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Nationwide meat recall announced

danarhea

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(CNN) -- Zemco Industries in Buffalo, New York, has recalled approximately 380,000 pounds of deli meat that may be contaminated with bacteria that can cause a potentially fatal disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.
The products were distributed to Wal-Marts nationwide, according to the USDA's website.

This is right on the heels of the egg recall, which begs the question: Do we continue with business as usual, or do we need more robust regulation when it comes to the processing of foods? Note that in both cases the companies have voluntarily pulled the product without the government ordering them to.

Discussion?

Article is here.
 
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These companies just need better checks on their product is all. No need for the government to get involved.
 
Government has been slacking in its inspections for years now. The number of inspections has dropped DRASTICALLY in the past 10 years.

More needs to be done, not less, and when it comes to health issues like this I do not favour "self-regulating industry". The government has to step in.
 
All industries are being alot more cautious given the government actions against Toyota and BP.

No CEO wants to be called before Congress.

I think that has alot to do with it.
 
Government has been slacking in its inspections for years now. The number of inspections has dropped DRASTICALLY in the past 10 years.

More needs to be done, not less, and when it comes to health issues like this I do not favour "self-regulating industry". The government has to step in.

Nah I think we should give the companies a chance to fix the problem themselves. In both cases the found it first and stopped it before the government had to step in. Let these companies themselves fix the problem.
 
Nah I think we should give the companies a chance to fix the problem themselves. In both cases the found it first and stopped it before the government had to step in. Let these companies themselves fix the problem.

Obviously they are not fixing it themselves, given that there are multiple outbreaks and recalls PER YEAR now. The industry is slacking, and it has been the unwillingness to interfere with business that has caused the problem, and not the opposite.

More regulation is needed, not to control their product, but in the genuine interest of public safety. With all of the anti-biotic use, resistant strains are now circulating among meat products. All the while, the industry keeps using the same antibiotics which are becoming less and less effective. These bacteria are strong and without proper sanitation and regular inspections, the bacteria can spread. The news won't call them superbugs but they are, increasingly.

I know people are reluctant to let government expand, but in this case we must allow more inspections.
 
Obviously they are not fixing it themselves, given that there are multiple outbreaks and recalls PER YEAR now. The industry is slacking, and it has been the unwillingness to interfere with business that has caused the problem, and not the opposite.

More regulation is needed, not to control their product, but in the genuine interest of public safety. With all of the anti-biotic use, resistant strains are now circulating among meat products. All the while, the industry keeps using the same antibiotics which are becoming less and less effective. These bacteria are strong and without proper sanitation and regular inspections, the bacteria can spread. The news won't call them superbugs but they are, increasingly.

I know people are reluctant to let government expand, but in this case we must allow more inspections.

Look nothing is going to come out perfect every time and the fact that these companies have caught the error themselves than I feel that we should allow them to fix the problem in house. Now if they never caught the problem and people got sick and died then OK maybe we do need more governmental regulations. But since they have been able to do this solo it just means they need more strict guidelines before food is sent out.
 
Nah I think we should give the companies a chance to fix the problem themselves. In both cases the found it first and stopped it before the government had to step in. Let these companies themselves fix the problem.

the gov't found the problem, not the company.

The meats may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which was discovered in a retail sample collected by inspectors in Georgia. The USDA has received no reports of illnesses associated with the meats.
 
Look nothing is going to come out perfect every time and the fact that these companies have caught the error themselves than I feel that we should allow them to fix the problem in house. Now if they never caught the problem and people got sick and died then OK maybe we do need more governmental regulations. But since they have been able to do this solo it just means they need more strict guidelines before food is sent out.

As was just proven, they didn't catch the error themselves, government did... so my point stands. You cannot rely on 'self-regulating industry' to do anything in the greater good of the public.

And I find it to be a sad line of reasoning when it's suggested that public interest shouldn't get involved until someone has died. The whole point of inspections is to prevent that from happening!
 
As was just proven, they didn't catch the error themselves, government did... so my point stands. You cannot rely on 'self-regulating industry' to do anything in the greater good of the public.

And I find it to be a sad line of reasoning when it's suggested that public interest shouldn't get involved until someone has died. The whole point of inspections is to prevent that from happening!

OK good the government did it's job. We should still not allow the government to get involved in the business affairs of these companies. The companies will either raise to the challenge and fix their errors in checking food or they won't and probably get shut down from a lack of people buying from them. And I didn't say the public shouldn't be interested. Hell we should be active and not buy from these companies until they fix their ways. Our not buying from them will be more effective than the government interfering anyways. And I am also not against the inspections and what the government is doing now. I just don't think they need to get involved anymore.
 
OK good the government did it's job. We should still not allow the government to get involved in the business affairs of these companies. The companies will either raise to the challenge and fix their errors in checking food or they won't and probably get shut down from a lack of people buying from them. And I didn't say the public shouldn't be interested. Hell we should be active and not buy from these companies until they fix their ways. Our not buying from them will be more effective than the government interfering anyways. And I am also not against the inspections and what the government is doing now. I just don't think they need to get involved anymore.

Yeah, historically that is exactly how it worked....

Edit: yes, that is sarcasm.
 
OK good the government did it's job. We should still not allow the government to get involved in the business affairs of these companies. The companies will either raise to the challenge and fix their errors in checking food or they won't and probably get shut down from a lack of people buying from them. And I didn't say the public shouldn't be interested. Hell we should be active and not buy from these companies until they fix their ways. Our not buying from them will be more effective than the government interfering anyways. And I am also not against the inspections and what the government is doing now. I just don't think they need to get involved anymore.

Look around the room and then in the fridge.

How much do you know about where, when, and how any of these items were produced?

This magical free market self-correction you're talking about is a total fantasy. It never has and never will work that way.
 
OK good the government did it's job. We should still not allow the government to get involved in the business affairs of these companies. The companies will either raise to the challenge and fix their errors in checking food or they won't and probably get shut down from a lack of people buying from them. And I didn't say the public shouldn't be interested. Hell we should be active and not buy from these companies until they fix their ways. Our not buying from them will be more effective than the government interfering anyways. And I am also not against the inspections and what the government is doing now. I just don't think they need to get involved anymore.

Applying simple supply and demand to this situation is not going to yield results in the safety department, for a couple of reasons. The first is the demand for food is inelastic so people will always be buying it; the second is that the vast majority of meat on the shelves is no longer butchered locally, but in big factories with the kind of practices that lead to listeria. Simply choosing a different brand name will not increase safety if the entire industry is not being inspected and regulated properly.

Also, people don't know if the meat they're buying has been contaminated or not, they simply buy it and hope that regulatory bodies have done their job. In this case the poisoned meat was caught in time but it wasn't due to consumer choices or industry self-regulating, it was due to government.

I'm sorry, but when it comes to public health it should never be left up to supply and demand, or trust in the idea that companies will look out for the public. They are private businesses and their number one goal is maximization of profits, which is the whole reason why deadly strains of listeria and salmonella are finding their way into food: the companies are getting lazy and the government is not calling them on it.

I sympathize with libertarian ideals but they're not universally applicable. Sometimes regulation is definitely needed and this is one case where I unshakeably think that it is.
 
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Welcome to "Why eating food from factory farms can be hazardous to your health: An Introduction."
 
the gov't found the problem, not the company.

The meats may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which was discovered in a retail sample collected by inspectors in Georgia. The USDA has received no reports of illnesses associated with the meats.

Great, in Georgia. Well, I'm not making any turkey sandwiches anytime soon.

And yeah, the government needs to be stricter about things that involve our health.
 
Government has been slacking in its inspections for years now. The number of inspections has dropped DRASTICALLY in the past 10 years.

More needs to be done, not less, and when it comes to health issues like this I do not favour "self-regulating industry". The government has to step in.

No one wants to pay for it in this country. We've been cutting back health inspectors ever since the Reagan administration.
 
Look around the room and then in the fridge.

How much do you know about where, when, and how any of these items were produced?

This magical free market self-correction you're talking about is a total fantasy. It never has and never will work that way.

I know where they were produced because I buy locally and organic. It may cost a bit more, but it tastes better.
 
Applying simple supply and demand to this situation is not going to yield results in the safety department, for a couple of reasons. The first is the demand for food is inelastic so people will always be buying it; the second is that the vast majority of meat on the shelves is no longer butchered locally, but in big factories with the kind of practices that lead to listeria. Simply choosing a different brand name will not increase safety if the entire industry is not being inspected and regulated properly.

Also, people don't know if the meat they're buying has been contaminated or not, they simply buy it and hope that regulatory bodies have done their job. In this case the poisoned meat was caught in time but it wasn't due to consumer choices or industry self-regulating, it was due to government.

I'm sorry, but when it comes to public health it should never be left up to supply and demand, or trust in the idea that companies will look out for the public. They are private businesses and their number one goal is maximization of profits, which is the whole reason why deadly strains of listeria and salmonella are finding their way into food: the companies are getting lazy and the government is not calling them on it.

I sympathize with libertarian ideals but they're not universally applicable. Sometimes regulation is definitely needed and this is one case where I unshakeably think that it is.

I am fine with what the government is doing now. If they want to do more inspections or tighten up regulations a bit more that is fine. I just don't want to see them get more involved than that. And I agree that the companies shouldn't be left on their own. I just think the government if it wanted to get involved goes listen you have x amount of time and if we don't see improvement then we will act.
 
Nah I think we should give the companies a chance to fix the problem themselves. In both cases the found it first and stopped it before the government had to step in. Let these companies themselves fix the problem.

I agree. These companies produce millions of pounds of food annually without incident. They found their error, made the public aware without being asked and are fixing it. No need for government intervention.
 
Look around the room and then in the fridge.

How much do you know about where, when, and how any of these items were produced?

This magical free market self-correction you're talking about is a total fantasy. It never has and never will work that way.
Except for those of us that could drive right on over to the small, local farmers that we get our meat, eggs, and produce from.
 
This is right on the heels of the egg recall, which begs the question: Do we continue with business as usual, or do we need more robust regulation when it comes to the processing of foods? Note that in both cases the companies have voluntarily pulled the product without the government ordering them to.

Discussion?

Article is here.

Never let a good crisis go to waste!

What, Gov't Regulation and Control isn't perfect? WE NEED MORE GOV'T!!!

The only ones asking that question are those that believe Gov't could have stopped these problems to begin with.
 
Never let a good crisis go to waste!

What, Gov't Regulation and Control isn't perfect? WE NEED MORE GOV'T!!!

The only ones asking that question are those that believe Gov't could have stopped these problems to begin with.

Who is talking about a crisis here? I phrased my OP in order to present 2 sides to a discussion, then asked for discussion, in which there has some pretty good back and forth between the participants. Why don't you join the discussion? How about presenting an intelligent dialog which addresses why the government should not get involved? Or should it? And, if so, then to what extent?
 
Never let a good crisis go to waste!

What, Gov't Regulation and Control isn't perfect? WE NEED MORE GOV'T!!!

The only ones asking that question are those that believe Gov't could have stopped these problems to begin with.

Yes, God forbid we actually learn from our mistakes.
 
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