SOUND OFF: How Have Salmonella, Listeria Outbreaks Affected Your Habits?
Manufacturers have recently issued recalls on common foods.
In recent weeks, manufacturers have rushed to issue recalls on peanut butter and salad, foods that are staples in many pantries and kitchens.
On Friday, a limited recall of peanut butter at Trader Joe's was expanded to Target and Wal-Mart, and now includes more than 70 products. Thirty people (including a Grafton boy) across 19 states have reported salmonella food poisoning that was later linked to the contaminated nut butters, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Late last month, Fresh Express Inc. recalled some of its Hearts of Romaine salad due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
The recalls have been jarring to those who have peanut butter and lettuce on their grocery list each week. How have you reacted to the recalls? Did you find any of the potentially contaminated products in your kitchen? How does such news affect your buying and shopping habits? Tell us in the comments.
Neal
11:49 pm on Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Its another reason why knowing where your food is coming from is a good thing. It reinforces a focus we all should have of buying from local producers.
UglyHat
12:59 pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Perhaps it should, but this hasn’t affected my habits at all. Nor have the EEE warnings or the story of the squirrel with the Plague. Life is too short. Now please pass the Frosted Mini Wheats :-)
Dee Dubleyoo
10:20 pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Uglyhat, that made me chuckle! Honestly, I don't think there's much we can do about these recalls. I try to as a general rule buy things for my family that are good for you and have a limited amount of preservatives. And besides the Frosted Mini wheats (which arguably aren't that bad for you either, if you forget the "frosted" part), the latest recalls have been of natural peanut butter and lettuce, both of which are healthy! It's disconcerting but thankfully these recalls are the exception, not the rule.