Recall Friday

The Food Safety and Inspection Service, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture, or the Food and Drug Administration, has issued the following recall(s) over the past week:

Nov. 17, 2008 - Nestlé Prepared Foods Company of Springfield, Utah, is recalling approximately 879,565 pounds of frozen chicken meals that may contain foreign materials. The problem was discovered after the company received consumer complaints and a report of one injury. The company identified the objects as small pieces of hard plastic. (More information)

Nov. 20, 2008 - PANOS brands, of Saddle Brook, N.J., is recalling Vegan Rella Cheddar Block, (a cheese substitute) with a sell-by date of 12/09/2008. This product is being recalled because it may possibly contain an undeclared milk protein. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk protein run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. No other lot or variety of Vegan is involved. (More information)

Nov. 20, 2008 - Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is initiating a voluntary recall of 24 oz. Wegmans Italian Classics Seasoned Tomato Sauce with a use-by- date of 11/26/08, UPC 77890 79010. The product is being recalled because the package may actually contain a milk ingredient which is not declared on the label. The recall of this product is of concern only to those individuals who have an allergy to milk. Consumption may cause a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction in persons with an allergy to milk. No other code dates are affected by this recall. (More information)

Nov. 14, 2008 - Seattle's Favorite Gourmet Cookies & Dessert Co. of Tukwila, Wash., is recalling Orange Cranberry and Banana Nut Muffin Tops because they contain undeclared milk. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. Orange Cranberry and Banana Nut Muffin Tops were distributed nationwide to coffee shops, espresso stands, and retail outlets. (More information)

Kosher kitchens take another hit

Customers for kosher foods are finding it increasingly difficult to put meat on the table. With the closure this week of Agriprocessors main plant in Iowa, and problems at other kosher meat processors in other states, shoppers have been enduring a nationwide shortage of kosher beef and lamb.

It may only get worse. Sara Lee Corp., which owns such names as Sara Lee, Ball Park Franks, and Hillshire Farm, announced Wednesday it is going to close its kosher meat processing operations in Chicago. Sara Lee owns Best's Kosher, Sinai Kosher, Shofar, and Wilno brands.

Approximately 185 people are expected to lose their jobs when the plant closes in January.

Sara Lee, which employs about 44,000 people worldwide, announced plans to close one of its North American plants back in July, but has only now announced it was singling out its kosher meats processing business.

Nationwide, kosher consumers have been finding normally well-stocked meat cases empty, according to Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a news wire dedicated to Jewish issues.

Problems began last May when Agriprocessors was raided by Immigration and Naturalization.
Then, "meat buyers began shifting their purchases to other companies, which have struggled to meet the increased demand," reports JTA. " Alle Processing, a New York City kosher meat supplier that has become the largest in the United States with the collapse of Agriprocessors, has had to place a moratorium on new customers, according to several industry insiders."

Bush seeks to gut endangered species laws

President George Bush is rushing to gut regulations that protect endangered species, according to a story from the Associated Press.

Regulations requiring government experts verify proposed construction projects don't pose a threat to endangered wildlife could be relaxed, if the Department of the Interior is able to complete its efforts to rewrite the rules before tomorrow. Assuming they're successful, President-elect Barak Obama would find his hands tied on the matter. The full story appears in the Huffington Post.

California game fish face extinction

Seventeen species of California game fish face "poor chances of survival" and three species of salmon face "very poor chances of survival" according to a report just issued by fish advocacy group California Trout. The report's findings were the lead story in today's San Francisco Chronicle.

The damming of the state's waterways and global warming are two of the factors that threaten the fish, and chances are good they may be extinct before the century's end, says the report.

"Our fish need cold, clean water to survive, but they're getting less and less of it," said Peter Moyle, author of the study and a professor of conservation biology at UC Davis. "Dams block access. Climate change is now looming to exacerbate the threat, and it increases the urgency. All of these things are pushing our fish toward extinction."

California's recreational fishing industry is worth $2 billion to the state's economy, according to another study published earlier this year by California Trout, and each salmon caught in the dammed Klamath River could be worth $200 to the local economy. (Full story)

Biofuels not to blame for high food costs, says biofuel exec

Consumers and officials are pointing their fingers at the wrong people, say biofuel execs in a story published yesterday at Meat & Poultry.

"American consumers should not be fooled by ongoing attempts to misplace blame for this year’s rise in food prices on biofuels," said Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Studies by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Purdue University clear the biofuels industry of these charges, Greenwood said. Indeed, the BIO executive adds that the biofuels industry has suffered, as well.

"While agribusiness companies have been impacted by the rapid rise and fall of grain prices, so have biofuel companies."

Bacteria In Mouth Help Make Certain Foods Tasty

ScienceDaily - Scientists in Switzerland are reporting that bacteria in the human mouth play a role in creating the distinctive flavors of certain foods. They found that these bacteria actually produce food odors from odorless components of food, allowing people to fully savor fruits and vegetables. (Full story)

Opposition to possible ag secretary appointment grows

The possibility of President-elect Barak Obama appointing former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture has been raising cackles for the past few weeks. While no appointments have been made, as yet, proponents of organic farming as well as others are starting to take action.

Organic Consumers Association has begun collecting names in a petition drive to convince Obama to consider someone (anyone!) else. Among the arguments OCA raises in its petition:

-Vilsack has been an ardent supporter of genetically engineered pharmaceutical crops, especially pharmaceutical corn. These crops pose huge risks to human health and the environment.

Vilsack is a noted proponent of unsustainable and dangerous genetically engineered crops. Even, the biggest biotechnology industry group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, named Vilsack Governor of the Year. He was also the founder and former chair of the Governor's Biotechnology Partnership. Organic farming does not allow for the use of genetically engineered crops.

-Vilsack has fought strongly to limit states' rights to regulate seed, GE crops, pharma crops and other proactive measures. We believe that municipalities and states have the right to enact laws that protect their welfare, health and the environment.

-Vilsack has a glowing reputation as being a shill for agribusiness biotech giants like Monsanto. Corporations, like Monsanto, are inherently undemocratic and threaten human health and sustainable agriculture with their toxic products.

-Vilsack is an ardent support of corn and soy based biofuels, which use as much or more fossil energy to produce them as they generate, while driving up world food prices and literally starving the poor.

Vilsack makes no secret of his support for biofuels. As the former governor of Iowa, critics say he listened attentively to the demands of Big Pharma and the corn lobby. Even his My Space page touts his enthusiasm for biofuels.

Critics see his appointment, assuming he is appointed, as a win for Monsanto and a continuation of the status quo for consumers. Ezra Klein, in his blog at the American Spectator, writes:

The fact that Obama is already signaling that his chief agricultural appointment will hail from the land of corn, and whose agricultural experience will mainly have been keeping powerful corn interests happy with him, is not a good sign.

Consumers want more action by the FDA, poll finds

Consumers want more inspections of food processing plants, according to a poll by Consumer Reports. While the country's meat processing plants must be inspected daily by the United Stated Department of Agriculture, those plants that fall under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration have no such requirements.

"While 73 percent polled currently regard the overall food supply as safe, nearly half (48%) said their confidence in the safety of the nation’s food supply has decreased," said Consumer Reports in a press release. "A bare majority of Americans feel the government is doing all it can to ensure food safety (54%). Eighty-three percent of respondents are concerned with harmful bacteria or chemicals in food and 81 percent are concerned with the safety of imported food."

Consumers are worried, too, about FDA plans to not require labeling of cloned or genetically engineered meat. That issue will become even more visible as the FDA has just closed the public comment period on its draft plan for how it will approve genetically engineered animals.

Chez Nous wins out over Chez Panisse

Admittedly, it's an unfair headline. Chez Panisse, Alice Waters' fabled restaurant and the birthplace of California's food renaissance, is probably weathering the economic storm quite nicely, thank you. But a story in Wednesday's Business section of the San Francisco Chronicle confirmed what many already suspected: grocery stores are faring better than restaurants in this recession.

Why? More people are cooking and eating at home, evidently. While grocery prices are rising, restaurants are raising their prices, too, just to keep their heads above water and an already expensive dining experience is only becoming even pricier. But even grocers are feeling the pinch. While discount retailers Costco and Wal-Mart are seeing strong sales, according to Chron reporter Victoria Colliver, high-end chains like Whole Foods are seeing troublesome declines in their bottom line.

Another mad-cow case in British Columbia

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, a federal government agency, has confirmed another case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a British Columbian dairy cow.

According to the CFIA, the 7-year-old cow's birth farm has been identified and officials have launched an investigation to trace not only the source of the BSE, but to identify the cow's herdmates at birth.

"The age and location of the infected animal are consistent with previous cases detected in Canada," according to a release from CFIA. The animal has not been introduced into either human or animal food supplies.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy incubates for several years and is most commonly identified in older animals. In Canada, cattle are typically slaughtered for food production between 18 and 30 months of age.

The Centers for Disease Control defines BSE as:

...a progressive neurological disorder of cattle that results from infection by an unusual transmissible agent called a prion. The nature of the transmissible agent is not well understood. Currently, the most accepted theory is that the agent is a modified form of a normal protein known as prion protein. For reasons that are not yet understood, the normal prion protein changes into a pathogenic (harmful) form that then damages the central nervous system of cattle.

This is the 19th case of BSE identified in North America. Sixteen cases have been identified in Canada and three in the United States. Of the American cases, one cow was born in Canada. Both nations have imposed rigorous surveillance procedures to identify any new cases. The Food and Drug Administration will begin enforcing new, more rigorous feed regulations in on April 2005 to bring US regulations more in line with those of Canada.