Your Morning Recall

It would appear that the USDA is back at work today, now that Christmas has come and gone. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a small recall - just 88 pounds this time.

Maramont Corporation, of Brooklyn, NY is recalling broiled beef patties that were produced on December 18th. Routine testing by FSIS at Maramont's facility detected the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, but not until the patties had already been shipped to Jersey City, NJ schools. The patties are meant to be heated in a microwave before serving, but there is no guarantee that microwaving will eliminate the Listeria.

If your child attends a school in Jersey City and has eaten a "broiled hamburger" at school in the last week, please be on the alert for any sign of illness and report this to the school and to the appropriate health authorities.

This is just one more example of the barn door being locked after the cows have fled. With the variety of relatively inexpensive rapid testing kits available to the food industry, there is no longer any excuse for shipping food products before screening for pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes.