Do You Eat Food? Then You Probably Want To Read This.

[Brad Kenney]

Some may recall my obsession with recalls (as evidenced by a variety of posts from last year's global supply chain quality breakdowns in tires, toys etc.

As if we needed proof of the point that China is not the only manufacturer of dangerous items, as well as proving the point that our food chain is far too consolidated for our own good, comes the massive PCA peanut product recall that now stands at more than 125 products, and seems to grow larger by the day (and as if the recent melamine pet poisonings weren't bad enough, the PCA recall now includes pet foods).

FDA head of food safety Stephen Sundlof said, "We expect the number to continue to increase." The agency is posting a dynamically updated list at its website.

According to a Seattle Times story, there is not one but two strains of salmonella identified with a PCA plant in Georgia.

Investigators found salmonella contamination at the PCA plant, which has suspended production. In one of the curious twists in the investigation, the salmonella strain at the plant is not an exact match to the one that has gotten people sick, the FDA said. However, the outbreak strain has been positively identified in a sample from an unopened jar of peanut produced at the Georgia plant.

Sundlof suggested it doesn't much matter whether health authorities get a perfect match at the plant. "Having salmonella in the plant is not supposed to happen," he said. "Regardless of whether it's the outbreak strain or not, that represents a violation."

As is often the case, I was only halfheartedly monitoring this story until I read just now that one of my favorite products -- peanut butter Clif bars -- ended up on the list. And that was after having one just this morning. Needless to say, I'm feeling a little queasy about that decision, and am hoping to spare others the same fate by posting the list below.

Peanut Corporation of America Recall List

* Peanut Corporation of America or Parnell's Pride
* King Nut Peanut butter
* Parnell's Pride Peanut butter
* Austin Quality Foods
o Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter
o Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
o Mega Stuffed Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter
o PB & J Cracker Sandwiches
o Super Snack Pack Sandwich Crackers
o Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
o Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter
o Fruits and Vegetables
o Reduced Fat Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
o Cookie/Cracker Pack All
o Variety Pack
* Keebler
o Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
o Toast & PB'n J Flavored Sandwich Crackers
o Toast & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
o Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies 2.5-ounce
* Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies 2 and 3-ounce
* Hy-Vee
o Peanut Butter Cookies
o Monster Cookies
o Peanut Butter Reese’s Pieces Cookies
o Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
o Lunchbox Reese’s Pieces Cookies
o Lunchbox Peanut Butter Cookies
o People Chow Party Mix and Assorted Truffle Fudge
* Perry's
o Premium Peanut Butter Cup Craze Ice Cream 1/2 Pint
o Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.5 QT, 1.75 QT AND 3 GL
o Peanut Butter Chip Frozen Yogurt 1.5 QT, 1.75 QT and 3 GL
o Peanut Butter Sundae Crunch Ice Cream Bar Bulk 24 pack
o Premium Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream 1.5 QT and 1.75 QT
o Perfectly Churned Light Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.5 QT and 1.75 QT
o Light Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.75 QT
* Shurfine Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.75 QT
* Wegman's
o Chocolate Nutty Cone Ice Cream 1.75 QT
o Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.75 QT and Pint
o Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream 1.75 QT
o Peanut Butter Sundae Ice Cream 1.75 QT
o Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream 1.75 QT
o Peanut Butter Crunch Ice Cream Bar 6 Pack
o Peanut Butter Candy Sundae Cup Ice Cream 4 Pack
o Peanut Butter Sundae Cup Ice Cream 4 Pack
* Little Debbie
o Peanut Butter Toasty sandwich crackers
o Peanut Butter Cheese sandwich crackers
* South Bend Chocolate Company
o Assorted chocolates 5 ounce, 8 ounce, 12 ounce, 26 ounce
o Hoosiers 3.5 ounce, 5 ounce, 4 lb
o Valentine Heart 14 Ounces
o Peanut Butter Fudge 4.5lb.
o Peanut Butter Meltaway, Milk Chocolate 5 lb.
o Peanut Butter Meltaways-Dark Chocolate 5lb.
o Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge 4.5 lb.
* WalMart Bakery
o Peanut Butter Cookie 12 Count Clear Plastic Container
o Harvest Peanut Butter Fudge No-Bake Cookies 9 Count Clear Plastic Container
o Peanut Butter Fudge No-Bake Cookies 9 Count Clear Plastic Container
o Peanut Butter Fudge No-Bake Cookies 12 Count Clear Plastic Container
* H-E-Buddy
o Celery with Peanut Butter with expiration dates: Jan. 16-18 & Jan. 20-22
o Apples with Peanut Butter: with expiration dates: Jan. 16, Jan. 18-23 & Jan. 25-26
o Snack Tray with two dips: with expiration dates: Jan. 16-17, Jan. 29, & Jan. 21-22
* Food Lion Bake Shop Peanut butter Cookies 12 count clear plastic clamshell containers
* Lofthouse
o Peanut Butter Cookies 12 count clear plastic clamshell containers
o Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies 9 or 12 count clear plastic clamshell containers
o Peanut Butter Fudge No-Bake Cookies 9 or 12 count clear plastic clamshell containers
* Parco Foods Chuck’s Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies 5lb boxes
* Pastries Plus Gourmet Cookies 21 count plastic containers
* ZonePerfect
o Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
o Peanut Toffee Bars
* NutriPals Peanut Butter Chocolate nutrition bars
* LÄRABAR Peanut butter cookie flavor snack bars
* JamFrakas Peanut Butter Blisscrisp flavor snack bars
* Private Selection (Kroger Co)
o Peanut Butter Passion Ice Cream sold ("Sell by" date of 9-13-2009) 48-ounce containers
o Peanut Butter Passion Ice Cream "Sell by" date of 8-11-2009 56-ounce containers
* Meijer
o Cheese and Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
o Toasty Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
o Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream
o Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
* CLIF BAR
o Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch - Best by: 21JUN09 to 01OCT09 and 03NOV09 to 28NOV09
o Crunchy Peanut Butter - Best by: 21JUN09 to 01OCT09 and 03NOV09 to 28NOV09
o Peanut Toffee Buzz - Best by: 13SEP09
o Builder’s Peanut Butter - Best by: 19JUL09 to 30SEP09 and 05NOV09 to 18NOV09
o Kid Organic ZBaR Peanut Butter - Best by: 07JUL09 to 05SEP09 and 12NOV09
* LUNA
o Nutz Over Chocolate - Best by: 29JUL09 to 03OCT09 and 11NOV09 to 14NOV09
o Peanut Butter Cookie - Best by: 02OCT09 to 03OCT09 and 11NOV09 to 14NOV09
* MOJO
o Honey Roasted Peanut - Best by: 30APR09 to 21JUN09
o Mixed Nuts - Best by: 30APR09 to 21JUN09
o Mountain Mix - Best by:30APR09 to 21JUN09
o Peanut Butter Pretzel - Best by:30APR09 to 21JUN09
o Dipped Chocolate Peanut- Best by: 30APR09 - 21JUN09
o Dipped Peanut Butter and Jelly- Best by: 30APR09 - 21JUN09
o Dipped Fruit and Nut- Best by: 30APR09 - 21JUN09
* Optimum Energy Bars Peanut Butter Flavored Optimum Energy Bars - Best Before 01OCT09A

Other recalls:

PetSmart has voluntarily recalled seven varieties of its Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits.

The withdrawn products range in size from 32 ounces to 10 pounds, were sold between Aug. 21, 2008 and Jan. 19, and carry the following UPC codes: 73725702900, 73725700601, 73725700605, 73725702755, 73725700638, 73725700779, and 73725700766.

Also recalled were:

* Evening Rise Bread Co. of McCall, Idaho, has recalled peanut butter cookies and peanut butter bars sold throughout Idaho.
* Nature's Path Organic Foods of Richmond, British Columbia, has withdrawn peanut butter-flavored Optimum Energy Bars, which carry the UPC code 058449777151 and are marked with a "best before" date of Oct. 1, 2009.
* Country Maid Inc. has recalled two-pound packages of Classic Breaks peanut butter cookie dough, which were distributed through fundraising organizations from Oct. 6, 2008 through Jan. 9 and carry the lot numbers 26208, 26308, 29808, 33808, 36508.
* Ready Pac Foods Inc. has recalled certain celery with peanut butter products sold under the Ready Pac, Trader Joe's, and Eating Right brands and apple with peanut products sold under the Eating Right brand.

[Jon Katz]

The reports of packaged food recalls are concerning, but I wonder whether the U.S., China or any other country, for that matter, is a producer of "dangerous products" or if our detection methods have vastly improved over the years?

As IW Associate Editor Nick Zubko pointed out in his Nov. 2008 article "The Secret Ingredients in Food Safety":

Recalls are often the result of manufacturers simply having much better tools to detect various pathogens. In addition, digital communication has helped agencies like the CDC, USDA and FDA recognize patterns in what would previously have been regarded as isolated cases, and find the "smoking gun" that leads to one specific contamination. The downside? Better detective work can make the problem look worse than it really is.

[rbrooku]

Originally Posted by Brad Kenney

o Fruits and Vegetables

I think this list could be clarified a bit. Seriously, I'm having a good laugh at this line item.

[Brad Kenney]

Yeah, I saw that, but who knows? Maybe there's some Austin Quality Foods product that approximates the shape of fruits and vegetables, but is actually made from candy. This is America, after all.