"botulism" news and stories

Plum Organics has recalled two flavors of baby food on fears of possible botulism poisoning.

The baby-food company recalled 4.22-ounce pouches of its apple- and carrot-flavored baby foods with a "best by May 21, 2010" date and a UPC of 890180001221, the New York Daily News reports.

The baby food recall is for Plum Organics sold in Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores. Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease whose symptoms begin with 6 to 10 hours of ingesting the toxin.

For more on recalls, visit Slashfood's main page, and click food poisoning information for more on the subject.

[Via New York Daily News]

In light of the E. coli and botulism problems over the past few months that have been linked to California growers, there has been a proposal that new standards should be implemented to ensure that consumers will feel safe and comfortable buying California produce. Most growers have already increased the amount of oversight that their produce recieives, but the new plan involves the creaton of a "seal of approval" for all leafy vegetables. The standards for the seal have not yet been determined, but growers and lawmakers plan to iron out the details later this spring. Issues being considered are how to more effectively test irrigation water and how to keep livestock, primarily cattle, away from cropland.

In spite of the fact that there is no actual plan in place yet, the idea of a "seal of approval" is already being met with opposition, with critics saying that "the industry's proposal relies too heavily on policing itself." This could be a strong argument in other industries, but when it comes to food safety, no one wants to make sure consumers are protected more than the growers whose livelihoods depend on consumer satisfaction with, and confidence in, their products.

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In addition to the recalls on California-grown spinach and lettuce on recent weeks, there have also been three cases of botulism liked to carrot juice produced in California, two in Canada and one in the US. It may seem as though the golden state is a hotbed of disreputable produce, but in fact so much is grown in the state that these incidents should hardly be enough to provoke widespread panic.

As much as 80% of Canadian produce, and a huge amount of US produce, comes from California and, though these few cases are certainly discouraging, the vast majority of it is fine. Companies are working to eliminate the possibility of E.coli contamination in their processing centers. Botulism is from a naturally occurring organism found in soil and, with most produce, processing should eliminate any and all traces of it from food. Raw vegetables, particularly "sugary, root vegetables " like carrots, still carry a risk factor, which is how it got in to the carrot juice in the first place.

Trying for locally grown products can provide some piece of mind, but local farmers can have the same problems, for example, by potentially exposing their crops to E.coli by using manure as fertilizer. To reduce any risks as much as possible, especially when there has been a recall of any kind, wash everything as well as you can and, if seriously in doubt, you can always cook you vegetables instead of eating them raw, which will increase the chances of killing off anything undesirable that might be in them.

My two year old nephew seemed bored with his usual baby gruel, so I thought I'd whip up a little something. The crab apples shown are peaking here (6800 ft.) and the trees are about 15 years old. The fruit is not too tart, and the meat is the consistency of a Bartlett pear. I picked this cluster and about 30 other apples, and made him some sauce as follows:

• Pick 50 crab apples, de-stem, remove fur from opposite end of stem with a swipe across a cheese grater, rinse.
• Blanche the apples, three minutes, or so. Using a potato masher, make a mash, but don't overdo it as you don't want the core and bitter seeds to get too crushed (you'll get a bit o' seed oil, no worries).
• Spoon about one cup at a time through a medium mesh strainer, making sure to get as much pulp through without too much peel, seed, or core. Repeat, trying isolate the unwanted bits by hand. This is a labor of love, mind you, and time well spent with the kids on a seasonal activity. The resulting mash yielded about four cups.
• It began to oxidize rapidly so I put 1/2 teaspoon lime juice in, and one tablespoon brown sugar.

The mash was distinctly homemade: a bit watery, but very tasty. I would put cinnamon in it for myself, but not the toddler. Also, I've been told not to sweeten baby foods with honey for fear of botulism...but this kid is two. Next year I will use honey. You'll wind up with a one-off, that is, if you freeze this sauce it will be a tasteless, separated mess when thawed.

Fall is here in the high country. "Eat your view".

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