By Emily Hebert
Reaching for a glass of milk or fresh produce may seem like a healthy choice. But before you pat yourself on the back, take heed: These and other food pyramid mainstays can turn harmful at the drop of a recall. Read on to see if your favorite snack or drink has made serial appearances on the Food and Drug Administration’s Most Unwanted list.
Photo: iStockphoto
1. Milk
2007 marked the year of the Chinese milk scandal—a tragic case in
which
contaminated milk produced in China was responsible for killing
at least six of the region’s children. The culprit: toxic levels of
melamine, a chemical substance with a high nitrogen content that
was added to diluted milk to fool quality-control equipment into
believing that nitrogen from protein was present at normal levels.
Globally, the deception hit hard as well; authorities from
Australia and Asia to Europe and the U.S. withdrew infant formulas,
coffee, tea, candies, soup, cheese, biscuits, premade desserts, and
chocolate made from the tainted dairy product.
Since the harrowing incident, milk has continued to appear on the Food and Drug Administration’s recall list. Just this month, a national supplier of instant nonfat dry milk was responsible for multiple recalls by brands that utilized its salmonella-plagued product. Foods that contain the instant dry milk run the gamut, from hot chocolate mixes and protein drink powders to seasoned popcorn and cake mixes.
2. Red Tomatoes- see why tomatoes can cause illness
Photo: iStockphoto
3. Beef
The UK has long dealt with mad cow disease, and in February 2008,
the U.S. experienced a related scare after a video by the Humane
Society depicted a California-based plant preparing “downer” cattle
for slaughter. Though meat
from nonambulatory cows puts consumers at a higher risk of
contracting E. coli, salmonella, and mad cow disease—and is banned
under federal law from entering the food supply—employees at the
slaughterhouse were shown using inhumane practices to force weak
cows to stand so they would pass inspection. In the wake of the
leaked video, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recalled 143
million pounds of frozen beef. Between 2006 and 2008, there were
more than 20 beef recalls in the U.S., with the most recent recall
taking place in June: Right before the Fourth of July, the USDA
launched a massive recall of E. coli–affected beef from a global
producer.
4. Canned Soup- see why canned-soup manufacturers issued recalls
Photo: iStockphoto
5. Bagged Spinach
Undoubtedly a superfood, packed with a multitude of nourishing
vitamins, spinach, when purchased in the convenient prepackaged,
salad-ready fashion, may be more harmful
than it is healthful: Since 2006, when spinach contaminated
with E. coli bacteria killed three people and shook consumer
confidence in leafy green veggies, Popeye’s go-to snack has
continued to be plagued by recalls. The most recent occurred in
April, when a warning was issued for salmonella-infected spinach
sold in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota.
6. Smoked Salmon- see how to ensure your salmon is safe
Photo: iStockphoto
7. Alfalfa Sprouts
Sprouts provide the perfect garnish to a tuna or veggie-packed
sandwich, but they are often harbingers of bacteria. The latest
recall occurred in April 2009, and the FDA investigation is
ongoing. So far six states, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania,
South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia, have associated illness with
salmonella-contaminated sprouts, and more than 30 cases of illness
have sprouted.
8. Nuts- read why these popular snacks have seen several recalls
Photo: iStockphoto
9. Bottled Water
A study released by the government’s General Accounting Office this
month revealed that regulation of
bottled water (under the FDA's Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act) is less strict than the Environmental Protection Agency's
regulation of tap
water (under the Safe Drinking Water Act). Seems that swigging
Brita-filtered water from a Nalgene
container is a purer way to get your daily H2O requirement than
store-bought liquids. During the past five years, several
bottled-water recalls have taken place: In 2006, multiple labels
were found to contain dangerous levels of bromate (a carcinogen);
in 2007, popular mint-flavored waters were found to harbor stomach
fluesque B. cereus bacteria; and in 2008, another major brand
reported a diluted form of a food-cleaning compound in its product
(that same year, a second nationally distributed brand was also
recalled because of customer complaints about a strange
smell).
10. Cantaloupe- see why the fruit has been recalled in several states
Photo: iStockphoto
Dishonorable Mention: Carrot Juice
Though the incidence of food-borne botulism (a rare,
life-threatening paralytic illness caused by the bacterium
Clostridium botulinum) is extremely low, in 2006 a U.S.-based
distributor’s bottles of
carrot juice became contaminated by the bacteria, causing the
FDA to issue a countrywide recall of the product, which was also
sold in Canada, Mexico, and Hong Kong. The warning did not come
soon enough for some, however—four people in the U.S. were reported
hospitalized with respiratory
failure and descending paralysis from the carrot
concoction, with two similar cases reported in Canada. Even
with the aid of a doctor-administered botulinum antitoxin, full
recovery from botulism often takes months—a large price to pay for
trying to drink healthfully.
