Check Your Fridge

If you bought eggs from SAFEWAY in the last few months, how do you feel? Maybe what you felt wasn't the flu or food poisoning. That diarrhea, or stomach cramps might mean you've got to discard your batch so check the plant numbers more than the sell by dates. Our area has not been identified as being part of the recall another reason to not worry.

"The Santa Clara County (California) individuals became ill after eating contaminated eggs at local restaurants and catered events. Common symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, fever, cramps, nausea and vomiting beginning 12 to 72 hours after consumption." (Mercury News)

We're familiar with Lucerne and when we were in California we fell in love with Ralph's especially one of their checker who was incredible at bagging our groceries. In this age of do-it yourself check outs she was impressive in her professionalism and speed. If you shop SAFEWAY you might want to check your eggs and if they aren't in the batch eat on without fear. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Lucerne, Albertsons, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. They feature plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946." (Mercury News)

Though the story says one thing the news report images offer another story. The images say that the words are incorrect. So lets go with the images and ignore the printed word. The images say that the recall affects go beyond the dates of early August and extend into next month. It won't hurt to ignore the dates and go beyond to checking the specific plant numbers which would be more related to the actual recall.

"Don't eat raw eggs. There is always a chance that an egg could be contaminated with salmonella," Cody said. "It's usually when the egg is not cooked thoroughly. Raw eggs are used in different recipes from hollandaise to Caesar dressing or cake batter or cookie dough." (Mercury News)

If you have children, that's what kids are for, finding the remote, checking the fridge for bad eggs and taking out the trash. We says this because the kids are out of the house or we're sans kids. The danger isn't so much in your refrigerator as in your lunch counter and restaurant which isn't being emphasized in the news. So don't worry about you inside eggs as much as the eggs you eat when you let another person prepare your meal.

How do I know if I have Salmonella Enteritidis - "A person infected with the Salmonella Enteritidis bacterium usually has fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea beginning 12 to 72 hours after consuming a contaminated food or beverage. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without antibiotic treatment. However, the diarrhea can be severe, and the person may be ill enough to require hospitalization." (CDC)

That's if you want to worry - but then there are the facts behind the recall that the fine print says that what's mostly affected, won't be in your home but in the local restaurant - where costs matter and discarding profit isn't likely to be enacted. What we would suggest (mainly because mostly of us think we can't afford to eat out is to not eat out). Of course that information is a source of internal conflict among the staff. The staff members here who prepare food are against our advice but those whom pay for our meals out highly support the suggestion! In any event the risk is all yours.

How can I tell if my eggs have been recalled? (CDC)

You'd think that the one of the retailers (SAFEWAY) would have a statement very prominent of their website but we saw nothing there. Not that we think its their fault. For all we know they've removed all items from their shelves. Mostly we think that except for using the INTERNET as a money making venture retailers have no idea of the power of the Internet.