Natural does not mean safe: Kansas locals still pushing unpasteurized cider
Oh, unpasteurized apple cider, when will you stop providing food safety moments?
It was 13 years ago last night that U.S. health investigators figured out that unpasteurized juice with apple cider as a base was making people sick with E. coli O157:H7 in the Pacific Northwest region.
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On Friday, Amy made a stop at a local plant and produce shop to pick up a pumpkin.
Amy writes:
The woman behind the counter quipped, “It looks like you already have a little pumpkin” motioning towards Sorenne who was hanging off my hip.
As I was paying the woman asked me, “Did you get a chance to have a swig of our apple cider?”
There was a tray with about 10 dixie cups full of cider on the counter. I had looked at them with interest while waiting to pay. I used to love apple cider but Doug has taught me to be skeptical. I asked without thinking, “Is the juice pasteurized?”
The woman looked at me as if to say, of course not, but she said, “No, but there is a preservative in it,” sort of apologetically for the preservative not being natural.
“No thanks then, and especially not for my daughter.” “Oh no!” she replied. “I didn’t mean for her but for you.” I left it at that. I was in a hurry, the woman was helping me to the car with the pumpkin, and maybe she just didn’t know better.
In my mind I was screaming, “Lady, I don’t want to die from your juice either.” I called Doug to thank him for teaching me about food safety. Four years ago I would have unthinkingly and gladly drank the cider. And if I had a child, I would have also offered it to her, not knowing about E. coli or even questioning whether someone in a store would serve me unsafe food.
From the cider files:
In October, 1996, 16-month-old Anna Gimmestad of Denver drank Smoothie juice manufactured by Odwalla Inc. of Half Moon Bay, Calif. She died several weeks later; 64 others became ill in several western U.S. states and British Columbia after drinking the same juices, which contained unpasteurized apple cider --and E. coli O157:H7. Investigators believe that some of the apples used to make the cider may have been insufficiently washed after falling to the ground and coming into contact with deer feces.
In the fall of 1998, I accompanied one of my four daughters on a kindergarten trip to the farm. After petting the animals and touring the crops --I questioned the fresh manure on the strawberries --we were assured that all the food produced was natural. We then returned for unpasteurized apple cider. The host served the cider in a coffee urn, heated, so my concern about it being unpasteurized was abated. I asked: "Did you serve the cider heated because you heard about other outbreaks and were concerned about liability?" She responded, "No. The stuff starts to smell when it's a few weeks old and heating removes the smell."
Here's the abstract from a paper Amber Luedtke and I published back in 2002:
A review of North American apple cider outbreaks caused by E. coli O157:H7 demonstrated that in the U.S., government officials, cider producers, interest groups and the public were actively involved in reforming and reducing the risk associated with unpasteurized apple cider. In Canada, media coverage was limited and government agencies inadequately managed and communicated relevant updates or new documents to the industry and the public.
Therefore, a survey was conducted with fifteen apple cider producers in Ontario, Canada, to gain a better understanding of production practices and information sources. Small, seasonal operations in Ontario produce approximately 20,000 litres of cider per year. Improper processing procedures were employed by some operators, including the use of unwashed apples and not using sanitizers or labeling products accurately.
Most did not pasteurize or have additional safety measures. Larger cider producers ran year-long, with some producing in excess of 500,000 litres of cider. Most sold to large retail stores and have implemented safety measures such as HACCP plans, cider testing and pasteurization. All producers surveyed received government information on an irregular basis, and the motivation to ensure safe, high-quality apple cider was influenced by financial stability along with consumer and market demand, rather than by government enforcement.
Where has that meat been?
A news team in South Carolina used a hidden camera to catch nine area grocery stores reselling meat that had been returned to the store by members of the news crew.
Nine other stores tested by the team did not put the returned meat back in the display case. These stores were concerned that once the meat was outside of their control, it could be deliberately contaminated or allowed to get too warm – as they should be.
The same is true for meat coming to a store for the first time. Smart retailers use suppliers they can trust based on those suppliers’ openness about handling procedures.
Toronto police are currently alerting the public that a truckload of chicken breasts was stolen last week and has since been repackaged and sold.
Police photographs show that the stickers on the new packages tell consumers to keep the chicken refrigerated. Nice touch.
Retailers should know that consumers are not the first line of defense against foodborne illness.
What happened to the product before it was sold to stores? Did the thieves take the steps necessary to reduce the microbial risks associated with transporting raw meat? Could they prove it?
Peanut Corp. of America epitomized a business whose sole concern was turning a profit. I’m sure a crime ring would be quite similar.
So the big question is, did anybody ask?
Grocery stores who resell returned meat are taking the same risks as stores who sell meat from suppliers they know very little about.
It never hurts to ask questions.
When danger lurks in the grocery aisles, call the Recaller
Deciphering recall information is tough for the regular consumer. 
Automated phone calls to shoppers have been appreciated. Pictures of products have also helped to clear things up.
But it seems that retailers need some assistance accessing and utilizing recall information to better aide consumers.
Recalled products were found on grocery and convenience store shelves after:
- Salmonella bacteria were discovered in Veggie Booty snacks,
- botulinum toxin was found in Castleberry’s chili,
- Topps meat was recalled due to E. coli contamination,
- Listeria monocytogenes was detected in Maple Leaf deli meats, and
- dairy products were found to contain melamine.
Growing up, my brother Skyler had an awesome Batman alarm clock. When it was time to get up, the Bat-Signal would shine on the ceiling and a voice would say, “Gotham City is in trouble; call for Batman!” It was a great call to action.
I think the citizens need another hero: The Recaller.
Along with a handful of producers, some grocery retailers have specialized personnel on staff to manage food safety issues.
Barry Parsons fills that role for the three Stauffers supermarkets in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
When he gets news of a recall, Parsons says,
"Twenty minutes to a half an hour and it's off the shelf."
POW. BAM. WHAP. The threat is negated.
My bother Jesse (currently a third grader) found a hero in Spiderman.
All the aforementioned recalls have shown that the production and distribution of food today has the power to reach and—positively or adversely—affect many, many people. And you know what Uncle Ben says about great power….
"There's a lot of responsibility being in the food business," Parsons said. "I really care about this.
"Because it could be a child. I've had children myself. Imagine if your child got sick. How would you feel as a parent? The elderly — they're susceptible. My parents are in their 80s. That really hits me."
That’s what I see as a culture of food safety.
The superhero I favored was a good guy from Kansas: Superman. 
(At right: Dean Cain's costume from 'Lois and Clark' was on display alongside old mining equipment and [representative] boxes of stored film reels at the Kansas Underground Salt Museum when Bret took me last year.)
The Pennsylvania Recaller says of his position,
"You've really got to be dedicated to it, and you've really got to have a sense of caring.
"You've got to say, 'No matter what's going to happen, I'm going to make sure my customers are safe, my employers are safe.'
"This is not something I do as a job. It's just what I do. It's who I am."
Retailers can do more: market microbial food safety
An editorial in Tuesday’s L.A. Times stated that,
“Retailers have both the clout to compel high standards and better tracking in agriculture and a direct reason to worry about consumers' concerns.”
In response, the Times published this letter from me:
“The Wal-Marts and McDonald's of the world have been requiring enhanced food safety from their suppliers for more than a decade, and, as your editorial notes, they may be the best advocates for consumers. Making customers sick is bad business.
But many of the checks and balances on supplying fresh produce, like the kind involved in this year's salmonella outbreak, are hidden and poorly validated. Any commodity is only as good as its worst grower.
There are too many outbreaks and too many sick people. It's time for retailers and restaurants to market microbial food safety and compete using safety as a selling point. This would introduce a heightened level of accountability throughout the farm-to-fork food safety system and capture the imagination of a public weary of food scares.
The first company that can reliably assure consumers they aren't eating poop on spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and any other fresh produce will make millions and capture markets. May the best food safety system win.
Douglas Powell
Manhattan, Kan.
The writer is an associate professor in food safety at Kansas State University.”
Emergency plans for retail food establishments
Now imagine it’s not just you and your family. It’s a restaurant, a store, even a really big store. The Conference for Food Protection (CFP) has released “practical guidance for retail grocery and food service establishments to plan and respond to emergencies that create the potential for an imminent health hazard.” It includes a list of on-line resources.
It’s a great starting point.
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Tomatoes continue to disappear from retail ...
Elizabeth Weise of USA Today reported this morning that simply washing tomatoes can help, but it won't necessarily remove the salmonella bacteria, because when tomatoes are picked on very hot days and put into cold water to chill, salmonella on their surface can be drawn up into the fruit.
David Acheson, director of the FDA's Food Safety and Security Staff, said that doesn't mean the public should stop washing produce, adding, "If there is surface contamination, washing is going to help remove it."
Below is a photo from the Tampa Tribune of a Burger King at Kennedy and West Shore boulevards, indicateing it's not serving tomatoes.
