Small egg farms across the U.S. report selling out as recall grows
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comEgg recall drives worried customers to farmers markets
Seeded on Mon Aug 23, 2010 3:31 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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Know what you're buying. Good post about reading egg carton labeling.
Cracking the Code
http://gigabiting.com/?p=863
I just checked my eggs this morning and they look fine..
We are all repeatedly told ad nauseam that only China produces toxic goods. Now this piece of news is refreshing. This shows that every country has had problems with their food production and for that matter any kind of goods, period. Welcome to the real world.
*To better quantify the impact of foodborne diseases on health in the United States, we compiled and analyzed information from multiple surveillance systems and other sources. We estimate that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths. Three pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, are responsible for 1,500 deaths each year, more than 75% of those caused by known pathogens, while unknown agents account for the remaining 62 million illnesses, 265,000 hospitalizations, and 3,200 deaths. Overall, foodborne diseases appear to cause more illnesses but fewer deaths than previously estimated.
*the egg problem has the potential to affect or otherwise sicken more people than the gulf spill.
take them off of the market before anyone else gets sick.
create a 6 month moratorium and launch a complete investigation to find out the cause and verify a remedy.
*how much money are these politicians getting paid by the egg producers to look the other way.
*illegal invader workforce
*not able to produce a clean useable product
*ignoring rules and regulations
does the FDA even monitor these egg production facilities.
**do they have rules and regulations or are they just operating "willy nilly" and doing pretty much whatever they want.
if forcing these egg producers to put a product on the shelf that is free of illness causing bacteria is going to cost an extra .50 cents a dozen then i'm all for it.
as sad as it was only 11 people died in the oil spill.
every year 1500 people in the US die from Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma.
we didn't have these problems when Bush was in office.
this is exactly what happens when government takes over our lives. good luck all and may God protect us from this socialist/tyrant government.
honest jo, are you serious? you mean people were not dying from salmonella when Bush was a president? and there was any less government intrusion into our lives then? dude... what have you been smoking? Bush expanded federal government like no other president in recent history... all in the name of making an average Joe safer. And the same con game continues now.
I don't necessarily always buy organic eggs, but the one thing I insist on is that they bear the label "Certified Humane." I'm confident that humane practices, as opposed to warehousing hens in criminally crowded and stacked cages, is a major key to combating uncleanliness. So, when I first heard the story, I didn't worry for a moment about what was in our refrigerator. And BTW. here in Maine we are very well aware of Jack DeCoster and his sordid history. How in the world is he still allowed to be in business?
Is "no cage" label the same? I should check the ones I got today, chose the organic ones over the big business ones.
American needs to start eating foods from small farms rather than corporates.
I've seen cage-free eggs that didn't have the certified organic seal, so there is a difference.
I buy my eggs from a local farmers market. They show pictures of their hens and hen houses. Their chickens run around inside fenced in runs. It's not a ton of space but it's some room. They have some fancy blue egg layers, but the eggs taste the same whether brown or blue. $4/dozen is the going rate. I guess the good news is you probably won't die after eating them.
Their free range, grass fed (no grain) ground beef makes the best hamburgers I've ever tasted by a long shot. It's also good in everything else that ground beef goes in, but burgers really showcase the flavor, especially with a thick slice of organic white cheddar cheese and some fresh cut jalapenos. It's so good that when you bite into it your brain tries to decode how tremendously satisfying the flavor is, and then the jalapenos kick you. OK, now I'm hungry.
Ever since I saw the video of healthy chicks being thrown into a meat grinder, I have gotten my eggs directly from a farmer. I go to the farm, I see the healthy happy chickens and roosters running around. I know the chickens' names (Goldie is my favorite.).
I will never buy "sweatshop" eggs again.
This proves that the too big to fail mega egg producers cannot better ensure safe products than the smaller farms. The recent news reports that there are only a few large farms that produce the majority of the eggs. I think we heard this scenario before with another industry and what happened when that industry failed. They are saying they should remain large because only they can spend the necessary money for food safety. They are saying that smaller farms cannot afford food safety. I guess all the eggs consumed since the beginning of this country on farms before these mega farms contained salmonella.
Allowing the public on a chicken farm is a very bad idea, that farmer has no concern for the safety of his customers. Diseases are spread that way.
I'd stay far away from a farm that let the general public near their chickens. Disease in chickens is spread far to easily.
Ed,
I am not the "general public". I am a customer and a client. If a farmer does not allow me to see and examine his livestock, fields and produce, he has something to hide and I'm not buying anything from him.
I agree Ed. If the farmer doesnt allow you to view the farms that what is he hiding. I see the farms where all of my meat, eggs and milk come from. They are small rural farms where the animals are able to run free and eat and graze like they should.
These animals produce the best tasting meat, eggs and milk. All without hormones, antibotics and chemical free. I used to buy store bought milk and always got sick. Dr's told me I was lacose intollerate. Turns out Im not since a can drink "raw milk" that has never been pasterized. Guess thats the govenment for you dictating to us whats good and bad for us.
I believe that Ed is referring to BIOSECURITY. Any intelligent farmer isn't going to allow just anyone to walk through his farm with no hygiene or proper security measures. Just as hospitals, day care for kids ( flu-bug anyone???), and numerous other types of facilities implement proper biosecurity. Wash your hands, cough into your inner elbow etc.etc...come on folks, we all know how disease is spread.
Ray T is right on the money. Various special forces units are taught to survive by eating from lion kills, cougar kills etc.....it may not be very tasty, but it is perfectly safe as long as it is THOROUGHLY COOKED.
Hi Folks,
I have a problem with the THOROUGHLY COOKED reassurance. Salmonella tainted eggs should be considered a hazardous material with a huge potential for cross contamination. You can contaminate other foods while storing the uncooked eggs in your refrigerator. Uncooked eggs can also contaminate food preparation surfaces. After handling uncooked eggs you can contaminate plates, cups, glasses, table ware, and washcloths - and then yourself and your family.
No, thorough cooking is not enough protection. Salmonella tainted eggs are a danger- period.
DLMiller, Yeah who wants to eat fully cook salmonella (fecal material)?
In Missouri the average doz. is running 1.50 to 2.00 for backyard eggs.
Have always bought the brown free range organic eggs ...never have had a bad egg! Must be the recycled biodegradable paper carton that keeps them fresh...they can breath.
Since the micro organisms live on the shell, they can be left in the cartons. Anytime you 're-use' a carton you may spread the micro organisms. An egg is good for 80 days if kept at proper temperature. If you aren't sure if an egg is good, float it in cold water, a egg that sinks is probably fine but throw out an egg that floats.
A hen with a red ear lobe will lay a brown egg. A hen with a white ear lobe will lay a white egg. The nutrition of the egg is dependant upon the hen's nutrition and her age. The older a hen gets the less nutrition goes into the egg.
It doesn't matter where you buy the eggs so much as how you prepare them. Back yard eggs can be very dangerous as can a misrun egg factory, always dust off the shell and cook well.
Back yard eggs will never be as dangerous as egg factories. If back yard chickens pass bad eggs they will not get over 1000 people sick.
Is Michael R. Taylor, the former Vice President for Public Policy at Monsanto who returned through Washington's revolving doors to the FDA, still advising FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg on food safety? If so, I'd say that's a big part of the problem.
IMHO, Monsanto cares about food safety like ants care about taxes - they don't!
With Monsanto - a chemical company who are the makers of Agent Orange, DDT and RoundUp - now genetically modifying our food (70% of US corn harvest and 50% of US soya harvest is genetically modified), salmonella tainted eggs is the least of our worries. At least we know not to eat eggs...
Not so with GMOs (genetically modified organisms), or, as I call them - FrankenFood. The FDA, which is comprised of a bunch of ex-Monsanto executives and lawyers, decided that no outside testing of GMOs was necessary because Monsanto did their own testing (talk about the fox guarding the henhouse!), and the FDA also decided that labeling of GMOs was also unnecessary.
The result? We're eating "food" created by a chemical company, and we're not even told about it.
Watch "The World According To Monsanto", if you can stomach it.
And why are eggs being recalled and not chicken in general? Chicken meat is sold everyday that is contaminated with salmonella, yet no one seems too bent out of shape over that. No recalls, alarms, alerts or labeling when it comes to salmonella in chicken meat, why so for eggs?
Cook the eggs - no salmonella. Cook the chicken - no salmonella.
What gives? Something is rotten in Denmark - and it's not eggs!
http://www.naturalnews.com/029539_salmonella_eggs.html
Exactly correct.
http://www.disinfo.com/2010/01/how-to-spot-a-gmo-genetically-modified-organism-in-the-grocery-store/
The shade face is meant to be *8 ) lol. The author didn't put a space so ended up as a smiley.
Good info at that URL, M! I found a URL to a PDF of produce PLU codes in the comments section that is very informative:
http://www.plucodes.com/docs/IFPS-plu_codes_users_guide.pdf
Good link, gives a lot of information about the reasoning for them and the rules regarding them :) Page 17 had these two questions.
Q How is organically grown produce coded on a PLU label?
A The number 9 is added to the front of the regular four digit PLU code. (e.g. an organically grown
banana would be 94011.)
Q How is genetically engineered produce coded on a PLU label?
A The number 8 is added in front of the regular four digit PLU code. (e.g. a genetically engineered
vine ripe tomato would be 84805.)
I only buy organic, free range eggs, poultry, and meat. Besides tasting better, they are healthier. We are not wealthy. We just decided to eat less of higher quality food. With the obesity epidemic in the US, Americans can get a double benefit from eating less but higher quality food. If you are presently overweight, you can lose weight this way, and not increase your food budget. We did. Agree that still important to clean and cook well to avoid illness, even if organic.
I heard of this better tasting argument or organic vs. non-organic on a Penn and Teller episode where they put two banannas to a taste test. They told the participants on was organic and the other wasn't. They always chose the one that was labeled organic as better tasting. Trouble was NEITHER was organic. It's all psychological.
@Tracy1973: So, you are using an experiment using two NON-ORGANIC bananas to prove that ORGANIC bananas don't taste any better than non-organic? Shouldn't you at least cite an experiment where organic was actually used rather than one where they were playing psychological tricks and not even using an organic product?
Your statement makes no sense.
Actually, her statement is very on point. Would you be happier if BOTH banannas were organic.... and the 'supposed' organic one won? Would you be happier if one was organic, one was not, and people were told the organic one was the one that was not? What if they all picked the non-organic one as tasting better because they thought it was the organic one? I'm guessing you would complain to high heaven about how they lied to the 'testers'. Her point is that the inherent bias in people causes them to 'make a winner out of the one they want to be a winner' and that you can not trust studies that are less than double blind.
I live in a small Iowa farm. When I was younger, we rented a place and all we ate was store bought food. Now I live on a small farm where we grow our own beef, chickens (for both meat and eggs), pigs, and a vegetable garden. We can as much of our produce as we are able, between school, work and other responsibilities. If you don't believe there is a taste difference between farm-fresh, organic food and food purchased in the grocery store that has traveled who knows how far and is who knows how old and was raised with who knows what pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, antibiotics, etc than you have never tasted the homemade. It has everything to do with being fresher, because without the different chemicals, they don't last as long. And everything with it being grown naturally.
Of course, I don't buy the organic movement as far as buying anything with the 'organic' label. There should much more stringent guidelines and requirements for organic farmers
The problem is, producers commonly cheat on organic products. They get more money, and there is little or no supervision. You do not know what you are getting.
Growing your own is the safest way, buying from a farmer is the 2nd safest way, as long as they do not allow the general public to come on their farm.
Looks like another poor judgement recall. Back on the farm we got eggs straight out of chicken's rear end (as in: occasional brown spots) and we never got sick. Now you need an army of food inpectors and lawyers because people have no common sense...
Max
We need regulations and food inspectors because corporate farmers are willing to cut corners in order to maximize profit. The head of the egg farm that produced the recalled eggs has a long history of violations and fines for tainted food and animal cruelty. Common sense would dictate the necessity for inspectors and regulations. And I hope those who became sick from the tainted eggs do get lawyers and sue this vulture.
This is the problem when big business gets too big. There isnt enough choice or competition. They control the distribution system and the market. They will and have killed most of their competition. When there is a problem, everyone is affected. You have little choice. The old systems are gone. Big companies buying out their competition is not a good thing. We need the competition. Think of all the producers that would like to sell their product...they are squeezed out unless they sign up to the dictates of big business monopoly.
Mostly small producers are squeezed out by expensive gov't regulations. If I run enough hens to make money selling eggs then the gov't adds expenses that would close me down. If a consumer comes to me, then I can sell them eggs, but if I go out to sell then gov't regulations close me down. Animal ID will put every small producer out of business. Any time we pass food regulation laws we punish the small producer.
The size of an operation has nothing to do with salmonella contamination. Nearly every egg that comes out of the chickens but has the possibility of being contaminated. You need to cook the eggs. Did you hear Cook THE EGGS. Can you hear me now?
Putting a raw egg in beer is ok, other than that listen to Ray T.
My tummy hurts! Not. I heard that if we cook them all the way through we'll be o.k. goldie layed a golden egg.
Good point...why couldnt they be sold to processors who are required to cook them? Why woulnt that include pet food products?? Why would they just have to be destroyed? I am sure that many were in warehouses and not all on the shelf in stores.
I was amazed when the similar situation happened with tomatoes. You would have thought that the canneries would have bought up the tomatoes and have had an abundance of inexpensive canned tomatoes on hand....but...They did not. Tomatoes were scarce and expensive and even canned tomatoes went sky high in price(and that price has never come down).
Reading around on this, it seems there are more than one gov't agency that has their hands in this. Do you think having two or more agency's being responsible for something is an indication of a government that is to big.
I don't have a problem with inspections, I do have a problem when multiple governmental agency's or multiple sub-committees in congress are looking into the same thing.
Funny thing about that, we had our cows tested free of TB and Brucellosis, drank raw unpasteurized milk, fed the overflow to the chickens mixed with grain mash and ate the eggs. Even ended up stepping in plenty of cow pats barefoot. There were plenty of other things to worry about making you sick like Ptomaine and Botulin, but Salmonella and E. Coli weren't on that radar.
They were on the radar you just didn't look. My grandparents over fifty years ago knew you needed to cook eggs to keep from getting sick. Your panicking and misinformed.
Not really, funny how our family had a generations old taboo against eating raw eggs.
Watch the documentary, Food Inc. Beef, Spinach, Eggs,... What will be recalled next? This represents the effects of industrialization of our agricultural sector.
National Animal Identification System Look another crisis that we can take advantage of! Just look at NAIS, and you can see just why someone had to cook up this crisis! we will have them begging to impliment this now! every chicken micro chiped and a laser bar code machine on it,s adz! Big biz will get a break and the small farmer will get screwed.
I'm a big supporter of small farmers and locally-raised products, to keep the preservatives and Chemo- Agriculture tampering to a minimum. Food just tastes better when it's fresh. Small farmers have a vested interested in turning out quality products. Yeah, it's often costlier, but we all eat too much anyway, and most of the stuff in the supermarket is basically styrofoam with fake flavoring.
So do large co op farms you dillweed.
just watched kevin costner some thing about voting ..but anyway that show sure resembles your comments ...he works in a egg plant and got fired , check it out
All I can say is watch FOOD INC. the movie,, it niether liberal or conservative.. It just shows how food is produced today in America. It will make you think twice before you buy what you buy
Food Inc was a nightmare. I got soo sick after watching it. I already started going to the farmers markets to get meat, fruit and veggies including eggs. Check out raw milk as well. (rawmilk.com) Unpasterized and hormone free milk. Ive felt better then I have in years and once again our government is trying to stop that as well.
Do you know whats in your meat and milk products?
Hey, the sheeple does think for themselves sometimes! This is news to me.
Really its dirty industrial farming practices that cause food-borne illnesses such as salmonella, not organic farms.
If you cook the eggs to 140 degrees the Salmonella is destroyed. Why doesn't the news tell us that?
Because the news media would rather sensational the problem than solve the problem.
I long ago quit buying anything from the grocery that I could get directly. One thing I have not seen addressed in this debaucle is what about the bakeries the chicken farmer sells to? How does anyone know that the baked goods they are buying are safe to eat if they are baked with tainted eggs? How does anyone trace those goods?
Fleurx is correct it is industrial farming. They push push to get more produced faster and faster. We not only buy our eggs locally but a lot of meat comes from local farms as well. I do not want to buy erradiated meat which is what you get at the market!
You need a new brain frances. Baked products are cooked and don't have any live bacteria. That is why you cook things. Get a grip and quit letting the fanatics and media run your life.
Ray...you love the insult...dont you
OK! Eggs have had this warning for for 15 years! They reminded us 10 years ago, 6 years ago and 4 years ago. Yet people insist on eating them part raw. If you cook the eggs well and wash your hands after handling the shells, (even putting them in your egg holder) you will not become ill. Fresh farm chicks purchased to be grown to adults to lay also have the virus. ALL of them. Just perhaps not to the degree of the commercial super egg farms. I love over easy eggs and soft boiled. Haven't seen one for over 12 years as I listened to the CDC and do not eat them except COOKED, well cooked. Eat them every day of my life. And trust me if anyone was going to get ill from them it would be me! Not just my luck, but I react to most everything you can think of. Of the past warning, spinach, tomatoes, peppers etc. eggs are the easiest to bypass illness. Not that I agree with the manner in which commercial anything is grown, it is just preventable and the massive recall is totally uncalled for. Just another way to make eggs scarce and drive up the price, where ever you buy them. And for all the protection the gov may give you, it will still totally screw the small farmer every time. Cook well and wash your hands!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right on Amazed by idiots. Your not fooled by the insanity of the government and the media and the enviornmental organic nuts.
Ray
Food, Inc., should be on your must-see list.
It makes me laugh that people think Organic is always the answer. In a lot of cases these days, yes there is a benefit to buying organic. If you can afford to buy it, then more power to you. However, organic farming alone will never be able to support our growing population. Not to mention the vast majority cannot afford to pay the prices that go along with most organic food. In the recent case of the infected eggs, organic offers no better solution over mass producing egg farms.
"In fact, Salmonella affects chicken of every quality, and there is no valid scientific evidence that shows that poultry products labeled "Kosher," "free-range," "organic," or "natural" have more or less of the bacteria, according to FSIS."
Hear hear c1fowler finally someone that isn't insane your completely right. I defy any of the organic nuts to eat raw eggs for awhile and not get sick.
Why not just avoid eggs all together? Eggs are not a necessary part of the diet. They just add lots of fat and cholesterol to your meals. Baking without eggs is easy and healthy, and you never have to worry about getting salmonella from eating the raw batter or dough.
Yet I agree that if a consumer eats eggs, the best ones to buy are truly free-range eggs from the farmers market. I say "truly" because some companies put the "free-range" label on egg cartons even though the hens, while not kept in cages like on factory farms, were kept inside most of their lives. Chickens that spend time outdoors and are kept in humane conditions are not going to be as stressed, and therefore will not be as likely to spread harmful diseases. Raising chickens and other animals in a free-range manner is not only more humane, but also better for the environment. Factory farms create tons of manure, which often is not properly managed and ends up in our waterways. Consumers everywhere should be more concerned about the way our foods, especially animal products, are produced and start changing their shopping patterns. Eating fewer, or no, animal products is a good place to start, and shopping at farmers markets is also important.
Why not just cook the eggs? Insanity and fear have once again prevailed over common sense. Cook the stupid eggs and you won't get sick. Geeze people get a grip and quit being dillweeds.
The nutrition in eggs is second only to mother's milk. No other food can match that.
Andy - if your goal is to be a mouth-piece for the vegan society, then just say so. Grow a pair and step out from behind the curtain and just say it. If that's not your goal, and you are simply very misinformed.... then stop posting about things you know nothing about. Scientific studies have shown that there is little difference between ALL producers of eggs - with the slight advantage going to the mega producers. Your opinion notwithstanding, cook the friggin egg no matter where you bought it. Salmonella comes from the feed fed to the chickens - the contamination most likely coming from rodents. Rats and mice are everywhere - small farms and large.
I was under the impression that cooking eggs completely destroyed the salmonella....Living in Thailand and Italy, I washed all the fruit and vegetables in dilute chlorox water and cooked all meat and fish thoroughly....as the local govt offficials recommended...no one, including our children ever got sick...was it luck or safe food handling and preparation???? I see people eat food from the market without even rinsing it....not me, not ever!!!
You are right, cooking completely will destroy the salmonella.
Hi Folks,
I have a problem with the THOROUGHLY COOKED reassurance. Salmonella tainted eggs should be considered a hazardous material with a huge potential for cross contamination. You can contaminate other foods while storing the uncooked eggs in your refrigerator. Uncooked eggs can also contaminate food preparation surfaces. After handling uncooked eggs you can contaminate plates, cups, glasses, table ware, and washcloths - and then yourself and your family.
No, thorough cooking is not enough protection. Salmonella tainted eggs are a danger- period.