I think it's been a while since we had a beef recall. And by "a while" I mean about a week.

JSM Meat Holdings and the USDA have issued a recall for meat that was distributed to 11 states. The beef was distributed in 30 pound, 60 pound, and 47 gallon containers (the beef was used in ground products). The containers are labeled with the words "Morreale Meat" and the number "EST 6872." They could possibly be contaminated with e.coli.

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

Two food recalls in one post (no waiting)!

Dairy State Foods has recalled their Minnie's Bake Shop Chocolate Chunk Cookies (7 oz.) because they might contain macadamia nuts, which could be dangerous for people who are allergic to nuts. The cookies went to Florida stores and have the UPC 400136148117 and a date of March 2008.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Yoplait has recalled several flavors of their yoghurt, including Yoplait vanilla, vanilla and banana, and peach and pear, as well as Elivae fig and honey, vanilla, and strawberry flavors. The yoghurt might have pieces of metal inside. (Note: not sure if this a worldwide recall or just in Australia, but the two news sources I found are ABC News in Australia and AdelaideNow.

A food recall involving chocolate? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Yup, Kraft food is recalling 24,000 cases of their Baker's Premium White Chocolate Baking Squares (6 oz.) because they might contain salmonella. The use by dates are March 31, April 1, April 2, and April 3 (all 2008), followed by the letters XCZ. The UPC code 0043000252200.

Kraft is advising that customers throw out the white chocolate. If you need more information about the recall, Kraft's phone number is 800-310-3704.

With all this talk of major food recalls lately, it got me thinking: what if a store simply doesn't hear about a recall or accidentally leaves a can or two of some recalled food on the shelves?

That's what they're talking about in North Carolina this week, as inspectors have discovered several small stores that were still selling cans of Castleberry's products even after the major recall. Many small stores that don't get their products from major distributors are sometimes not even contacted by distributors or the company itself about a recall.

I guess the moral to the story is, if you own a store, keep track of the food industry yourself and don't just trust that people will contact you.

Yikes.

Officials are investigating 51 cases of salmonella (in 17 different states) that have been reported from customers who have bought Veggie Booty snacks. The company has decided to recall all lots and sizes of the snack food. And yes that includes all codes and expiration dates. The company name is Robert's American Gourmet.

This is a pretty big recall, since this is something that is probably sold in the store where you shop. Customers are urged to throw away the food if you have it in your home and call the company to get your money back.

There seems to have been a large number of food-related product recalls lately, and it has brought up some very valid questions. What happens when consumers don't hear about the recalls of products they have recently purchased, and equally frightening - what happens when the stores that sell these products aren't even aware? The FDA hopes to change that with a 6-month pilot program they are launching, designed to educate and assist consumers in identifying recalled products that could potentially pose significant health risks.

In the test program, they will mostly be focusing on the awareness of class I recalls - tainted products that could potentially cause serious adverse health consequences or death. These include foods contaminated with Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and more, plus those that contain food allergens ingredients such as nuts, soy, dairy, etc. In 2006 alone there were over 100 such recalls, though the average over the past 5 years is more like 188 - quite a significant number.