Egg Recall Grows to 550 Million
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)_ Another Iowa farm has now issued an egg recall adding another 170 million to the first recall of 380 million eggs earlier this week.
More than 1,000 people have been sickened from salmonella in what is considered an example of the dangers of mass-food production.
Dr. Michele Jay-Russell, a food safety specialist at the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at UC Davis, says the recall is "unprecedented".
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Of course there have been other food recalls which have included; ground beef, bagged salad, and spinach. And some of those recalls have been massive.
Dr. Jay-Russell claims the recall is a reflection of the complexity of our food distribution system.
It's the same system that feeds the nation with generally safe, relatively inexpensive food, but Dr. Jay Russell says because we have concentrated suppliers who ship out to states all over the country; when something does go wrong, it allows for the possibility of large recalls and large numbers of illnesses.
With contamination going from farm to farm, because of contaminated food, water, or unsanitary conditions for chickens coming from the same supplier, Dr. Jay Russell wonders if workers are actually tracking the bacteria between facilities.
However, she claims smaller, local farms aren't inherently any safer, but if there is a problem, it will be more contained.
