It’s unclear why such vast meat recalls are becoming so much a part of the news. Is it a global food market or is the USDA getting a handle on the contamination faster than they used to?
Salmonella and e coli are deadly to start off with but the addition of antibiotic resistant varieties are making them even scarier. It’s like playing Russian roulette--with meat coming from all over the world, it’s difficult to tell the origin of the animal, how it was treated, and the conditions of the farm.
You never know when you’re going to get a bad batch, not cook it quite enough, and find yourself sick. And who wants charred meat anyway? If it’s the flavor you’re after, then cooking the animal to death doesn’t do anyone justice, quite frankly.
Just last week 36 million pounds of Cargill turkey products were recalled because of salmonella contamination. The Centers for Disease Control said that Salmonella Heidelberg, as it's named, has shown resistance to multiple antibiotic treatments. The CDC identified Salmonella Heidelberg through DNA "fingerprints" of salmonella bacteria in order to link each to the outbreak.
This week, Reuters reported that The U.S. Department of Agriculture said National Beef Packing Co recalled about 60,424 pounds of ground beef products under suspicion of e coli contamination. The bacteria was discovered through routine microbial testing conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
While recalls can happen in any food product, they are commonly associated with eggs, meat and poultry. How have such recalls impacted you? Have you cut back or cut out your meat and egg consumption? Have you started to source your meat closer to home from producers you know and trust? Or--are you just cooking the burger patty to death? Or are you going vegetarian?
No comments:
Post a Comment