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Contaminated Peanut Products Affecting Food Banks and Schools
The most talked about recall products right now are the peanut products produced by Peanut Corporation of America that are causing people to become sick from salmonella bacteria. The contaminated products are affecting not only the general public, but also food banks and schools.
A recent article in the New York Times, says that school lunch programs in California, Idaho, and Minnesota received peanut products that could have been tainted. The products they received were not on the first list of recalled products, but the recall list has since expanded.
The salmonella outbreak has affected 43 states and resulted in 1,313 products being recalled by the Food and Drug Administration. The outbreak has sickened at least 575 people and contributed to eight deaths.
These contaminated, peanut products can also be found in food banks, according to a story by MSNBC. Across the U.S., directors of food banks that provide food for the hungry say they're having to toss out protein-rich food donations just as a slumping economy has spiked demand for help by 20 percent to nearly 50 percent in some places.
The Bay Area Food Bank in Mobile, Ala. distributes 750,000 meals a month. In January, many of the donated foods turned up in a recall of peanut products linked to the national salmonella outbreak. According to the story, David W. Reaney, executive director of the food bank, said they’ve pulled at least 2,000 pounds but will likely pull an additional 20,000 pounds of donated food. The salmonella ever-growing recall has taxed volunteer resources, strained food inventories and planted new worries about emergency food provided to already vulnerable people. So far, none of the illnesses or deaths has been linked to food bank foods, said Lola Russell, spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The production practices of Peanut Corporation of America at the Blakely, Ga., plant, are now under criminal investigation. Products from at least 420 of the firm’s commercial customers dating to Jan. 1, 2007 have been added daily to a growing roster of potentially tainted foods.
The increased numbers in unemployment, decimated investments and home foreclosures have sent more people seeking help from food banks, said Ross Fraser, media relations manager for Feeding America, a nationwide network of 206 food distributors that supply some 63,000 pantries and soup kitchens.
The USDA has complete information on the 1,13 peanut products produced by Peanut Corporation of America since January that are recalled. These recalls include peanuts and peanut butter products: brownie mixes, cake and pie mixes, pet food, ice cream, donuts, crackers, pre-packaged meals, snack bars, snack mixes, and toppings. For a complete list of the recalled products go to http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm.
Lawmakers are now pushing for food safety reforms, according to a news broadcast by MSNBC. On February 4, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., introduced a bill to reorganize federal food safety enforcement and make it more accountable.
At least four major bills to reform the food safety system have been, or will soon be, introduced. They have major points in common, but differ in details. All would give the FDA authority to order recalls, which are now voluntary. Reformers also agree that food processing plants should be required to have a safety plan and document their compliance. And there is widespread agreement that standards for imported foods must be upgraded. There's also consensus that inspections should be carried out according to common requirements, but legislators differ on how frequently checks should be performed.
