Hold The Salmonella
Leeuna Foster
March 07, 2009
Have you ever wondered if you're cursed with bad luck? Does it seem as though bad things happen at random yet they have a direct negative effect on your life? I broke a mirror once. Does that still count after 10 years? Do I ask too many questions?
The reason I ask these questions is because of peanut butter. Yes, peanut butter. Wait, stop rolling your eyes and let me explain.
It all started last year. Well, it actually started many years ago when I discovered that one of my favorite foods of all time is peanut butter.
I love the stuff. I can eat it straight from the jar. And it goes so well with so many things. I mean, what would a (PB&J) Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich be without the peanut butter? It would just be a plain old "J" sandwich. And what about peanut butter and banana sandwiches? After all, what's a banana without peanut butter? It's just a funny looking fruit that monkeys eat, that's what. And besides that, the peanut butter and banana sandwich is famous in Tennessee. It was a favorite at the Graceland Mansion in Memphis. Uh-huh, if Elvis were alive today, he'd die.
When I read the latest report concerning the ever-growing list of recalled peanut products linked to a national salmonella outbreak, I almost sat down and cried.
It seems that the food industry lives to torment me. This could have happened to something like, say, horseradish or pimiento loaf. But noooo. It just had to be the good stuff.
It has already happened once, last year. I had just eaten an entire jar of salmonella tainted peanut butter when I heard the news about it. However, I now thought the outbreak was over and it was safe to go back into the peanut butter aisle at the store. Not so. There is now another national salmonella outbreak and it involves...wouldn't you know it...peanut butter products! This even extends to some of the dog treats, as well.
According to a report by the Associated Press, more than 430 kinds of cookies, cakes and other products that contain peanut butter have been pulled off store shelves. The Food and Drug Administration is calling it the largest product recall they can remember.
The report also stated that a Georgia peanut processing plant is at the center of the investigation. Federal inspectors reported finding roaches, mold, a leaking roof and other sanitary problems at the factory.
Well, gee whiz, didn't anybody tell the managers of this company that people will be eating the stuff they produce. People like me and my dogs? They're manufacturing a food product for crying out loud -- not glue or roofing tar? Didn't their mamas ever teach them about cleanliness? I bet they never wash their hands either. I mean, it's probably okay if a company wants to be nasty, that is if they're making something that people will walk on or use as an alternative to fuel, but not when they're making something that is meant for human consumption?
And also not while they're making something that our dogs will eat. Dogs don't like salmonella any better than we humans do.
I know I need to calm down already but it makes me angry. Especially since I just found a brand new snack that would make a wild coyote lie down and wag his tail. It's a peanut butter moon pie.
I was almost certain that nothing could be done to make a moon pie taste better, but I changed my mind after I went grocery shopping and discovered this new treat. Now I'll probably never know what it tastes like.
Maybe I'll try growing my own peanuts this year and learn to make home-made peanut butter.
Does anybody have the recipe for home-made peanut butter...preferably without the roaches and mold? Oh, and no salmonella either; I'll be sharing the peanut butter with my dogs.
The reason I ask these questions is because of peanut butter. Yes, peanut butter. Wait, stop rolling your eyes and let me explain.
It all started last year. Well, it actually started many years ago when I discovered that one of my favorite foods of all time is peanut butter.
I love the stuff. I can eat it straight from the jar. And it goes so well with so many things. I mean, what would a (PB&J) Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich be without the peanut butter? It would just be a plain old "J" sandwich. And what about peanut butter and banana sandwiches? After all, what's a banana without peanut butter? It's just a funny looking fruit that monkeys eat, that's what. And besides that, the peanut butter and banana sandwich is famous in Tennessee. It was a favorite at the Graceland Mansion in Memphis. Uh-huh, if Elvis were alive today, he'd die.
When I read the latest report concerning the ever-growing list of recalled peanut products linked to a national salmonella outbreak, I almost sat down and cried.
It seems that the food industry lives to torment me. This could have happened to something like, say, horseradish or pimiento loaf. But noooo. It just had to be the good stuff.
It has already happened once, last year. I had just eaten an entire jar of salmonella tainted peanut butter when I heard the news about it. However, I now thought the outbreak was over and it was safe to go back into the peanut butter aisle at the store. Not so. There is now another national salmonella outbreak and it involves...wouldn't you know it...peanut butter products! This even extends to some of the dog treats, as well.
According to a report by the Associated Press, more than 430 kinds of cookies, cakes and other products that contain peanut butter have been pulled off store shelves. The Food and Drug Administration is calling it the largest product recall they can remember.
The report also stated that a Georgia peanut processing plant is at the center of the investigation. Federal inspectors reported finding roaches, mold, a leaking roof and other sanitary problems at the factory.
Well, gee whiz, didn't anybody tell the managers of this company that people will be eating the stuff they produce. People like me and my dogs? They're manufacturing a food product for crying out loud -- not glue or roofing tar? Didn't their mamas ever teach them about cleanliness? I bet they never wash their hands either. I mean, it's probably okay if a company wants to be nasty, that is if they're making something that people will walk on or use as an alternative to fuel, but not when they're making something that is meant for human consumption?
And also not while they're making something that our dogs will eat. Dogs don't like salmonella any better than we humans do.
I know I need to calm down already but it makes me angry. Especially since I just found a brand new snack that would make a wild coyote lie down and wag his tail. It's a peanut butter moon pie.
I was almost certain that nothing could be done to make a moon pie taste better, but I changed my mind after I went grocery shopping and discovered this new treat. Now I'll probably never know what it tastes like.
Maybe I'll try growing my own peanuts this year and learn to make home-made peanut butter.
Does anybody have the recipe for home-made peanut butter...preferably without the roaches and mold? Oh, and no salmonella either; I'll be sharing the peanut butter with my dogs.