The perils of eating in the global village

Interesting story in the Baltimore Sun about the tough job the Food & Drug Administration faces as it tries to ensure the safety of our food:

FOOD RECALLS APT TO BE DU JOUR;
FOODSTUFFS' INCREASINGLY GLOBAL ORIGINS, MULTIPLE AGENCIES BAR THOROUGH CHECKS

BYLINE: Dan Thanh Dang and Larry Carson, SUN REPORTERS

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 1D

LENGTH: 843 words

Consumers suffering from recall fatigue should get used to news of contaminated food as underfunded regulatory agencies struggle to police a burgeoning food system that's supplied by all corners of the world market, food safety experts said yesterday.

Just this weekend, more than 1 million pounds of E. coli-contaminated ground beef was recalled by Pennsylvania-based Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. from stores including Giant Food and Wegmans in Maryland.

In the past month, more than a half-dozen recalls have been issued for tainted meat products ranging from ground beef to frozen meat pizzas and potpies.

"It's one thing after another," said Michelle McFadden, 38, who was shopping yesterday at the Giant in Ellicott City.

She, like other shoppers, said there's little they can do to protect themselves, other than cooking food well and watching for news alerts. She decided to play it safe by not buying beef for awhile.

Kathleen Joesting said she found out too late about the recent recall.

The Ellicott City resident had already eaten a burger for dinner on Saturday before her husband heard the news and rummaged through their trash. He discovered that the ground beef they purchased from the Giant was part of a contaminated batch.