Tainted peanut products
February 3rd, 2009. Filed under: Health and Science.
By: Taunya English
tenglish@whyy.org
An array of food products - from cookies to health bars, even pet treats — are being pulled from grocery-store shelves as government officials learn more about the reach of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds across the country.
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Transcript:
The first reports about tainted peanut products surfaced weeks ago, but some food makers are just now learning that their products may be at risk.
Ibrahim: So it takes a period of time to go through and trace back every single place that that food product could have gone. And then to get in contact with the corporate offices and then individual stores to be able to remove all of that product.
Temple University public health professor Jennifer Ibrahim says the delay highlights the need for more food-safety investigators. Now President Obama is calling for a review of U.S. Food and Drug Administration policies. The current salmonella outbreak began at a Georgia processing plant, and according to a federal report traces of the bacteria were found at the plant many times before.
Health officials across this region say consumers are taking precautions and the rate of new illnesses related to the outbreak — seems to be declining.
Health+Science Podcast
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
FYI, this is part of the interview with WHYY.