Message from the Publisher

Does it appear that you read about some product or food item being recalled more often lately? Whether it be a faulty product causing injury, a foreign object found in the food, or some type of parasite like salmonella or E.coli, it’s almost on a daily basis.  

The latest one I read about was a recall of 61,000 pounds of steamed chicken soup dumplings from Trader Joe’s that possibly contained hard plastic pieces; specifically hard plastic pieces from a permanent marker pen. How could that happen? “Hey Joe, I misplaced my marker while doing rounds in the dumpling department today. Did you see it?” Oops! 

Then there was the recall of nearly 93,277 pounds of raw meat products from MF Meats, a Falconer, New York establishment. “The recall came following four separate complaints from restaurants citing reports of a chemical taste in the brand’s meat products. The foul taste was a result of the firm’s mineral oil supplier sending a drum containing non-food grade mineral seal oil labeled as food grade mineral oil. Non-food grade mineral seal oil specifically is not approved for use in meat processing.” 

Bad enough the meat had a chemical taste, but even the thought that they use mineral seal oil would make me avoid eating it.

And let’s not forget all the airplane mishaps, malfunctions, and mechanical oversights that have caused doors and wheels to fly off, fires in cockpits and even nose-dives causing passenger injuries. Luckily, nothing catastrophic has happened, yet.  

Organizations such as the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), FAA and others at least give us some comfort in knowing someone is looking out for our safety, but it’s never fun to realize you may have a contaminated food product, faulty product in your possession or flying in an unsafe airplane. 

If you go to fsis.usda.gov/recalls or fda.gov/safety (tinyurl.com/2v3fuxcm) you will find listings of many recalled drug and food items. There were 92 pages of products from cinnamon containing lead, chocolate, well known prescriptions drugs, dog and cat food recalls, and a lot more. Then there is the Consumer Product Safety Commission cpsc.gov/recalls that lists products that have been recalled. 

With prices going up around us you would think that quality control would be too. Unfortunately, it seems to be taking a dip for the worse. That’s concerning. 

I would hope that the FSIS, CPSC and the FAA will step up their inspections because it certainly seems that profit is taking preference over safety. Someone needs to mind the store more closely. 

The Adventures of Eddie and Mae

Since my last report, Eddie has managed to destroy a few more socks of ours, chewed up a push-button from the top of my Tupperware pitcher, along with ripping apart most of his stuffed toys to get at the squeakers. A puppy’s work is never done. But I’ve included Mae, his “furever” sister (who is a two-year-old chocolate lab) in this report, because she is a little instigator! She enjoys riling Eddie up so they play fight, and just like two-year olds, they do it when I’m on the phone, washing dishes or we are trying to eat. We think they purposely do it just so we pay attention to them. Just like little kids. Mae also has to be caged when we are gone as she has a tendency towards separation anxiety, which leads to destruction! I’ve lost a few cushioned rubber floor mats, tablecloths and pounds of dog food that she broke into. And, of course, Eddie is not far behind. 

And Eddie is STILL chasing the cats, although has slowed down a lot. However, he just loves to play and torment them. I’ve included a picture of where they feel safe; a nice warm, cozy spot on top of my stove and counter. That’s Shadow on the counter, Mama the black cat (who is Shadow’s mother), Tiny the orange tabby and Tank the beige tabby (they are brothers). I am a crazy cat person. That’s probably why I have two crazy dogs! 

 I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We are still wearing winter coats. 18 degree windchill on March 26th!  I knew Mother Nature wasn’t going to give up on winter so soon despite what the calendar says. Let’s hope April showers also bring warmer weather along with May flowers. Oh, and don’t forget about the solar eclipse on April 8th, but remember to wear those protective glasses! GET OUT AND ENJOY SPRING! GOD BLESS AMERICA!