Life’s Curveballs

Can you ever remember a time in your life where almost nothing is safe? You hear about something almost every day, Salmonella, E. Coli Bacteria, Botulism, Lead Paint, Melamine, and the list grows. It seems nothing is safe anymore. Here are today’s headlines…

E. Coli Cases Spark Hamburger Patty Recall

(AP) The Topps Meat Co. on Saturday expanded its recall of frozen hamburger patties that may be contaminated with the E. coli bacteria and sickened more than a dozen people in eight states.

Topps said it was recalling 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products distributed to retail grocery stores and food service institutions throughout the United States, up from the 332,000 pounds it recalled on Tuesday.

Read the rest of this story here.

NEW RECALL: Hartz Vitamin Care For Cats

Hartz announced a recall on November 2 for a specific lot of Hartz Vitamin Care for cats because of salmonella concerns. Here is the release from their website:

The Hartz Mountain Corporation is voluntarily recalling one specific lot of Hartz Vitamin Care for Cats due to concerns that one or more bottles within the lot may have been potentially contaminated with Salmonella. Hartz is fully cooperating with the US Food and Drug Administration in this voluntary recall.

Read the rest of the story here.

For a list of the latest recalls, see these websites…

• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service - Latest commercial food product recalls.
• US Food and Drug Administration - List of other recalls such as pet foods and drugs.
• US Consumer Product Safety Commission - List of products that are being recalled. When you get to the page be sure to click on some of the links toward the bottom of the page. You will be amazed at the number of products that have been recalled.

It seems that recalled products are becoming more frequent and it is my opinion cutting production cost is the main reason. Manufactures are out sourcing everything for their bottom line and we are paying the price in illness, injury, and sometimes death.