First Eggs, Now Deli Meat. Is Anything Safe to Eat?

First, breakfast took a hit with the recent egg recalls. Now lunch suffers a blow. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that Zemco Industries is recalling 380,000 pounds of deli meats due to a possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. That's a whole lot of ham sandwiches.

According to a story on CNN.com, all of the recalled meats were distributed to Walmarts and used in the big box store's "Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches." These are prepared, packaged sandwiches, not boxed deli meats.

Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a rare but potentially fatal disease. Symptoms of listeriosis include high fever, severe headaches, neck stiffness, and nausea, according to CNN.com. "Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy," the USDA warned. Yikes — those are some pretty serious conditions to get from a roast beef sandwich.

On its own, perhaps this deli meat recall isn't such huge news considering it only applies to Walmart's prepared sandwiches (right now, at least). But what's sure to shake up already-scared consumers is the fact that this deli debacle comes on the heels of one of America's largest outbreaks of salmonella poisoning. Producers Wright County Egg and Hillendale Farms recently recalled more than a half-billion eggs due to possible salmonella contamination. Already, more than one thousand people have come down with symptoms of salmonella poisoning, and that number is expected to rise throughout the coming days.

The symptoms of salmonella poisoning will pass, and like everything that takes the media spotlight, these recalls are sure to fade from memory in the coming months. But what's here to stay is consumers' growing distrust of the nation's major food producers. Take Wright County Egg: The company's owner, Austin "Jack" DeCoster, has been managing Big Ag operations for years. Since the early 90s, DeCoster's wracked up a slew of environmental, labor, animal abuse, and health violations. Yet despite his reputation as a bad egg, DeCoster continues to produce, well, bad eggs. How can consumers trust food manufacturers if folks like DeCoster are allowed to operate despite their notoriously unethical management practices?

Because industrial farming ventures produce so much of the nation's food supply, production and packaging plants are supposed to be subject to a high level of scrutiny. Inspections can't possibly be very stringent, though, if millions of products loaded with salmonella and listeria consistently manage to slip out the door and onto peoples' plates.

I plan to avoid foodborne illnesses by buying local, preferably straight from the farmer. Farmers at farmers' markets are typically more than happy to talk to shoppers about how they produce their eggs, dairy, meats, fruits, and veggies. Buying from farmers' markets boosts the local economy, helps the environment by cutting back on food miles, and provides folks with access to fresh, healthy foods. And oh yeah: It ensures that shademeisters like DeCoster aren't behind your breakfast.

Photo credit: rick via Flickr