|
05-15-2009, 03:45 PM | #1 |
Avalon Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 698
|
Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore" Says Processed Food Industry
Quote The U.S. food industry has admitted that it has lost control over the quality and safety of the supply chain ingredients it uses in making processed foods. Since they don't want to become responsible for testing individual ingredients for contaminants, the industry is now seeking ways to make you, the consumer, responsible for foodborne illnesses so they can avoid liability. This paradigm shift is, of course, taking place quietly. Food Companies Are Placing the Onus for Safety on Consumers MICHAEL MOSS New York Times "Increasingly, the corporations that supply Americans with processed foods are unable to guarantee the safety of their ingredients. In this case, ConAgra could not pinpoint which of the more than 25 ingredients in its pies was carrying salmonella. Other companies do not even know who is supplying their ingredients, let alone if those suppliers are screening the items for microbes and other potential dangers, interviews and documents show." Yet the supply chain for ingredients in processed foods — from flavorings to flour to fruits and vegetables — is becoming more complex and global as the drive to keep food costs down intensifies. As a result, almost every element, not just red meat and poultry, is now a potential carrier of pathogens, government and industry officials concede. In addition to ConAgra, other food giants like Nestlé and the Blackstone Group, a New York firm that acquired the Swanson and Hungry-Man brands two years ago, concede that they cannot ensure the safety of items — from frozen vegetables to pizzas — and that they are shifting the burden to the consumer. General Mills, which recalled about five million frozen pizzas in 2007 after an E. coli outbreak, now advises consumers to avoid microwaves and cook only with conventional ovens. ConAgra has also added food safety instructions to its other frozen meals, including the Healthy Choice brand..." ...And the ingredient chain for frozen and other processed foods is poised to get more convoluted, industry insiders say. While the global market for ingredients is projected to reach $34 billion next year, the pressure to keep food prices down in a recession is forcing food companies to look for ways to cut costs. Ensuring the safety of ingredients has been further complicated as food companies subcontract processing work to save money: smaller companies prepare flavor mixes and dough that a big manufacturer then assembles... (more at [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/bu...UlfTNemOp4M+A] ) |
05-15-2009, 04:13 PM | #2 |
Avalon Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Maple Falls, WA, USA
Posts: 51
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
My daughter, who lives in downtown San Francisco, forwarded this article to me yesterday. I have been gently trying to nudge her and her brother's family to be just a little bit aware of all that is facing us these days, but they think their old mom is a bit off. But this is exactly why I have been digging out rock in my yard to double the size of my garden and trying to get some fruit trees and bushes planted. I have to heal all the damage my body has suffered all these years, and that is impossible without some REAL food. Both of their households are examples of so many where there is "no time" to prepare foods at home and from scratch. It breaks my heart to think of the effects on my two small grand children. These people are not living in poverty and are of high intelligence. This is yet another example of how deeply we as a culture have fallen into the hypnotic trap of distorted values, and concepts of what exactly makes up the good life."
|
05-15-2009, 04:41 PM | #3 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
What the hell???? When did they ever guarantee food safety???
|
05-15-2009, 10:57 PM | #4 |
Avalon Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 698
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
This is yet another example of how deeply we as a culture have fallen into the hypnotic trap of distorted values, and concepts of what exactly makes up the good life
This is a symptom of a collapsing society. I've always wondered when a society starts to crumble, why the people would let it happen.. Now looking at it from the inside, it becomes apparent...most of the people don't see it and think you are crazy or odd if you try to tell them. When did they ever guarantee food safety? Maybe the the processed food was never safe or healthy, but it was good marketing to give the perception that their food was good for you; now everything is getting so out of control that they don't want the liability, so have decided to make it clear to the public that they are responsible to check it. |
05-15-2009, 11:05 PM | #5 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
I never bought into the hype of "acceptable" levels of contamination in our food supply.
Plus, I ate the peanut butter and let me tell you it was no fun! Last edited by sleepingnomore; 05-15-2009 at 11:07 PM. |
05-15-2009, 11:11 PM | #6 |
Avalon Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Oregon Coast
Posts: 154
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
typical, they make un-healthy food even worse and it's our fault if we get sick or die.
|
05-15-2009, 11:43 PM | #7 |
Avalon Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: eating dessert in the desert of Arizona
Posts: 1,554
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
Food and manufacturers canning would fall under the State Inspectors office.
And, the city health inspectors office where the plant is located... In in Arizona Potatoes are grown here. picked, placed in rail cars and shipped to Idaho. Then they are shipped back to Casa Grande, Arizona... The state of Arizona inspectors and local health inspectors... It just ' Appears ' the Feds are inspecting cause of the FDA... If you have corrupt inspectors you have Sick food that makes Sick people. Where ever it is shipped... Remember, all those Lot numbers... scanners... Bar codes... It's all negative press... People get sick sublimul when they see press about bad possible food... It works... People get sick... Check it out for yourself... Tango |
05-16-2009, 03:07 AM | #8 | |
Avalon Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: OC, CA and next...
Posts: 1,289
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
Quote:
If there is anything I can do to help let me know, as I have been there too. |
|
05-16-2009, 08:53 AM | #9 |
Avalon Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 209
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
Its a bit of a viscious circle, most of my friends and family in the States "HAVE" to work more hours than people I know in Europe, when you dont have the time, weve all been forced into this fast paced life full of a million types of stresses and time restrictions, so we grab what we can (not me personally) to speed things up even more, and, and, and!!! I too have planted a garden, and try to buy only local food at my local market, but not everyone is sooo lucky in this concrete jungle we find ourselves in now days! I dont know too many folks State side who have the luxioury like me. So, I even grow veg inside my house, and try to show friends and loved ones, that it can be done! I also have to say, if you watch the video on that article page, by the time they actually got A HALF OF 1 POT PIE COOKED, after all that hastle to reach the Safe Temp, any Mom could have already finished cooking real food! Oh the irony!!!
|
05-18-2009, 06:21 PM | #10 | |
Avalon Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 152
|
Re: Food Industry say:"Can't Guarantee Food Safety Anymore"
Quote:
However, she told me that the marketing for packaged foods and infant formula began when she was in her early twenties - meant to project that 'modern' women should get these foods "out of convenience for her - to free up her time for other more important things." Thus, she fed us primarily canned, packaged, and boxed foods - yet she has remained healthier in terms of sicknesses than me, while she continues to microwave her pre-packaged food in boxes. In general, it feels like the public wants to remain in the dark about the fact that almost 75% of the foods in the supermarket contain GMOs. What people aren't aware of is the growing body of science showing that proteins from these foods are contributing to changing the DNA in our bodies - laying the groundwork for illnesses that we haven't even seen before. One thing I resent is having to buy organic foods at a ridiculously high price to remain relatively healthy and avoid poisons in foods, instead of having real food just plain be available. I don't resent eating organic, it just hits me in the pocketbook, and truth told, I can't always afford it. Dining out becomes another situation and another choice in itself, right? So now this food issue is affecting one of our basic and cherished entertainment and social choices. |
|
|
|