Do you remember when recalls of any kind were sporadic and treated very seriously? That certainly does seem to be the case today. From foods that might cause botulism or e-coli to a variety of Chinese made products, recalls have become commonplace – which begs the question, ‘Are we taking recalls seriously?’

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for monitoring the safety of most of our food sources and reporting on any deficiencies in the system. To say that they’ve been ‘busy’ lately would be an understatement.

The latest recalls

The latest recalls include French green beans, red yeast rice products and a wide variety of canned goods manufactured by Castleberry’s Foods. While the Castleberry’s recall is a few weeks’ old, it hasn’t stopped making headlines as authorities continue to struggle with pulling Castleberry’s food off of shelves as much of the company’s canned goods end up in small mom and pop stores that may not be aware of the recall. For a complete list of recalled foods manufactured by Castleberry’s, see: http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/botulism071907.html.

Red yeast rice

The FDA is warning consumers not to buy or eat three red yeast rice products promoted and sold on Web sites. The products, which are being promoted as dietary supplements for treating high cholesterol, may contain an unauthorized drug that could be harmful to health. According to the FDA, the potentially harmful products are: Red Yeast Rice and Red Yeast Rice/Policosonal Complex, sold by Swanson Healthcare Products, Inc. and manufactured by Nature’s Value Inc. and Kabco Inc., respectively; and Cholestrix, sold by Sunburst Biorganics. FDA testing revealed the products contain lovastatin, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Mevacor, a prescription drug approved for marketing in the United States as a treatment for high cholesterol.

French cut green beans

The FDA is also warning consumers not to eat certain brands of French Cut Green Beans in 14.5 ounce cans manufactured by Lakeside Foods Inc, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin because the product may not have been processed adequately to eliminate the potential for the botulism toxin.

According to the FDA, the affected Lakeside cut green beans are sold nationwide under the following labels: Albertson's, Happy Harvest, Best Choice, Food Club, Bogopa, Valu Time, Hill Country Fare, HEB, Laura Lynn, Kroger, No Name, North Pride, Shop N Save, Shoppers Valu, Schnucks, Cub Foods, Dierbergs, Flavorite, IGA, Best Choice and Thrifty Maid. The specific codes (top line of can code) involved are: EAA5247, EAA5257, EAA5267, EAA5277, EAB5247, EAB5257, ECA5207, ECA5217, ECA5227, ECA5297, ECB5207, ECB5217, ECB5227, ECB5307.

Additional information

The risk of botulism from contaminated foods is something that should be taken seriously. For additional information on foods recalled by the FDA, see their website at http://www.fda.gov/.