The Story of Batman & Robin and Nut Recall

Introduction: Nut Recall, the arch enemy of all 2009 food recalls, more powerful than the Joker, has struck once again. Read the conversation between Batman & Robin.

 Robin: Wow Batman, did you read in US Food Safety.com blog that hazelnuts have been recalled in several states? US Food Safety is way better than the Daily Planet.

Batman: Nut Recall has attacked our fair country once again. We have to alert the masses.

Robin: Do you think it will be as large as the peanut and pistachio recalls?

Batman: I don’t know Robin but we have to let the country know what hazelnuts are good and which are not. It is our sworn duty.

Robin: Holy filberts Batman, that could take all night. I have to Christmas shop.

Batman: We took an oath. Now let’s rev up the Batmobile, and get going.

copyright 2009 US Food Safety Corporation

IF YOU ARE A MANUFACTURER THAT USED HAZELNUTS NOT USED IN THIS RECALL, WE’D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU. PLEASE CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY.

 

 

Massive Hazelnut recall

Not again. Another nut recall. This time it’s hazelnuts. Should we rally the troops in the event and be prepared to work night and day in the chance that THIS could be another Peanut Corporation of America? or a Pistachio recall?  What will we do?  

Williamette Shelling of Newberg, Oregon recalling 114,350 pounds of shelled hazelnuts nationwide because of potential contamination with salmonella. Unshelled hazelnuts are not affected by the recall.

 brands: Willamette Filbert Growers Shelled Hazelnuts or Meridian Organic Hazelnuts with lot code numbers 289091A and 311091A

 AND

 brands: Kunze Farms, Evonuk Oregon Hazelnuts, Canadian Hazelnuts, and Firestone Farms.

A phone call to Willamette Shelling at the time of this posting went unreturned.

 If you are cooking with hazelnuts, BEWARE! Tell your friends.

Auntie Anne’s and food safety

After a tedious ride back from New York this weekend, I wanted to stop at the rest area for a bottle of water on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

 McDonald’s Corporation – Charlton East

508 248-0517

P O Box 426

Charlton, MA  01508

 My husband who was driving, offered to go in and retrieve one for me. The real motive was to get a snack. When he returned to the car with a packaged cookie, he relayed the following story to me in excruciating detail.

He wanted to get pretzel, Auntie Anne’s had the fresh baked pretzel smell that you can only get when you have traveled for three hours. These pretzel franchises make the pretzels on site. The three or four people in line smelled the freshly baked pretzels, as well as my husband, so waiting in line made the anticipation that much greater.

He watched the food handlers use the food handling gloves to serve the pretzels. Another woman took the money and so it went until they had to make the pretzels. The money handler was also the pretzel maker of the evening. Here is the gross part.

 The pretzel maker (aka cashier) didn’t change her gloves after taking the money and handled raw pretzel dough. My husband was totally disgusted (remember the pretzel smell) and bought a pre-packed cookie.

 According to the website, there are 1,000 franchises.

From the corporate website: “It’s the “love at first bite” felt by those who have tasted an Auntie Anne’s pretzel.

It’s the lines of people hungry for a fresh, hot, golden brown soft pretzel from the world’s largest soft pretzel chain.

It’s the collaborative spirit of a company that sees the value brought by every one of its franchisees and employees, a spirit demonstrated by the respectful and rewarding relationship between our franchisees in the field and our corporate office employees.

It’s a business model that’s proven through increasing domestic sales, average net store sales, and continued unit growth. “

 He handled me my bottled water and relayed this story for me to blog.

 http://www.auntieannes.com

For local ‘freegans,’ dumpsters yield bountiful harvest

The movie Sex & The City had Anne Meara eating a slice of pizza she found in the  trash, and saying that it tasted like garbage.  These freegans take dumpster diving for food to a whole new level.

The U.S.government doesn’t make any claims about the safety of food taken and then consumed from dumpsters. US Food Safety does not either. With the state of the economy, will this become a new trend?

Cambridge Massachusetts has been a hot bed of interesting ideas because of the magnitude of colleges. This one takes the cake.

For local ‘freegans,’ dumpsters yield bountiful harvest – Local News Updates – The Boston Globe

Winner winner chicken dinner

Chicken is safe because the National Chicken Council says it is. Who are consumers to believe, Consumer Reports or The National Chicken Council that represents the industry?

Consuming food can be a daunting task.

Safe Cooking
FSIS recommends cooking whole chicken to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured using a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook poultry to higher temperatures.
For approximate cooking times to use in meal planning, see the following chart compiled from various resources.

Microwave Directions:

• Microwave on medium-high (70 percent power): whole chicken, 9 to 10 minutes per pound; bone-in parts and Cornish hens, 8 to 9 minutes per pound; boneless breasts halves, 6 to 8 minutes per pound.
• When microwaving parts, arrange in dish or on rack so thick parts are toward the outside of dish and thin or bony parts are in the center.
• Place whole chicken in an oven cooking bag or in a covered pot.
• For boneless breast halves, place in a dish with 1/4 cup water; cover with plastic wrap.
• Allow 10 minutes standing time for bone-in chicken; 5 minutes for boneless breast.
• The USDA recommends cooking whole poultry to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured using a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. When cooking pieces, the breast, drumsticks, thighs, and wings should be cooked until they reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook poultry to higher temperatures.

Partial Cooking
Never brown or partially cook chicken to refrigerate and finish cooking later because any bacteria present wouldn’t have been destroyed. It is safe to partially pre-cook or microwave chicken immediately before transferring it to the hot grill to finish cooking.
Color of Skin
Chicken skin color varies from cream-colored to yellow. Skin color is a result of the type of feed eaten by the chicken, not a measure of nutritional value, flavor, tenderness or fat content. Color preferences vary in different sections of the country, so growers use the type of feed which produces the desired color.
Dark Bones
Darkening around bones occurs primarily in young broiler-fryers. Since their bones have not calcified completely, pigment from the bone marrow can seep through the porous bones. Freezing can also contribute to this seepage. When the chicken is cooked, the pigment turns dark. It’s perfectly safe to eat chicken meat that turns dark during cooking.
Pink Meat
The color of cooked chicken is not a sign of its safety. Only by using a food thermometer can one accurately determine that chicken has reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout. The pink color in safely cooked chicken may be due to the hemoglobin in tissues which can form a heat-stable color. Smoking or grilling may also cause this reaction, which occurs more in young birds.
Color of Giblets
Giblet color can vary, especially in the liver, from mahogany to yellow. The type of feed, the chicken’s metabolism and its breed can account for the variation in color. If the liver is green, do not eat it. This is due to bile retention. However, the chicken meat should be safe to eat.
Fatty Deposits
Chickens may seem to have more fatty deposits or contain a larger "fat pad" than in the past. This is because broiler fryer chickens have been bred to grow very rapidly to supply the demand for more chicken. Feed that is not converted into muscle tissue (meat) is metabolized into fat. However, the fat is not "marbled" into the meat as is beef or other red meat, and can be easily removed. Geneticists are researching ways to eliminate the excess fat.

Storage Times
Since product dates aren’t a guide for safe use of a product, how long can the consumer store the food and still use it at top quality? Follow these tips:

• Purchase the product before the date expires.
• Follow handling recommendations on product.
• Keep chicken in its package until using.
• Freeze chicken in its original packaging, overwrap or re-wrap it according to directions in the above section, "How to Handle Chicken Safely".

 

http://www.nationalchickencouncil.com/pressroom/pr_detail.cfm?id=125