We Need To Pray A Revival Forth In America (who me? yeah you)

Grocer Kroger Recalls Ground Beef

CINCINNATI (June 26) - Grocer Kroger Co. said Thursday it is voluntarily recalling all ground beef products sold between May 21 and June 8 at its stores in Michigan and in central and northern Ohio.

Major Product Recalls

Grocery chain Kroger recalled ground beef products sold between May 21 and June 8 at its Michigan and central and northern Ohio stores after health authorities linked the products to E. coli illnesses.

Kroger said it has been notified by state and federal health authorities that E. coli illnesses reported in Michigan and in the Columbus and Toledo areas in Ohio have been linked to ground beef products sold in some Kroger stores in those areas.

Kroger said customers can return any ground beef with sell-by dates of May 21 to June 8 to stores for a full refund or replacement.

The company said none of the ground beef is currently available for purchase.

Kroger said it is working to identify the supplier of the specific ground beef that could have caused the illnesses.

The company added its stores in those areas have placed signs in the meat department to notify customers.

MEXICO CITY: Mexico is banning poultry imports from Arkansas because of a bird flu outbreak in the U.S. state.

The Agricultural Department says poultry meat, fertilized eggs, song birds and messenger pigeons are banned indefinitely.

Avian influenza cases led to the destruction of 15,000 hens in western Arkansas earlier this month. The virus strain was not harmful to humans.

Mexico is a major market for U.S. chicken. The U.S. Agriculture Department says Mexico imported some 221,000 tons (200,500 metric tons) of chicken products in 2007

More Bad News on our Plates: Tainted Tomatoes

By Steve Berg
Minnesota Post, June 11, 2008

Until recent years, the subject of food was pretty much restricted to the recipe columns or the restaurant reviews toward the back of the papers, but now food news - usually bad news - is showing up on the front page.

Two years ago it was contaminated spinach; now it's tainted tomatoes, probably from Mexico.

So far, 167 people have fallen ill because of a salmonella outbreak in a current crop of red plum, red round and red Roma tomatoes. Growers in Florida, the largest producing state, were relieved on Tuesday when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared much of the state from culpability, although losses could total as much as $40 million because picking and packing were halted on Saturday, dooming much of the crop.

As a precaution food markets in a score of states, from California to Virginia, pulled some tomatoes from their bins, and major restaurant chains, including McDonald's, Taco Bell and Burger King said they are leaving tomatoes off of their sandwiches and salad bars. The tomatoes in question are dangerous only if eaten raw. Cherry, grape and on-vine tomatoes are not directly affected. Still, as with the e coli spinach problem of 2006, some consumers may choose to avoid all raw tomatoes for a period of time.

"The reality is that the entire tomato industry is being impacted," said Ed Beckman, president of the California Tomato Farmers...