McDonald's burgers, eggs, green onions, frozen wafffles. The list of recalled food products in recent weeks has American consumers worried about the safety of their food, the USA Today website reports today (Oct.28, 2024).
The products have been recalled because of concerns over harmful bacteria that may be present. In some cases, the recalls were precautionary, but illnesses and even deaths have been linked to the outbreaks.
Since a massive recall of Boar's Head deli meat revealed serious violations of health and safety regulations at one of its plants, new recalls seem to be in the headlines every day. But experts have said people should not be overly concerned.
"Although it's always a tragedy when an outbreak causes illness and death, the U.S. food supply is still very safe" , said Martin Bucknavage, a food safety specialist at the Pennsylvania State University Department of Food Science.
"Certainly, when these issues come up, we all get worried about our food supply, but our food supply is generally safe across the board," Bucknavage told USA Today.
The most extreme case is a deadly listeria outbreak in Boar's Head deli meat linked to a Virginia plant that was first reported in July. As of late September, 59 people have been hospitalized and at least 10 have died in cases linked to Boar's Head.
This month, the Tree House Foods company issued a voluntary recall of its frozen waffles and pancakes after discovering potential listeria contamination, although no reports of illness have been linked to the products.
McDonald's Quarter Pounder sold in 10 states have been linked to an outbreak of another bacteria, E.coli. One person died and dozens were reported sick, sometimes requiring hospitalization.
"Just because we have the ability to see disease, that doesn't mean that this disease doesn't happen in other countries.We are just further along in that technological ability to find and track and identify these types of issues compared to other places," Bucknavage said.
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