.
Half of the cases of illness involved persons under the age of 16. Children. Our children.
This is not the first time that there has been recall based on salmonella-tainted peanut products. As recently as early 2007 there was an outbreak involving ConAgra’s Peter Pan peanut butter that also sickened hundreds of people.
Back then, there was talk about passing legislation (The Safe Food Act) to modernize and improve regulation of our food supply.
What happened? (see also here)
Here is what the Ethicurean suggested we do back in 2007: “You can help by writing or calling your Representative and Senators and informing them of your concerns about the current food safety system and asking them to sign on as co-sponsors of H.R. 1148 or S.654.”
What do you think moms?
Here is a link to the FDA’s webpage dealing with this recall, including news updates and a list of recalled products.
The FDA is also maintaining a twitter feed of recalls at: twitter.com/fdarecalls.
Posted by: Lyn Millett | Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 10:16 AM