I try my best to buy organic when I can, but sometimes my wallet is a little too light to justify paying extra for my go-to fruits and veggies. Maybe it's because I'm an organic neophyte, but to be honest, I can't really tell the difference between organic and pesticide-laden produce. But as reports of food-borne illness continue to dot the headlines, I've been left wondering, is organic the answer?

Turning first to the latest and greatest outbreak -- salmonella via peanut -- it seems that buying FDA certified organic doesn't really mean diddly in terms of food safety. Salmonella-contaminated plants in Texas and Georgia hosted rodent infestation, mold, bird droppings and even a federal organic certification.

Source

I was making out a grocery list the other day and realized we were almost out of peanut butter. We don't make many peanut butter sandwiches around here, but celery with peanut butter is one of my son's favorite snacks. Even though I know most major brands of peanut butter aren't on the growing list of recalled peanut products, I have to admit that I paused. The whole salmonella scare is enough to put a person off peanut butter entirely.

Planet Green has a great solution; make your own peanut butter. Not only does DIY peanut butter eliminate any worries about salmonella, it also means you control the ingredients -- there's no partially hydrogenated oil in sight! All you'll need is shelled and skinned roasted peanuts, honey, sea salt and peanut oil. Homemade peanut butter lasts about two months when sealed in an airtight container.

Source

Is Jenny helping you take the weight off? Then you might want to take a look at your snack supply.

Jenny Craig's Anytime Peanut Butter Flavor Nutritional Bars are the latest peanut butter product to be voluntarily recalled due to the salmonella outbreak. No illness has been reported in connection with the bars, but there's a chance they may be contaminated with the bug.

If you're a regular user of these bars, you can check the specific codes here. Jenny Craig says they'll replace any affected boxes for customers at their centers.

Luckily for peanut butter lovers, heart-healthy (thought calorie dense) peanut butter straight from the jar still appears to be safe. (For a list of items not affected by the recall, click here.) Here are five other ways to enjoy fat in a healthy way.

Source

It looks like the Keebler elves have been laid off. After King Nut and Parnell's Pride peanut butter was recalled because of the recent salmonella outbreak, Kellogg's has decided to be cautious and halt sales of their peanut butter crackers.

Though no cases of salmonella can be traced to the Kellogg's crackers, one of the suppliers of the peanut paste is involved in the peanut butter recall. When it's something as serious as this, the old adage holds true -- an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The cracker varieties include Toasted Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Crackers, Cheese and Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and Peanut Butter-Chocolate Sandwich Crackers and are sold under the Austin and Keebler brands.

Source

Is the PB&J doomed to be renamed the Salmonella Sandwich? For the second time in two years, peanut butter has been determined as the culprit in a salmonella outbreak.

People began getting ill with the most current outbreak in early October. Last weekend, when certain peanut butters were suspected, both King Nut and Parnell's Pride peanut butter with the lot code "8" were recalled. Lab tests on those peanut butters revealed that they were the source. Two years ago, Peter Pan brand peanut butter was recalled for the same reason.

So do you need to worry about the peanut butter sitting in your pantry? Only if it is part of the current recall.

Source

I rarely buy frozen chicken, but it wasn't too long ago that my son and I enjoyed Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner. It's a favorite of mine that I usually reserve for a treat at a restaurant. It looks like my son and I were a little lucky, though. As of now, 32 people in 12 states have contracted salmonella from frozen chicken dinners.

The frozen foods in question were breaded or pre-browned chicken breasts that needed to be cooked in the oven. Those who got ill neglected to follow the instructions and heated the food in the microwave. If the chicken is fully cooked before freezing, the microwave more than likely won't do the job.

When dealing with frozen foods, be sure to prepare the meal according to directions. And be sure that any meats -- frozen or fresh -- are cooked thoroughly.

Source

When I head to the grocery store, I can't help it. I'm drawn to those pre-washed bags of salad that offer so much convenience for just little bit more money. You see, most of the time, I'm cooking for one and it seems like more trouble than it's worth to wash the lettuce and spin it dry. OK, go ahead and do your judging but don't try and tell me you haven't been taken in by their charms.

Yes, pre-washed salads are a dieter's best friend. But are they worth the extra cost? Probably not, since experts in the UK are speaking out about them, calling them unsafe and blaming them for a potential rise in food poisoning cases, particularly instances of salmonella and E. coli contamination.

So save your money and do what I do now: wash all your lettuce as soon as you get home from the grocery story, and put it in your fridge. That way, fresh lettuce is readily available, and you can ensure that it's been properly washed.

Source

Anyone who was scared off greens after the massive spinach recall two years ago might find themselves eating a big spinach salad soon. The FDA is allowing spinach and lettuce manufacturers to irradiate their products before they hit grocery store shelves. Irradiation, which is the process of exposing an object to radiation, kills dangerous bacteria like E. coli, salmonella, and listeria.

Irradiation won't sterilize the greens, but the FDA is hoping it will drastically reduce the risk of outbreaks like the one that killed four people in 2006. But critics wonder if irradiation is the answer. I worry that steps like this one will lull consumers into believing that the problems with our food safety have been fixed, and that it takes the focus away from farming and manufacturing processes that put us at risk in the first place.

It's not clear from the article whether irradiated spinach and greens will be labeled. Some people worry about the long-term health effects of eating irradiated foods, but the FDA assures consumers that there is no radiation left behind, nor does the process affect taste, texture, or nutritional value. What do you think?

Source

A friend of my mom's has been sick for weeks, with a case of possible salmonella poisoning. The culprit, she thinks, are the peppers she put on her build-your-own salad at a local restaurant. I'm not sure what kinds of peppers are to blame for her illness but I do know this: government inspectors have just issued a strong warning to consumers not to eat jalapenos, or fresh salsa made from them.

The warning comes as a result of one single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper found in Texas. This discovery, say officials, is the equivalent of a fingerprint. Still, it's cause for worry.

Perhaps the tainted pepper came straight from a farm, a plant, a packing house. It's all pretty unclear. But those involved realize the need to iron out the details of this scare soon, as parts of the country are entering prime hot pepper season.

Source

After all but taking down the tomato industry with their recent recall, the FDA has yet to find the culprit of the current salmonella outbreak. Now they're turning their attention to foods like hot peppers and cilantro, noting that it might not be tomatoes themselves, but a food that is commonly eaten with tomatoes.

With the number of people who have fallen ill quickly approaching 1,000, it's clear that an answer needs to be found soon. The FDA has been focusing on tomatoes coming from Mexico, but they've yet to pinpoint a source.

For more on this outbreak, and for information on what specific foods to avoid, visit the FDA's website.

Source

Yesterday, I saw some tomatoes back in circulation. Could it be? Are they back? Some of them are.

According to a June 11 notice issued by the FDA, consumers can now consume raw red plum, raw red Roma, or raw red round tomatoes -- but ONLY if grown and harvested from certain areas that have not been associated with the outbreak. My state -- Florida -- happens to be one of these areas, which is why they are resurfacing here in the Sunshine State. Take a look at this list and see if your state makes the cut. Types of tomatoes not linked to any illnesses are cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and any tomato with the vine still attached.

The FDA also wants you to know this: If you are unsure of where the tomatoes you have in your home are from, contact the store or place of purchase for that information. If you are unable to determine the source of the tomatoes, do not eat them. And don't forget that raw tomatoes are often used in the preparation of fresh salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo, are part of fillings for tortillas, and are used in other dishes.

Source

Surely, you know by now that tomatoes are a no-go. Well, some of them, anyway. I admit I was in the dark at first and didn't know of the whole tomato salmonella outbreak until I tried to order a salad at a restaurant and was told there was not a single tomato in the establishment. Bummer for me -- I rely on juicy items like tomatoes to take the place of dressing on my salads. Forgetting about the trouble with tomatoes, I tried to order them again today on my kid's chicken burrito. Nope. No tomatoes. No salsa. Nothing of the sort.

So, what's up with the trusty tomato lately? According to this washingtonpost.com post, here's the deal: On June 8, the FDA issued a broad warning, telling consumers not to eat raw Roma, red plum, or red round tomatoes. Don't eat products containing these types of raw red tomatoes either, unless the tomatoes are from California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. Also safe: Cherry, grape, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached.

For an updated list of safe tomato sources and other important and ever-changing information, keep checking back here. And until tomatoes are clearly in the clear, please eat safely.

Source

When I was young, we had a German Short-haired Pointer and it was my job to feed him one night. I came back in the house and made a slightly strange comment about the dog's food smelling kind of good. My brother -- prankster that he is -- dared me to eat some of it. I flat out refused. But he had the dog-food-eating bug by then so he grabbed a handful for himself. The thought of that still grosses me out. For good reason.

A recent outbreak of salmonella has been traced to the handling of dry dog food. This is the first time a link between dog food and human disease has been discovered. Approximately 70 people contracted salmonella from dry dog food produced by Mars Petcare's Pennsylvania plant. No dogs were reported to have contracted the illness. Many of the people who contracted salmonella from dog food were three years old or younger.

Source

Malt-O-Meal has recalled two of its cereals after 23 people have fallen ill with salmonella. The Puffed Rice and Puffed Wheat cereals are sold under several different brand names: Malt-O-Meal, Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw's, ShopRite, Tops, and Weis Quality. (See actual packaging here.)

The cereals are stamped with "use by" dates of April 8, 2008 (APR0808) to March 18, 2009 (MAR1809). If you have them in your cupboards, the FDA recommends that you throw them out.

Salmonella can cause nausea, cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. It can be serious in young children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.

Source

Many moons ago I was fresh out of college and working at my first "real" job. The department I worked in had a potluck to celebrate some random event. Everyone brought in food, the boss had a few bigger items catered, and we all had a great time. (We usually did. It was an incredibly fun place to work.) The next morning I walked in to the office and there was barely anyone in my department. In fact, all the cubicles next to me were deserted. I wandered around and finally found six other co-workers. The other 30 some people in my department had called in sick. Seriously. In a department of more than 40 people, only six of us weren't ill.

A few days later (after the rest of the staff had recuperated) we all compared notes. The six people who hadn't gotten sick were the only ones who hadn't eaten any of the giant catered sub sandwich. From that moment on, that sandwich was not-so-fondly referred to as the "salmonella sub."

Food poisoning is an unfortunately common occurrence. Rates of foodborne illnesses had declined for many years but, since 2004, they've remained steady. The CDC had aimed to greatly lower the level of such illnesses by 2010, but the stall in the decline is making that goal seem more difficult. CDC representatives say that we need to take greater measures with food safety. In 2007 there were more than 17,000 confirmed cases of foodborne infections.

Source