Due to the rapid pace at which recent events have been unfolding, I thought it would be a good idea to list these all in one place. People who don't read the paper or watch the news might not have heard about some of them. Feel free to add to the list if you know of anything else.
Lettuce
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. So far, company investigators have not found E. coli bacteria in the lettuce itself, Nunes said.
"We're just reacting to a water test only. We know there's generic E. coli on it, but we're not sure what that means," he said. "We're being extra careful. This is precautionary."
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.
Carrot Juice
Epidemiologists warned consumers last week to stay away from some bottled carrot juice after a Florida woman was paralyzed and three people in Georgia experienced respiratory failure, apparently due to botulism poisoning.
Bolthouse Farms of Bakersfield, Calif., issued a voluntary recall for the juice last week. The juice as distributed in every state and in Mexico, Canada and Hong Kong with the labels “Bolt House Farms 100% Carrot Juice,” “Earthbound Farm Organic Carrot Juice,” and “President’s Choice Organics 100% Pure Carrot Juice.”
Ground Beef
An Iowa company is recalling about 5,200 pounds of ground beef products distributed from seven states because they could be contaminated with a dangerous strain of E. coli, the government said Friday.
The meat is suspected of having the same E. coli strain responsible for three deaths in the recent outbreak of contaminated spinach. The government said no illnesses have been reported from consumption of the beef subject to the recall.
Jim's Market and Locker Inc. of Harlan, Iowa, produced the ground beef patties and packages August and September 1, and sent it to distributors in Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Texas and Wisconsin, and to one retail establishment in Iowa, said the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Customers who bought the products affected by the voluntary recall should return them to the place of purchase, the service said.
Spinach
The FDA has announced that fresh spinach on supermarket shelves is now safe to consume and that tainted spinach is no longer being sold. However, to be certain you are avoiding any leftover contaminated bags, do not purchase any fresh spinach with a "use by" date of October 1.
Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,218738,00.html
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html
