The irony is not lost on me that this year, the year of so many significant food recalls, ends the decade with another holiday problem.
Let’s review the big impact recalls of ’09: Peanut Butter, Pistachios, Refrigerated Cookie Dough, Ground Beef, and now another seasonal nut: Hazelnuts. Before we discuss the particulars, let me warn again about ground beef: There’s been another recall.
It’s not too late to get a grinder attachment for your mixer and buy a chuck roast, trim the fat, and make your own 80-20 burger. They come out beautifully and are free of anxiety fears! If you miss out on the Holiday wish list, look for this product on the After-Christmas sales. You’ll be feeling smug about the decision all year–OK, don’t forget the meat thermometer. Together the two products, which will not cost that much, will save you a blood pressure spike every time you read about another meat recall!
Now about those nuts. It’s really been a bad news year for nuts. The overall industry has been hard hit by Salmonella problems and now the popular Hazelnut or as it is often called the Filbert, has joined the dreaded list. Here’s an update from the Oregon Department of Agriculture. It seems not everyone agrees with that assessment and believes that the potential for Salmonella is enough to warrant action. I agree. I’m too squeamish to take a chance. I’ll need to wait it out.
As we leave this decade, the almost one-year old promise of solving Food Safety concerns is still out there. Let’s make sure food safety regulation and monitoring happens early in the new year. Everyone will benefit.
Promises; promises.
We need action.
