Yet another food recall has been announced. The latest involves Kraft Heinz’s Taco Bell cheese dip because of the risk of botulism.
More than 7,000 cases of the dip are affected, and the products are being pulled from store shelves.
Earlier this week, Pepperidge Farms voluntarily recalled Goldfish crackers, and Ritz did the same with its popular snacks because ingredients in some of its products may have been contaminated with Salmonella.
Experts say it’s worthwhile to take that extra step and find out more about where your food is coming from and if there’s any problems that supplier has had in the past.
Food safety experts say it’s not so much that we’re getting recalls more often, but we are getting larger outbreaks because we’re getting more food that is mass produced. So if even just one ingredient is contaminated, it could affect several states around the country.
“We get more large Salmonella outbreaks if we have central contamination, and we have millions and millions of pounds of produce that are being spread nationwide,” said Peter Oshiro from the state Department of Health’s Food Sanitation Branch.
Oshiro says when something happens locally, the good thing is it’s usually reported right away.
“We have a very tight community here, and all the doctors, physicians, and outbreak control people are very close so they talk to each other a lot so they report things very often,” he said.
Still, many of the foods we eat are produced outside of the state. A national food safety expert says it’s always best to find out who makes the product, who distributes them, and if they’ve been involved on any recalls or violations.
“What’s their history? A lot of the challenges that are public will be on the internet, recalls are public. Any type of state variations or violations are public and get to know those suppliers,” said Jennifer Young of Food Safety Solutions Consultants.
She says those are red flags and you can’t assume that even though there’s been a recall, that the company has corrected the problem. She adds that we should look for any problems with the packaging.
“Is it damaged? Is the package open? Is it leaking? Those are the kind of things that tell me there’s some quality issues that could lead to food safety hazard. It can make me sick,” Young said.
She also points out that keeping food properly refrigerated is important. Your fridge should be 41 degrees or colder.