Viewpoint:
Pasteurized milk or any cheeses, yogurts, and other dairy products are completely okay to buy and consume. At least we thought it was. Now? How can we really know when there have been cases of salmonella in the milk being sold to us in supermarkets and delicatessens? Sure, recalls have been made to at least half a billion eggs and numerous milk cartons and other dairy products as well but the damage has already been done. Many have gotten immensely sick and some have died. A number of lawsuits have also taken place for this mishap. This is a problem in our food system that needs to be solved. A way action could be taken to prevent this from happening again or from it getting any worse, is maybe have a large number of people run some tests on the milk to check or double check if it's being sent out raw or not. Then after having confirmed the milk isn't raw is when it can be sent from the factory or production plant to the shelves in our markets.
Evidence:
I agree with this strongly because this is harmful to many people who are consuming these tainted products which means it could only get worse over time. I believe that the main reason why these recalls are happening is because certain jobs are either not being done right or done at all to insure that these products are safe for consumption. But isn't checking the products before they ship out to supermarkets something that a food inspector should already be doing for common household products such as milk and eggs?
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about salmonella being in milk as much as I've thought about it being in meant. Ive always brushed off the issue thinking that meat and eggs could be cooked to kill the bacteria , but milk ? What can be done to ensure that milk is bacteria free and sanitary enough for us to drink ? Not much . What makes the situation worse is the fact that kids , the elderly, and people with weak immune systems are more prone to falling victim to food borne diseases caused by salmonella. According to "savvy artisan.com " The main symptoms of salmonella poisoning are : Vommiting, nausea, fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and headaches. If not treated right away it could have long term affects . Just another reason to be paranoid about what we eat . Great .
ReplyDeleteComment Score: 16/20
DeleteThat is very surprising to me I thought that Sallmonella was something only chickens can have. It is like there's nowhere to turn and eat a healthy meal without worry about getting sick. But how can we test is an egg is carrying this disease? How can we prevent Salmonella from the animals in the first place? Maybe it is the hormones being injected into the animals. On Salmonella.org it says that Salmonella and E. coli are 60- 70% identical in DNA. I think that the FDA or the other government branches should work to find the source of the salmonella in the animal.
ReplyDelete-sam
Comment Score: 17/20
DeleteThat's crazy. Salmonella being in diary products is dangerous because things like milk and cheese are used in almost EVERYTHING that we consume so to hear that salmonella is in there is a scary thing to hear. Of course you never really think about something like that but i feel that we should especially since its becoming a big issue. On the NY Times post it says that in milk they ( bacteria) is killed by pasteurization . I Think that it is important to wash your hands when dealing with any type of raw meat Especially if you work in a meat factory.
ReplyDeleteSource-http://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/17/garden/salmonella-outbreak-is-traced.html
Comment Score: 17/20
DeleteI didn't know that this could happen in milk. I've always heard about contaminated meat or vegetables, but I never realized it could happen to cow milk. With that being said, another solution to this problem besides more routine food safety checks, would be to limit the amount of dairy products we all buy, or use substitutions for these products like Silk Milk (soy milk) or Almond Joy (almond milk) or Rice Dream (rice milk). According to the ecologist, cow milk is high in fat and can lead to high cholesterol. These may be healthier choices for people to try, without the constant worry of contaminated milk.
ReplyDeleteSource : http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/food_and_drink/847876/top_10alternatives_to_cows_milk.html
Salmonella can be found in almost everything. So this doesn't surprise me. There was an Salmonella outbreak in many peanut butter factories over the years and have affect many people. The most recent case was in 2012 and it was found in Trader Joe's Valencia creamy peanut butter. It sickened 19 people in 35 Different states. Not the most severe case but still horrible nonetheless
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/05/peanut-butter-salmonella-outbreak/1615475/
Comment Score: 17/20
DeleteIn all honesty I’ve never really put much thought about there being Salmonella in our food, especially in our dairy products. However, when I do think about Salmonella certain things like chicken comes to mind but I assumed that after being cook it would kill but bacteria but apparently it doesn’t; so that’s why it comes at such a shock to hear about it in our milk. I know for a fact that almost everyone drinks milks from toddlers to the senior citizen, and the fact that they could be drinking harmful objects really terrifies me. According to an article I found by a random internet source , “USDA data tells us that nearly half of all dairies are infected with Salmonella, and in herds over 500 cows, that number jumps to 61%... M ost of those infections are subclinical, resulting in decreased milk production and cattle that are more susceptible to other diseases, especially right after calving”. The salmonella outbreak is causing a decrease in milk, as well as getting people sick. I’m still wondering how do the cows get infected with this salmonella disease and why haven’t anyone done anything to keep it out of the milk?
ReplyDeleteComment Score: 17/20
DeleteFirst off, i want to say that I never really thought of traces of salmonella being found in milk, but it really doesn't surprise me. Secondly, I want to point out that one of your NY Times link is from 1985. That's 28 years ago. It's hard to feel like this is a problem being that it's so far off, you know? I know it's a problem, but in my opinion, I don't think that was the best thing to use. It just seems a little disconnected, but I can see why you used it. It shows the issue dates that far back.
ReplyDeleteHowever, that does not cancel out the legitimacy of salmonella (ella ella eh eh eh) poisoning. Like I've been saying on nearly every comment/post I've made, it all traces back to the conditions in which these animals are brought up in. If the conditions were better, the chance of contamination in our foods and now drinks, would significantly decrease. These animals don't need to be in cages where their feces are just going to keep piling up and rarely, if ever, cleaned up. Is anything safe to eat anymore?
http://www.foodborneillness.com/salmonella_food_poisoning/
"Salmonella infection usually occurs when a person eats food contaminated with the feces of animals or humans carrying the bacteria." If the conditions were better, there would not be feces coming into contact with our food.
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming.aspx
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/06/a-spy-in-the-slaughterhouse/258110/
"Some poke their noses up over the chute wall to sniff at our arms and stomachs. I can run a bare hand over their smooth, wet noses, a millisecond of charged, unmediated physical contact. At close range, even caked in feces and vomit, the creatures are magnificent, awe-inspiring." Disgusting!
--Joseph
Comment Score: 20/20
DeleteQuality Sourcing!
Wow! I just finished drinking chocolate milk and my stomach turned. I didn't know milk and cheese was contaminated with salmonella. I thought it was just the eggs. The reason I didn't take it as serious as E.coli is because you can easily get rid of the bacteria by cooking it completely. Is the government taking this seriously? Well according to cdc.gov, "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects imported foods, oversees inspection of milk pasteurization plants, promotes better food preparation techniques in restaurants and food processing plants..." Hopefully there are better solutions to this situation.
ReplyDelete-Yenitza