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Post by OLKoot on Aug 16, 2011 3:27:43 GMT 12.75
Tainted beef leads to grocery recalls APBy The Associated Press | AP – 14 hrs ago
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — At least three major grocery store chains have recalled some of their ground beef packages because they could be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., Publix Super Markets Inc. and Kroger Co. announced the recalls mainly in the southeastern U.S. and said they stem from problems at the National Beef Packaging Co. of Dodge City, Kan.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday that National Beef was recalling more than 60,000 pounds of beef after the Ohio Department of Agriculture found the bacteria during routine testing.
The recalls affect products sold mainly in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee, but the meat was sent to several distributors and could have been repackaged for consumers and sold nationwide.
The agriculture department says there have been no reports of illnesses. A spokesman for National Beef said the company has never had a problem with E. coli. It is checking processes and procedures in an effort to find the cause and prevent it from happening again, the spokesman said.
E. coli can be deadly and can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and other problems. The agriculture department cautioned people to cook ground beef to a temperature of at least 160 degrees. The temperature should be checked with a food thermometer that measures internal temperature, the agency said.
The meat also was distributed to meat packing companies in Detroit and Indianapolis and to Wal-Mart operations in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Wyoming, National Beef said.
At Kroger, the nation's largest traditional grocery store chain, the recalled products include ground chuck, ground beef patties, and meatballs and meat loaf made in the stores. Packages have "sell by" dates of July 29 through Aug. 12. At Publix, the products include meatballs, meat loaf, ground chuck patties, stuffed peppers, seasoned salisbury steak and others with "sell by" dates of July 25 through Aug. 12. Winn-Dixie products include ground chuck and patties with "sell-by" label dates from July 31 to Aug. 12.
The companies said people should return the beef to their stores for a full refund.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Aug 16, 2011 4:14:21 GMT 12.75
If folks would just cook their food done, they wouldn't have this issue!!! Now, the groceries, meat packers, and ranchers, all catch a bunch of hell and lose business and money because some nitwit doesn't know how to cook!!! I wonder at times if it isn't a huge conspiracy to discredit American farmers/ranchers by vegetarians or some whacko nutjobs that just want to hurt our food production industry so that they can raise prices and make it even more expensive for a comman man or woman to go to the grocery store... Cook yer damn food! Nuff said!!!
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Post by OLKoot on Aug 16, 2011 6:52:42 GMT 12.75
I agree, some things happening...I check the papers every week before we go shopping and all I see is one or two expensive cuts of beef while the rest is made up of chicken and pork....Beef prices are really out of control....Whats amazing is that when I was a kid, the butcher would give you some skirt steak or flank steak for nothing....Today for those cuts, the cost is compatible to sirloin.....Maybe a dollar or so different ....
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Post by Toby Benoit on Aug 16, 2011 12:37:46 GMT 12.75
Yep, the crowd pushing for irradiation of our meat is really pushing the e-coli threat crap. All it does is keep driving up the prices. Junky ass-scrub cattle are going for $1.38 on the hoof right now and you can't touch six month old beef right now. Finishers are going as high as $2.00 per pound on the hoof. And with this record drought in the Southwest, beef producers are losing cattle at an alarming rate. lot of cattlemen that are fourth and fifth generation are hanging it up and selling out. Others are getting rid of the cattle and stocking deer and exotics for hunters... Beef prices are only going to get worse and worse and now this..all because some dombass don't know how to cook his own food...
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Post by Paws on Aug 16, 2011 12:50:06 GMT 12.75
It is difficult to say what the source, motivation, intentions are buddy. With the amount of information available and the ease of acquisition it is difficult for me to believe that someone is capable of accidental poisoning/infection and still sharp enough to go public. Just for the heck of it, lets post cooking temperature minimums and keep them visible. Koot, if you would do the honors please and Toby would you work up a News Fader after Koot has the temperatures posted here? Thanks boys and girls. If you would loike to start a food safety thread we can cover all the refrigeration, freezing/thawing, preservation techniques, etc. Volunteer to start that out?
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Post by OLKoot on Aug 16, 2011 13:05:01 GMT 12.75
I think by basically keeping a chart of proper heating temps would suffice...This crap about pink pork for example and the "POOH POOH CHEFS" that insist it okay is just another bunch of B.S , and the government falls for it because someones getting paid off......We never saw such a huge amount of e coli when I was a kid, because proper temps were used and cleanliness was taught in this country....Besides, I feel its because this country has allowed a major influx of illegals to work and who don't have the education as to how to stay clean enough to handle perishables plus food inspectors don't do the job either.... I'll definitely post proper temps from now on and I'll add a little segment to each post about safety,storage and refrigeration....
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Post by Paws on Aug 16, 2011 13:07:15 GMT 12.75
Good Start! I think maybe this warrants a new category. You guys want to add a Food Safety and Health Category to the list and set up a permenent temp chart?
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Post by Toby Benoit on Aug 16, 2011 14:47:44 GMT 12.75
Just a few weeks ago, Koot might reember, we had a conversation wth the girls in our chat group on FB about salmonella. There was a ground turkey recall because someone was "poisoned" with salmonella. And people were shocked that poultry coul be "contaminated" with salmonella.
Duh!!! Used to be EVERYONE knew that poultry HAD to be cooked done. You can go to any grocery store in America, swab the chicken counter and find salmonella...DUH....people are surprised by this???
I guarantee it was because some short haired hippy broad was grilling herself a turkey burger and decided to serve it up medium-rare... Thus necessitating thousands of pounds of turkey meat being discarded and hundreds of thousands of dollars being wasted by our food handlers/providers. Stupid!
Even worse, the turkey meat couldn't even be supplied to pet food companies...it all was gathered and incinerated... Where's the common sense in that???
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Post by OLKoot on Aug 16, 2011 14:56:49 GMT 12.75
I started a new forum about Keeping Food Safe...check it out, there will be more added , and feel free to give me some input.....
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Post by Two Tales on Aug 16, 2011 16:04:40 GMT 12.75
I don't blame the inspectors, nor the food producers, nor the processors!! I blame the education system...40 years ago all girls went to home economics class and the boys learned stuff in FFA 4 H and the the like..some even went to 1 semester of HE as a manditory class..(I didn't but I sure learned about cooking from folks that could) we also ate a lot more locally grown/prepared/processed meats and veggies...mega marts were in the future...the mom and pop run stores were what we had..growing up I don't ever remember anyone getting sick from e-coli or salmonella...we ate our beef med to rare (even Ground) pork was not over cooked and was often light pink in the center 145*F)...tuekeys chickens ducks and geese were cooked until the juice was clear...that's just about 160-165 *F Toby's right it's the moronsnd the uneducated out there that are clueless or haven't taken the time to ask that have stoked this problem from the get go...it's always somebody else's fault...
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Post by OLKoot on Aug 16, 2011 16:38:56 GMT 12.75
TT, I agree, but also disagree in part....When you say 40 years ago, I can say 50 and your right....Home EC was a super star program, okay (not to sound feminist) for woman along with stenography....We're talking generations here and that's where I disagree...I think two generations have passed and the newer ones have not been educated in the safe cooking and preservation of foods...My mother who would have been 96 today,would know the how to's while my father would be 103 and I know he knew how to cook... I agree,not all inspectors are bad, but the ones that get over are ruining it for this country....We do hear the reports, while immigration still can't get it straight and allow illegals in to take jobs putting them close to our food sources...Because of this and the standards we have set up in this country for cleanliness is an unknown factor amongst most of these illegals....Not only that, look at how much crap China and other foreign countries are importing to this country also...I remember back in the late 60's and early 70's , the meat packer unions were broken by illegals in Colorado...All of a sudden what ever media there was , started picking up on Ecoli and such, and now the media jumps all over it and puts it out to the thousands of TV and radio stations which we didn't have back then, but back then, we could cook safely and that little girl would not be making a rare turkey burger after all because most were taught back then.....And thats IMHO....
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Post by brittonfaith on Aug 16, 2011 18:54:34 GMT 12.75
YES TOBY!!!!! Wish we had a "Like" button on here. I'd click it a thousand times. The two main issues that cause these outbreaks are CLEANLINESS (sometimes at the packers, but mostly in the consumer's home), and NOT KNOWING HOW TO COOK PROPERLY. If people would stop watching that crazy Food Network or any of the other cooking shows that show that a still-mooing roast or steak is chic and healthy to serve, we just might nip the problem in the bud!!
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Post by OLKoot on Aug 17, 2011 3:03:43 GMT 12.75
Faith, like,like,like,like,like!!!! Last night I watched Anthony Bourdain coming from Spain and watched him eat some raw pork belly....The pork belly had certain embellishments so it was considered cooked? ? I don't believe that crap, but with all the booze he put down, it must have pickled it anyway!!! LOL....I never heard Emiril say "Pink Pork Rules!!"
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Post by brittonfaith on Aug 17, 2011 11:17:59 GMT 12.75
I don't believe that crap, but with all the booze he put down, it must have pickled it anyway!!! LOL....I never heard Emiril say "Pink Pork Rules!!" But you do have a very good point there Koot. When you get to looking at authentic old-time ethnic cooking (EXCLUDING American cooking), there were reasons for certain food combinations, food/beverage combinations in dishes, and order/amount of consumption. Whether it is to make a dish more palatable, or a blending of ingredient enzymes to kill bacteria, or even the methods of preparation, most of those ancient recipes were developed with purpose in mind.
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Post by Paws on Aug 17, 2011 12:22:33 GMT 12.75
I don't believe that crap, but with all the booze he put down, it must have pickled it anyway!!! LOL....I never heard Emiril say "Pink Pork Rules!!" But you do have a very good point there Koot. When you get to looking at authentic old-time ethnic cooking (EXCLUDING American cooking), there were reasons for certain food combinations, food/beverage combinations in dishes, and order/amount of consumption. Whether it is to make a dish more palatable, or a blending of ingredient enzymes to kill bacteria, or even the methods of preparation, most of those ancient recipes were developed with purpose in mind. Balderdash! The fact that the entire Human race wasn't killed off by salmonella is either pure luck or the grace of God. We, and that includes most of Europe and Asia knew nothing about bacteria until the mid 1800s. We did know that if we treated foods in a particular manner that they wouldn't rot but had no idea why. Cookery is virtually an offshoot of Alchemy which includes sorcery and prestidigitation!
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Post by OLKoot on Aug 17, 2011 12:33:48 GMT 12.75
I don't believe that crap, but with all the booze he put down, it must have pickled it anyway!!! LOL....I never heard Emiril say "Pink Pork Rules!!" But you do have a very good point there Koot. When you get to looking at authentic old-time ethnic cooking (EXCLUDING American cooking), there were reasons for certain food combinations, food/beverage combinations in dishes, and order/amount of consumption. Whether it is to make a dish more palatable, or a blending of ingredient enzymes to kill bacteria, or even the methods of preparation, most of those ancient recipes were developed with purpose in mind. Actually I know Old Tonys nothing more than a NYC alcoholic....He's probably pickled a good old "T" Bone steak now and then when he eats....LOL I think the only ones who won in the mix are people fro m the Far East....They'll eat crap on their food, but who cares, they procreate like them pigs...No way in hell they disappear off this earth.....
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Post by brittonfaith on Aug 17, 2011 17:05:03 GMT 12.75
But you do have a very good point there Koot. When you get to looking at authentic old-time ethnic cooking (EXCLUDING American cooking), there were reasons for certain food combinations, food/beverage combinations in dishes, and order/amount of consumption. Whether it is to make a dish more palatable, or a blending of ingredient enzymes to kill bacteria, or even the methods of preparation, most of those ancient recipes were developed with purpose in mind. Balderdash! The fact that the entire Human race wasn't killed off by salmonella is either pure luck or the grace of God. We, and that includes most of Europe and Asia knew nothing about bacteria until the mid 1800s. We did know that if we treated foods in a particular manner that they wouldn't rot but had no idea why. Cookery is virtually an offshoot of Alchemy which includes sorcery and prestidigitation! You hit the nail on the head. I wasn't saying they knew any "science" to the matter. Just that it worked for them. Unfortunately, a lot of what they knew and how they did it has either not been handed down to us or has since deemed not do-able by modern science. Kinda like the pyramids. Modern civilizations can build a structure that stands a half-mile tall and withstand hurricane force winds, but are yet to figure out how to cut, move and stack big stone blocks to build a pyramid like the Egyptians or Aztecs. Sometimes the simplest things are often the most hard to understand. But you already knew this since you and Barney Rubble spent so much time eating T-rex on a stick.
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Post by Snake Eyes on Aug 18, 2011 2:17:25 GMT 12.75
Friends,I guess I have just been lucky.I am 66 years old and have eaten raw hamburger and beef as long as I can remember. Many years ago my mother would make meatloaf and always made enough for a raw sandwich for my dad,brother and myself. To this day I still eat raw hamburger sammis with onion,salt & lots of pepper. My steaks as rare as I can get them and my pork not past medium.Now if you want to talk about something I am very,very leary about it is chicken.It has to be falling off the bone cooked.If I see a red vein or blood it's history. I few years ago I ordered around $60 worth of chicken from Popeyes for a get together.First leg I pulled apart had an uncooked red vein in it. I Thur all of it in the trash and ordered pizza. I called Pop eyes and they did offer to make it right.I said no thank you,but you can count on no orders from this get together again. A few days later some PR person from Pop eyes called to try and resolve the problem. She ask,"What can we do to satisfy you". I told her to fry the chicken until its done. She ask,"And you would order again from Pop eyes?" I replied never!!!! Around 10/12 days later I received $60 worth of coupons for free chicken.I mailed them back,with a note, NO THANKS. All true!
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Post by OLKoot on Aug 18, 2011 4:41:14 GMT 12.75
Can't go that route with my beef, Snake....I know in some circles that's a common way to eat food....Personally, I've only seen folks from European stock , do that.....The combination of onions along with S&P is supposed to be great...I will go medium/medium rare with steak,but that's about it....Lamb, pork and chicken must be cooked through and through....
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Post by Paws on Aug 18, 2011 7:17:44 GMT 12.75
Mom was a raw burger lover and would have it the same way as Snake. Of course in her case I think it had more to do with her inability to cook.
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