DakotaRidge
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- Local time
- Yesterday, 22:58
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2025
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- 70
Also, understand that the USDA may not announce a recall immediately. I read recently that this happened after USDA staff was cut.Hypothetical question:
USDA announces a recall of eggs due to salmonella contamination.
I don't see the announcement myself.
The next day I go shopping at the local chain supermarket where I buy eggs.
How likely am I to buy salmonella contaminated eggs? I.e. what are the odds that the chain supermarket either doesn't yet know about the USDA mandated egg recall, or continues to sell potentially contaminated eggs despite knowing about the recall?
If you are unaware of a recall, you could purchase the item and get sick or die. And you could have purchased a contaminated item weeks or months ago if it has a long shelf life. Yesterday, a friend in California sent me information about black plastic kitchen utensils that disperse microplastics when used.
My take is to track food and medicine recalls as best you can. Sign up with the CDC, USDA, and MSN to get information. You may miss ones here and there, but at least you are making an effort to protect yourself.
Do the same for recalls of meds. I track Metformin recalls myself. In the past few years, 500 mg Metformin has been recalled twice to my knowledge. When my doctor cut my dosage from 1000 mg to 500, I told him no. I told him to keep prescribing 1000 mg, and I will split them in half. That is what I have been doing for the past three years. I refuse to take 500 mg Metformin pills. I probably save a few dollars this way, but I don't trust the manufacture of 500 mg pills.
The other thing is that few food recalls are nationwide. When you track recalls, look for the state(s) where the product was recalled. If your state is not on the list, you may want to ignore the recall. But don't ignore states where you have family members.
Some announcements do not tell you which states received a product. That makes it difficult to track distribution.
Also, check for the plant ID and the stores that received the recalled product. My database does all of this, but the announcement has to be complete. Some agencies give only some of the story. The database tells family what information to look for in announcements.
Folks may need to check two or three sources if a recall is Class 1. Class 1 is the highest level recall. If a recall is Class 1, pay more attention to it.
The database also helps you understand the symptoms to look for and how long they may last. Some events can last a few days, and you can get back to work soon.
The database also suggests what to do if you eat contaminated food. That can save your life or a big hospital bill if you live by yourself.
And finally, the database can tell you if you are more sensitive to an illness than other people. It uses your age and race for this purpose. Many recall announcements say that young kids and senior citizens are more sensitive. Sometimes a Black or Asian person is more sensitive.
Yes, this can be a lot of work. Create a health database and get into a family to share the work. You are better at Access than I ever will be.
Oh yeah, check your cupboards occasionally for recalled products. That old bottle of wine could have floaters.
HTH.
Here's a screenshot that shows my Recall Map with two of my friends. The purple states are where my family members live. My friends say Hello and Stay Safe! I posted another screenshot above.