Oh, boy. More product recalls. This time it’s peanut products tainted with salmonella, and as of January 24, seven deaths and nearly 500 illnesses have been attributed to the current salmonella outbreak. Everything from peanut butter crackers to cookies, ice creams, frozen cookie dough, frozen chicken satay and even dog treats has been affected. And the list of suspect products just keeps growing.
I’ve included a link below to an updated list of affected products. But to help you continue getting your peanut butter fix during the recall, here’s a quick partial list of products that haven’t been affected and are safe to eat:
- Peanut butter bought in jars in stores [only institutional peanut butter sold to places likes schools and nursing homes is questionable]
- Girl Scout Cookies
- Hershey and Reese’s candies, including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- Nabisco and Kraft products, including Nutter Butter Cookies
- Planters brand nut products
- Fisher brand nut products
- Russell Stover and Whitman’s candies
- Quaker Oats granola bars and snacks
- PowerBar nutrition bars
- Tiger’s Milk nutrition bars
The salmonella outbreak has been traced to a single source, a factory in Georgia that makes peanut butter and peanut paste. According to the companies listed above, they and their suppliers do not buy products from this factory. Actual peanuts are also safe to eat. Delicious too.
For updates on this recall, including a complete list of recalled products, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website. And if you have questions about an individual product or company, Google it to find an official website. Companies have been posting recall information on their homepages.
Wine drinking linked to higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids
Wine Spectator regularly emails me articles about the health benefits of drinking wine. I keep telling them they’re preaching to the choir. But they keep sending them, so occasionally I share the information here.
Not too long ago, I wrote about the importance of omega-3 fatty acids in our diet and how you can get more of it from eating fish and flaxseed or taking fish oil capsules.
Well, a recent study shows that “responsible alcohol consumption, especially wine drinking, is linked to higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood.” The study, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, states that while the body cannot manufacture omega-3 on its own, “it can synthesize omega-3 from everyday vegetable oils, with the help of alcohol.”
You’ll find the Wine Spectator article here. In the meantime, order another glass of wine, preferably to wash down a nice piece of salmon.
Delish.com: Another reason to thank the Internet
No doubt about it, the Web has been a boon to people who love to cook and eat. For starters, there’s the wealth of food blogs sharing recipes, ideas and just a general enthusiasm for the kitchen. Most food magazines have major online presences, and foodie magnet epicurious.com has more recipes than any one cook could prepare in a lifetime.
But as the old Ginzu Knife commercials used to say, “But wait. There’s more!” Last fall, Hearst Magazines and MSN launched delish.com, a food site chock full of good stuff. You’ll find recipes, food news, food “celebs” and shows, cookware, coupons and more. And in the drop down Reference menu, along with how-to cooking videos, measurement equivalents, substitution ideas and metric conversions, you’ll find Best of the Food Blogs. It delivers links to delish.com’s 50 favorite food blogs, including—ahem—Blue Kitchen. If you’re reading this, you already know how to find me. But go take a look—chances are, you’ll find some new sources of inspiration. I certainly did.
Delish.com’s recipe collection and search capabilities aren’t as robust as epicurious.com, but then epicurious has had quite a headstart. Delish brings plenty to the table, though, in a lively, engaging format. And the best thing is you don’t have to choose—bookmark them both and come and get it.
God this is so appalling. And I have such an intense love for peanut butter! Oh well, guess I need to start buying that freshly ground stuff at the hippie health food store.
Actually, Laura, your Jif or Skippy or Peter Pan is perfectly fine. Any peanut butter bought in jars in a store is okay. And personally, I can’t stand hippie peanut butter—I have a major problem with having to stir my peanut butter back together before using it.
That separated stuff is revolting, with a clod of doo-doo at the bottom, and three inches of oil at the top. I’m a Skippy girl, myself.
altadenahiker—If I were the kind of guy who ever typed LOL [and I am most definitely not], this would be the perfect place to type it.
And the reason we like you is that you are most definitely not that kind of guy. OLO
There’s a brand of hippie peanut butter that DOESN’T involve stirring and separation! I bought it because it didn’t have copious amounts of sugar/HFCS and no partially hydrogenated oils. The label says that seperating might occur, so I was a little wary (all that stirring! and ickiness!) but I’ve been buying it for about a year or two now and have never had that issue. But it’s a little harder to spread, you have to keep it refrigerated since it doesn’t have the preservatives that non-hippie brands have, and also has hippie ingredients like ground flax seed. It pretty much tastes the same to me, just with a little tiny bit of crunchiness. I think it’s called Naturally or something like that. Comes in a short jar with a yellow lid.
Anyway, I was really disappointed at some of the brands on the recall list. There are a couple of organic/health-food products on there and you’d never expect it.
brita—And apparently the recall is expanding, now including products from a factory in Texas. The stories about both plants and the lax inspections are appalling. I suspect we’ll see stricter regulations—and for that matter, stricter enforcement of existing regulations—before long. I certainly hope so. Regarding your non-separating hippie peanut butter, I found it: it’s called Naturally More. Flax seed is good in my book, so that’s not a deal breaker. Refrigeration, on the other hand, may be. I like my peanut butter spreadable.