Whether it's the chicken, the egg, or luncheon meat, the packaged food at WalMart is literally starting to make stomachs turn. Tyson-brand cold cuts were recalled last week due to Listeria monocytogenes (say what?!) including enough ham and roast beef to fill 1.5 million sandwiches. It was the second major recall of Tyson products in less than a month. Either the system of checks and balances within the food industry is failing miserably or the media is simply paying more attention.
An entertaining and informative article on Grist unveils the food catastrophe Tyson, Zemco Industries and Walmart are facing. While a retail chain touting slogans of "rolling back prices" has never exactly been a beacon of high quality products, it's frightening to know that the largest seller of groceries in the US (yep, you read that right) has been serving up meat packaged July 2 with a corresponding Sept 10th expiration.
Just when Tyson was scoring points for joining up with Neil Diamond for Gulf relief, they managed to pull this stunt: introducing bacteria with dangerous side effects. From the Food Safety and Inspection Service, via Grist:
'Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, and nausea.' Worse still, it can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as 'serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.'
Wow.