Recently in Food Category

I hope you are all having a wonderful long weekend. TB, the kids, and I certainly are. Yesterday we had a movie night, and broke with our usual routine to dine in front of the TV. The movie was National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The movie fell somewhat short of the first due to its predictability, but the banter and special effects were top notch. And there was a hint of a third movie to come which we'll definitely want to see.

Today, the kids are over at a schoolmate's house for the afternoon. TB is taking it fairly slow since she's recovering from a tooth extraction combined with a sinus infection. Me, I've got around 35 pounds of pork shoulder (butt roast) on the smoker - it's pulled pork for dinner tonight.

Had we not received the invite for the kids, I would have liked to have driven south to the tour of Dover's Revolutionary War veterans at Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery in Dover. Did you know we lost 25,000 people in the Revolutionary War? Not all were battlefield deaths, most died from disease or in prison ships. Casualty-wise, the Revolutionary War differs dramatically from our current conflict in scope. What the first war does have in common with today is that the troops then, as now, were all volunteers.

While all those who have died in defense of our country deserve respect and remembrance today and every day, there's a special place in my thoughts for those who willingly serve knowing that they may not survive. It's a devotion and love for country and countrymen that some Americans don't feel and can't understand. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as this is a free country and folks can believe as they wish. Still, I can't fathom the need for some to take a day like this and use it to deride the sacrifices so many have made for our country.

For example, I saw a post yesterday on another blog suggesting that we separate Memorial Day into two holidays - one to "honor the troops that were drafted into fighting", and another to shower contempt upon those "schmucks that signed up for it" who "knew what they were getting into". This means volunteers, including, for example, the 25,000 I mention above and the 6.3 million who volunteered during during the second world war.

However, it's still a free country, and I don't mind having volunteered 20 years of my life toward maintaining his right to spit contempt and ignorance.

Back to the real nature of the holiday, though. TB and I wish for all of you to have a safe and happy holiday as we honor and thank those who gave us the freedoms we enjoy today.

Especially the volunteers.

For E. Coli:

CHICAGO - Federal officials say a Chicago-based company is recalling beef products distributed in 11 states because of possible E. coli contamination.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Saturday that no illnesses have reported from the meat, produced by JSM Meat Holdings Co. The agency was uncertain how much meat is being recalled.

The meat being recalled is used in ground beef products. Included are 30-pound and 60-pound boxes and 47-gallon barrels of "MORREALE MEAT" beef products. The products have the number "EST. 6872" inside the USDA mark of inspection.

The products have 15 different labels including, "Boneless Chucks," "Boneless Clods," "Flat Rounds," "Gooseneck Rounds" and "Knuckle."

A message left for a company spokesman after business hours wasn't immediately returned.

The states affected are Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

E. coli, a potentially deadly bacteria, can cause diarrhea, dehydration and kidney failure.

Y'all be careful out there, okay?

Via AP/Yahoo:

WASHINGTON - People should throw away cantaloupes from a Honduran manufacturer believed to be linked to a salmonella outbreak, the government said Saturday.

The Food and Drug Administration issued the alert for the melons from Agropecuaria Montelibano. Grocers are advised to remove from their stock any cantaloupes from this company. People should check with stores to see if recently purchased cantaloupes came from Honduras.

So far, 50 people have become sickened in 16 states and nine have become ill in Canada after eating the cantaloupes. No deaths have been reported, although 14 people have been hospitalized, the FDA said.

The government also is seeking to detain all cantaloupes shipped to the United States by Agropecuaria Montelibano.

States where folks have become ill are Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

If I had seen the photo before I read the article, I'd have thought the same thing:

Police: Hershey candy looks like drugs

Someone has to be the one to ask - what kind of drugs was the designer of this packaging on?

This time it's ground beef:

MINNEAPOLIS - Cargill Inc. said Saturday it is recalling more than 1 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the second time in less than a month it has voluntarily recalled beef that may have been tainted.

The recall covers ten states - Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

No wonder squirrel is so popular in New Jersey.

Here's a press release from Stop and Shop with more details, and here's one from Giant Eagle.

And here's the press release from Cargill.

For our New Jersey readers!

Since, after all, they're currently celebrating the declaration that squirrels are now safe to eat - oh, and opossum and raccoon season is here, too.

So if you're out back grilling a little furry acorn eater by the cement pond, here's to ya!

This time it's frozen pizza:

"CHICAGO (Reuters) - Almost five million Totino's and Jeno's frozen pizzas with pepperoni toppings are being recalled because the pepperoni may be contaminated with E. coli, General Mills Inc said on Thursday.

General Mills, which owns the Totino's and Jeno's brands, said the recall affects about 414,000 cases of pizza products currently in stores and all similar pizza products that might be in consumers' freezers. Each case contains 12 pizzas.

The possible E. coli contamination was uncovered by state and federal authorities investigating 21 E. coli-related illnesses in 10 states."

Are there more of these incidents because of a decline in quality and care from food manufacturers or is it because we have better capabilities to detect and investigate these things?

Nothing is ever as it seems.

I like hot foods, but this is beyond my tolerance level:

DALLAS - A 62-year-old retired accountant from Nevada swallowed 247 peppers in eight minutes to win the Jalapeno Eating World Championship at the State Fair of Texas.

Richard LeFevre won $2,000 for prevailing in Sunday's contest, which was sponsored by the International Federation of Competitive Eating.

At least AP asked a medical professional to weigh in on the wisdom of this behaviour:

Dr. Daniel DeMarco, a gastroenterologist and director of endoscopy at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, said the amount of jalapenos consumed in an eating contest is more harmful than the burn.

"It's really pretty stupid," DeMarco said. "Like any sort of abuse of your body, it doesn't make any sense."

This time it's your salad:

SAN FRANCISCO - A popular brand of lettuce grown in California's Salinas Valley, the region at the center of a nationwide spinach scare, has been recalled over concerns about E. coli contamination.

The lettuce does not appear to have caused any illnesses, according to the president of Salinas-based Nunes Co. Inc.

Executives ordered the recall Sunday after learning that irrigation water may have been contaminated with E. coli, Tom Nunes Jr. said.

The good news is that they appear to have found out about this one before any serious illness. And unlike the spinach scare, the geographical scope is smaller as well:

It covers green leaf lettuce under the Foxy brand that was purchased in grocery stores Oct. 3-6 in Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. It was also sold to distributors in those states who may have sold it to restaurants or institutions.

The recalled lettuce was packaged as "Green Leaf 24 Count, waxed carton," and "Green Leaf 18 Count, cellophane sleeve, returnable carton." Packaging is stamped with lot code 6SL0024.

I'm probably going to have a burger for lunch today. Seems like a safe choice compared to the healthier foods...

Ick.

Via AP/Yahoo:

WASHINGTON - A government analysis of more than 100 soft drinks and other beverages turned up five with levels of cancer-causing benzene that exceed federal drinking-water standards, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

The companies that make the drinks have been alerted and either have reformulated their products or plan to do so, the FDA said. Government health officials maintain there is no safety concern, an opinion not shared by at least one environmental group.

Here are the affected drinks:

Safeway Select Diet Orange
Crush Pineapple
AquaCal Strawberry Flavored Water Beverage
Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange
Giant Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail

The FDA has a FAQ on the topic here and the complete list is here. And if you're curious about methods used for the study, look here. They insist the levels found aren't high enough to cause concern.

My family doesn't buy any of the above soft drinks, but if we did, I'd change brands for a while.