"fsis" news and stories

More than 34,000 pounds of organic ground beef has been recalled by California-based First Class Foods because of a possibility of contamination with E. coli 0157:H7, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service reported. The beef is sold under the "Nature's Harvest" and "Organic Harvest" labels, and was shipped to stores in California, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Washington State. (The meat was produced on 12/7/10 and 12/16/10).

The recall began on December 30, when the company discovered a positive result for E.coli O157:H7 after an internal sampling of the beef products. No illness has been reported so far.

Specific products include 16-ounce packages of Nature's Harvest Organic Ground Beef Brick, Organic Harvest Organic Ground Beef Brick, and Nature's Harvest Ground Patty.

For more information, see the FSIS press release, or contact First Class Foods at www.firstclassfoods.com.

Starting next month, poultry providers will have to meet a new set of packaging standards for their products. For example, the labels will clearly have to state if the product needs to be cooked. Regulators say that there is a good deal of confusion among consumers, especially over frozen, raw poultry that may already be partially prepared with a stuffing or breading, so the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has devised this label: Uncooked: For Safety, Must be Cooked to an Internal Temperature of 165 degrees F as Measured by Use of a Thermometer. The new labels will be added to all frozen poultry products.

The FSIS is in the process of approving cooking instructions that will accompany all the chicken products, with guidelines that suggest consumers use traditional food preparation methods as opposed to the microwave. "A fundamental part of label evaluation is to ensure that labeling will be understood and followed by consumers," said the FSIS.

I wonder exactly how many consumers are "fooled" into thinking that their raw chicken is already cooked. Are the artificial grill marks and colorings, not to mention breading, so convincing as to actually make people think their raw chicken was cooked before being frozen? Are people so used to buying frozen, pre-cooked meals that the concept of a non-precooked item is foreign to them? I would certainly like to think not. It is possible the the labels will help consumers be more prepared should the bird flu suddenly pop up.

 

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