Frozen pot pies linked to salmonella outbreak

The Illinois Department of Public Health is again warning consumers to throw out frozen pot pies that could be linked to a multistate salmonella outbreak. ConAgra Foods voluntarily recalled all varieties of frozen pot pie products last month, produced under multiple brand names.

These frozen pot pies include…

A “science junkie” friend of mine emailed me a link to this months American Scientist. The article by Jorge M. Fonseca, a professor and vegetable/postharvest specialist at the University of Arizona’s Yuma Agricultural Center and Sadhana Ravishankar, a research professor in the Department of Veterinary Science and Microbiology at the University of Arizona in Tuscon is a well researched and written article entitled “Safer Salads – Contaminated fruits and vegetables are more common than ever. Why? And what can consumers do to protect themselves?” I would urge folks interested in food safety generally, and fruits and vegetables in particular, to read it. As is discussed in the articles introduction:

News of E. coli-tainted produce has blared from the headlines in recent years, leading to widespread concern about the safety of consuming raw fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, the public-health debate often neglects the science behind the outbreaks. What are the real risks involved? Some answers come from authors Jorge M. Fonseca and Sadhana Ravishankar, specialists in the field of microbiological crop-safety research. They detail the recent spate of illnesses caused by produce-borne pathogens and reveal that there’s no single source of contamination that explains them all—sanitation can break down during growth, harvest, washing, storage, transport or display of fruits and vegetables. The authors conclude with a discussion of best practices from the field to the table, and they describe new research into postharvest treatments that may minimize consumer risk in the near future.

After reading the full article below go to the USDA webiste and read "An Online Cost Calculator for Estimating the Economic Cost of Illness Due to Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli."

I recently spoke with Carl Nagin, a Berkeley-based reporter whose work has appeared in the New Yorker and on the PBS documentary series Frontline.  His article, “Is Our Food Any Safer Since the Last E. Coli Outbreak?”, among other topics, discussed the potential for consumers suing companies on behalf of themselves and their injured children, as agents of change:

Liability, along with branding and creating a positive image for produce, is not a trivial concern for big handlers and packagers like Dole and Fresh Express, which together control 90 percent of the retail market for packaged salads, according to the Produce Marketing Association. The Seattle law firm Marler Clark successfully represented victims of last fall’s E. coli outbreak in lawsuits against Dole. Since 1993, the firm has won settlements and verdicts for food sickness victims totaling more than $300 million.

Continue reading the American Scientist Article:Continue Reading “Safer Salads – Contaminated fruits and vegetables are more common than ever. Why? And what can consumers do to protect themselves?”