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More and more, it seems that
recalled foods are not making their way back to processors and current disclosure measures are not adequately alerting consumers to the dangers lurking on their grocer's shelves. In more than one case highlighted by the
Chicago Tribune, consumers have fallen ill after consuming recalled food that remained far too long on store shelves, placing consumers at unnecessary risk for dangerous, often, deadly food borne pathogens.
In 2009, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was involved in 59 recalls, said the
Chicago Tribune. In all cases, the agency knew how much food was involved and how much was recovered; however, most - 56 recalls - did not tally up the complete amounts identified as problematic, said the
Tribune.
Last year, a recall announced by a processor in Denver for 460,000 pounds of ground beef only turned up 119,000 pounds, leaving over 300,000 pounds of potentially dangerous meat on the market or in consumers' kitchens, said the
Tribune. In that case, the pathogen was Salmonella and the beef was linked to an outbreak at the time. Later that year, another processor - this one in New York - announced a larger ground beef recall of 545,000 pounds linked to an outbreak of
E. coli. According to the USDA, said the
Tribune, only 795 pounds of the potentially tainted beef was ever recovered.
Comment: For more information about diet and genotypes, read this article on SoTT:
Should You Eat a Paleo-Diet for Health Like These Californians?