Barely a week goes by when there are not at least a couple of food recall notices issued by either the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) or by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It would seem that the more sophisticated and complex our food production facilities become, the greater is the risk of food recalls due to “contamination” with other foods, diseases or things which should not be there in the first place. The biggest recall reason is the chance that it could cause life-threatening problems for those with allergies or through exposure to disease.
Currently in Canada there are recalls issued for various foods which may (or may not) contain listeriosis or salmonella bacteria. These include Atlantic smoked salmon, jellied beef tongue (many, many makes) and chicken in sauce. One recalled item specifically notes that the problem was caused by “an infestation of rodents.” Just lovely!
A specific brand of boxed chocolates contains moulds. Frozen breakfast waffles are recalled because they are recalled in the country of manufacture. A brand of chicken nuggets is recalled due to containing “inedible plastic pieces” – a chopped up nitrate glove!! Oops!!
The FDA’s list of food recalls is naturally a lot longer as they produce a lot more food. Most notable is a large, Class 1 (the highest level) recall of milk issued by the processor as there is a possibility of the milk being contaminated with almond milk which could cause a deadly health issue to those with nut allergies. Apparently it doesn’t take much to cause a reaction.
Not far behind that is the recall of 135 ground beef products in Texas due to the possibility of e.coli contamination.
The American lists of reasons for recalls is a lot more general in nature than in Canada. Reasons include “misbranded and/or undeclared allergens”, “uninspected”, “listeria contamination” and “contains foreign materials.” Nothing specific.
As a producer, and like all other food producers in Canada, we have thick tomes of rules, regulations, hoops to jump through, “do’s and don’ts”, regular inspections, both scheduled and unscheduled, product testing every time it leaves the farm and on and on. As shippers of grass-fed milk, a sample is collected every month or two and tested to ensure we are feeding our milk herd as required (limited corn in the ration, no corn silage).
I have always assumed that the transporters, holding facilities and processing plants were held to the same standards as we are. After all, what is the point of sending out a Grade A product when it goes down hill from there?
I am also assuming that those who are responsible for the cause of the recalls bear the costs involved in retrieving and reimbursing all the recalled items. Also, the cost of safely and securely disposing of the food products. Possibly there is such a thing as a “recall insurance” but one would think after a couple of times one’s premium would go sky high so who would use it?
The more I delved into the cases of food recall, the more satisfied I became in our decision to be as self-sufficient as possible. At least we know how everything has been handled and processed.
Is it the fault of companies for not keeping on top of cleaning and contamination safeguards or of employees who don’t really care about the importance of cleanliness and cross contamination in the food industry?
Having “lock outs” on food preparation equipment, where every cleaning step must be taken for the equipment to allow it to operate, is not impossible. Irritating to the workers probably, but it would go a long way to increasing cleanliness and stopping contamination. The billions of dollars of food recalled and disposed of annually would be an immense savings.
As for rodent infestations, that is another matter. Someone must have noticed and ignored it.
Angela Dorie is an agricultural writer and a Jersey farmer near Cornwall.
