A day, scratch that, make that a half a day, barely goes by without a new food recall or food scare. This stuff just keeps on pumping out. Sara Lee recalled Ball Park Beef Franks because someone was not paying attention and they may not even be beef. They may contain meats not listed on the label such as pork or poultry or may even be cheesy. Products need to match labels. Labels need to tell the whole story.
Case in point: Back to Nature Foods recalled the Nantucket blend trail mix this week because they may contain pistachio nuts. You can be allergic to one type of nut and fine with all the others. The ingredient list needs to be thorough and accurate. Mistakes like this can be life-threatening. Yes, you could eat every nut in the world except the pistachio which could do you in. You need to know.
Of course, we have plenty of knowledge about peanut butter, or do we, since this is an old problem that’s still with us. The first reports came out in January, and that is the problem with a potential salmonella outbreak. Costs are excessive and trust can be lost for a significantly long time. Remember the tomato scare of summer 2008?
Who do we trust? How? What about the report that says many food problems cannot be traced to the source. Swell.
The new FDA holds the promise. The Administration has found well qualified individuals who hopefully will be able to right this disaster of an A
gency.
Let’s remember the first word of the FDA’s name–FOOD.
We can no longer sidestep our safety.
