The Latest Maple Leaf Product Recall List

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• Hi, Joey. In your August 20th post, you said, "...and if you feel like paying top dollar to feed your socially acceptable eating disorders (vegetarianism and veganism), there’s Le Commensal.”

  The next day, you posted the first version of “A Full List of Recalled Maple Leaf Meat Products.”

  On August 24th, you updated the list to include more recalled tainted meat products.

  Today, you again published a vastly expanded list of Maple Leaf meats that will make you sick if you eat them.

  Looking forward to your next disparagement of vegetarians. :-)

• @Follower: What, have you forgotten the salmonella outbreak with the tomatoes already? It was only a couple of months ago!

  We're omnivores, my friend. That's what we have canine teeth.

  Perhaps your memory lapse comes from a meat-free diet. Eating meat is what caused us to evolve to become smart in the first place; it doesn't take much brains to sneak up on a carrot.

• Spinach, lettuce, even jalapenos lately. They also have been through recalls.
  I'm just waiting for the listeriosis to hit me, even if I haven't had any of the products, with my luck and bad stomach I'm just waiting the 3 weeks incubation period in dread.

• This is extremely helpful, Joey. I rarely buy processed meats at the supermarket, but I have eaten at McDonalds, Subway and a couple of hot dog carts over the past few weeks. But according to this list, it doesn't look as if I ate anything tainted.

• There is a product called "Burns Bung Bologna"? I think I would've avoided that anyway.

• In the day's of the small butcher shop this outbreak would of been more localized. Now with less meat inspector's and more utilization of the animal carcass this is where I feel we are running into problems. In the past what was'nt able to be deboned by the knife was disgarded and given to pets for food. As profit margins and modern technology advanced the process of meat seperation by the means of a centerfuge came about. This means everthing down to the shiny bone is utilized for sausage and other processed meats. This in my opinion opens the door to a greater risk of bacterial introduction to the final product. What old butchers use to disgard we are now eating yum! If you really get down to it if you pasturize and ultaviolet properly you could almost eat anything.With the vast volume of product,monthly projections and quotas to be filled one slip or a step missed can cause disaster. I wonder is bigger better? Thats my opinion!

• Yes, I remember the outbreak with the tomatoes -- which actually turned out, I recall, inconclusive; the final theory was that the outbreak was instead tied to raw jalapeno peppers. (Salmonella is a hardy bug; if it can live in a hot pepper I guess it can live anywhere.)

  But seriously, the entire food distribution system is broken, but it's so huge there's no economically feasible fix in sight. It's worrisome that it will probably take a really bad outbreak to change it -- and, as an American, I'm not sure what our government could do besides labeling all food as a terrorist threat and allowing no food at all to be sold or possessed within 20 miles of an airport.

  As for canine teeth, we also have nails on our fingers and toes, to claw at enemies and shred meat from freshly-killed carcasses. Since we have them custom-made for this purpose, we might as well use them that way, right...?

  ---

  And finally, I was brought out of lurking because I felt the urge to comment, but realized that my words could be taken as combative. But I have no wish to be a troll, and would like to compliment you on your always-excellent blog. Next time you and the GN are in Boston, I'd like to invite you to a vegetarian restaurant, on me. :-)

• What about Kirkland black forest ham and Simply Fresh Fresco Chicken salad?

• @Marion Bremner: I have no idea. Kirkland (a.k.a. Costco) buys stuff from all sorts of providers and then puts their brand on it. If it's not on the list, it was not likely produced at the Bartor Road plant, which is the source of the contamination.

  If that doesn't put you at ease, you can always simply throw it away -- it's a small price to pay for lower risk and peace of mind.

• @Follower: Nope, didn't take your words as combative -- just as spirited debate, which I encourage here in the comments.

  I agree with you that the problem is really that this is one of the problems with a food production system that's been scaled to handle present-day needs. My hope is that we'll figure it out, the way we did with with refrigeration, clean water and an understanding of microbes.

  While I do like my meat, I try to keep the veg ratio of my meals up. Things work better that way. But you will take my dead animals when you pry them from my cold dead fingers!

  As for my bitching about Le Commensal: it's more about the top-dollar prices they charge for what is essentially a cafeteria. Last time I was there -- a couple of weeks ago -- I forked out $25 for my plate. At those prices, I expect something a little more upscale.

  And finally, if there's time, I'd be up for a veg dinner in Boston!