Recalls prove organic items not always healthy

Recalls have hit the food industry hard over the past several months. Today, the United States Department of Agriculture recalled 143-million pounds of beef from a slaughter house where workers are accused of mistreating animals.

If you think organic foods are free from the recalls, you hopefully have no packages reading “Organic Sesame Seeds Natural-Unhulled” in your pantry. Nurti-Foods, Inc., of Royal Oak, Mich., recalled the half-pound packages of sesame seeds because of possible salmonella contamination.

The possibly tainted products were likely sold at Nutri-Foods locations. Luckily, there are none in Tucson so most should be free from the most recent recall rocking the organic world.

In late January, Shiloh Farms, of New Holland, Pa., also issued a recall on Shiloh Farms Organic Unhulled Sesame Seeds, 12-oz., because it may be contaminated with salmonella.

My Organic Baby, Inc. also recalled some baby food last month because some products were believed to be rancid. They “only disclosed the fact after receiving a report that a baby had become ill after eating the food,” Canada’s The Globe and Mail reported.

The recalled products are Step A Organic Barley Baby Cereal, Step A Organic Brown Rice Baby Cereal, Step A Organic Oatmeal Baby Cereal and Step B Multigrain Baby Cereal with the "best by" dates of April or June 2008, the newspaper also reported.

New Era Canning Company of New Era, Mich., is recalling all cans of vegetable products because they could contain clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism.

The product recalls are no surprise to anyone who followed the news last year. Included among the many recalled items were:

• Earth’s Best recalled breakfast products because of botulism
  

• Organic Pastures Dairy Company's unpasteurized cream labeled as "ORGANIC PASTURES Grade A RAW CREAM" in one-pint plastic bottles was advised against because it could contain listeria monocytogenes

• Packages of Gerber Organic Rice and Organic Oatmeal Cereals were recalled due to a potential choking risk

• 365 Organic Everyday Value Swiss Milk Chocolate Bars were recalled because of undeclared milk and tree nuts

• Green Paradise recalled 5,500 pounds of basil grown in Mexico because of salmonella

In 2006, Dagoba Organic Chocolate of Ashland, Ore., recalled chocolate bars because they contain high levels of lead. It was not the first time that recalled rocked the organic world.

The bottom line is that even labeling something organic does not make it safe. Always purchase items from canned vegetables to creams with caution—the labels might not list everything that comes with it.

Until next time, happy eating.