An unusually large number of recalls of contaminated food products in recent months has raised concerns among consumers, but a food industry insider says that it is part of living in a “processed world.”
In late July, over seven million pounds of Boar’s Head meat products were recalled over concerns about listeria contamination after dozens of people were sickened after eating the products. At least 59 people were hospitalized in 19 states, and ten people died. The outbreak was traced to a processing plant in Jarratt, Virginia, which has since been permanently closed.
Earlier in the year, recalls were issued for infant formula allegedly contaminated with Cronobacter sakazakii and Planters nut products that were thought to be contaminated with listeria.
On October 9, nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat poultry products manufactured by BrucePac in Durant, Oklahoma, were recalled due to concerns about listeria contamination. This recall affected hundreds of brands of products sold in restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery stores nationwide.
On October 18, TreeHouse Foods announced a voluntary recall of frozen waffle products sold under various brand names due to possible listeria contamination.
During the past week, alerts were issued by the CDC and FDA about an investigation into an E. coli outbreak in 10 states linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. At least 49 people reportedly fell ill with E. coli-related illnesses after consuming the burgers, and one person died.
Taylor Farms, one of McDonald’s suppliers, issued a voluntary recall of four fresh onion products for possible E. coli contamination. However, it is unclear if that was the source responsible for the McDonald’s outbreak.
Other recalls this month include Enoki King mushrooms and alfalfa sprouts for listeria contamination and Lone Star Dip by L&B for potential mold contamination.
“It is unusual to have this many outbreaks especially back to back,” said Sherif Mityas, CEO of Brix Holdings, a multi-brand franchising company specializing in food service chains. “It’s really a cleanliness issue. It’s something wasn’t handled correctly, something wasn’t cleansed correctly.”
“For a restaurant, the cost of labor to cut fries from a potato inside a restaurant is extreme. So if a restaurant can save money by getting a processed bag of fries, it saves the money — but that comes with risk and comes with complexity,” Mityas told CBS News.
“So it’s this balancing act that restaurants have to play, but it’s unfortunately not going to slow down cost issues, inflationary pressures. Right now, we are going to continue to live in a processed world,” Mityas added, per CBS.
Still, according to Mityas, consumers have a “better chance of being struck by lightning than getting E. coli from a restaurant. ”
Of course, many food contamination incidents originate at manufacturing and processing facilities, not just in restaurants.
A food quality control specialist explained to The Dallas Express that aging manufacturing equipment can play a role in food contamination, as residue can build up in places in the machinery that are difficult to clean. Although manufacturers have clean-in-place (CIP) systems set up to routinely clean the processing equipment, sometimes they may tweak the system to save money or downtime.
“For example, if the CIP is supposed to run for six hours, the supervisor may decide to decrease CIP time to four hours and compensate for it by increasing the water temperature and pressure,” the specialist said, who remained anonymous to speak candidly. “But that is not always effective and may cause food residue to become ‘baked on’ to the equipment.”
Wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen told CNN that consumers must be vigilant about hand washing when preparing food at home and ensure that meat and fish are cooked to the appropriate safe minimum temperature to kill any foodborne infections.
Wen advised never to use the same containers and utensils that touched raw meat on other products and always wash fresh produce under running water, even if it will be peeled.
