Hosting a Thanksgiving meal is a lot of work and a lot of fun. The preparation takes place long before the turkey goes in the oven, however. Federal health officials are sending out a warning to avoid certain foods because of E. Coli, lack of inspection and many other problems.
Here are some things to be concerned about:
Romaine Lettuce
The CDC is telling people not to eat romaine lettuce from Salinas, California after 40 people got sick in 16 states from an E. coli outbreak.
This warning is going out to consumers, retailers, and restaurants not to purchase or sell not to use that lettuce harvested in that California town.
“If romaine lettuce does not have labeling information for its growing area or the source cannot be confirmed, consumers should not eat or use the romaine,” said Frank Yiannas of the Food and Drug Administration. “Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell romaine lettuce if they cannot confirm it is from outside Salinas.”
Over 75,000 pounds of salad products were also recalled after another E. coli outbreak that affected at least 17 people. The cases have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Montana, Washington and Wisconsin, according to the CDC.
Raw Pork Products
Over a half-million pounds of pork products are being recalled in Illinois because they were not inspected.
According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, some 515,000 pounds of raw pork was produced and distributed in Illinois. The pork products were produced between November 25, 2017, to November 9, this year.
They include pork loin, pork back ribs and pork chops. The complete list of affected items can be found here.
An anonymous tip led federal officials to recall those products.
Chicken fried rice
172,692 pounds of chicken fried rice products were recalled by a Mississippi company because plastic pieces may be included with them.
The not-ready-to-eat, frozen chicken fried rice items came off the line between July 9 and July 11. The products are labeled with establishment number “P-34708” in the USDA mark of inspection and were shipped to Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, and Texas.
Cheese Nips
It seems as if a voluntary recall for some boxes of Cheese Nips in in place because of the potential for small plastic pieces.
Mondelēz Global LLC announced it is voluntarily recalling 11-ounce boxes of the cheese crackers “due to the potential presence of small food-grade yellow plastic pieces,” the Food and Drug Administration said.
Those yellow pieces were from a dough scraper that was part of the production process.
Only Cheese Nips boxes of 11 ounces that have a “best by” date of May 18, 19 or 20, next year have the potential of being contaminated.
Cottage cheese
9,500 cases of cottage cheese are being recalled after a piece of red plastic was found by a customer. Three types of Breakstone’s cottage cheese are affected.
Kraft Heinz is reporting six consumer complaints but there are no reports of injury or illness. The three cottage cheese products included in the recall are Breakstone’s 2% Milkfat Lowfat Large Curd Cottage Cheese, as well as their small and large curd 4% Milkfat Cottage Cheese.
They are marked with a 12/10/2019 use by date.
Blackberries
There was an outbreak of hepatitis A in Indiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin that may be associated from the grocery store, Fresh Thyme in Indiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Federal health officials are investigating the issue.