Scuttlebutt Pipeline

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Now where have I heard this before:

SAN FRANCISCO - A package of Dole salad mix that tested positive for E. coli has triggered a recall in at least nine states, prompting new produce fears almost exactly a year after a nationwide spinach scare.

The tainted bag of Dole’s Hearts Delight salad mix was sold at a store in Canada, officials said. Neither Canadian health officials nor Dole Food Co. have received reports of anyone getting sick from the product.

The voluntary recall, issued Monday, affects all packages of Hearts Delight sold in the United States and Canada with a “best if used by” date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of “A24924A” or “A24924B,” the company said.

Last year, an E. coli outbreak traced to bagged baby spinach sold under the Dole brand was blamed for the deaths of three people and for sickening hundreds more across the U.S. Authorities eventually identified a central California cattle ranch next to spinach fields belonging to one of Dole’s suppliers as being the source of the bacteria.

A recent Associated Press investigation found that government regulators never acted on calls for stepped-up inspections of leafy greens after that outbreak, and regulations governing farms in the fertile central California region known as the nation’s “Salad Bowl” remain much as they were.

The latest recall affects packages sold in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada and in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee starting around Sept. 8, said Marty Ordman, a Dole spokesman.

Eighty-eight cases — or 528 bags — were distributed in Canada, and 755 cases containing 4,530 bags were distributed in the U.S., he said. FDA spokesman Michael Herndon said the agency was talking with Westlake Village, Calif.-based Dole about the situation.

(Full Article)

Those who do not learn from past mistakes are doomed to repeat them. Perhaps Dole just hasn’t learned yet or maybe even doesn’t care? Whatever the case may be it doesn’t change the fact that there is some contaminated salad out there. Personally I don’t buy bagged lettuce, but obviously others out there do. So be sure to check your merchandise.

Bagged salad affected by the recall are Dole’s Hearts Delight with the best if used by date of September 19,2007 and have either A24924A or A24924B product codes.

I’ve been very fortunate in that all of the people who I care about that have reached their later years have never suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease. I have had friends though who were not so fortunate.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that robs people and their loved ones of time and it hurts and impacts all those involved. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia that is most commonly found in people ages sixty-five and over. It is estimated that over twenty-four million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s. Here is a textbook definition of what the disease is and what it does:

[…] Alzheimer’s is characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration, together with declining activities of daily living and by neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. […]

Which is a very clear and cut way to say that a person who suffers from this disease essentially loses their selves, their identity, and can no longer truly process and understand the world around them. This definition does not even begin to touch upon the pain that is felt by the victim’s loved ones. Currently there is no known cause of Alzheimer’s, and as you can guess, that makes finding a cure incredibly difficult.

Memory Walk is a non-for-profit organization that has raised over $225 million dollars towards finding a cure. Memory Walk was begun in 1989 and has been dedicated to “walking” for a cure. You can visit their official website to locate a team near your location to join, or even better yet, you can sign up as a Team Captain and create your own team. If you’re in my position however you might not have a schedule that is very flexible, in which case you can select a walker and choose to sponsor them.

There is a local team in my area whom I plan to sponsor, which other Southern New Mexico residents may want to take notice of. Lizzie has put together a team that will meet and walk on October 13, 2007 at Young Park in Las Cruces. Please see the team’s page for more information on how to sign up or to sponsor a walker.

Please consider donating your time or money to a very charitable cause.

BEIJING - China executed a former director of its food and drug agency Tuesday for approving fake medicine in exchange for cash, illustrating how serious Beijing is about tackling product safety, while officials announced steps to safeguard food at next summer’s Olympic Games.

The measures include ensuring athletes’ food is free of substances that could trigger a positive result in tests for banned performance-enhancing drugs. Many of China’s recent food woes have been tied to the purity of ingredients, flavoring, artificial colors and other additives.

During Zheng Xiaoyu’s tenure as head of the State Food and Drug Administration from 1997 to 2006, the agency approved six untested drugs that turned out to be fake, and some drug-makers used falsified documents to apply for approvals, according to state media reports. One antibiotic caused the deaths of at least 10 people.

(Full Article)

So apparently the people responsible for the unsafe food and products flowing from China are finally being held responsible, it’s about frigging time. I love this part though:

…illustrating how serious Beijing is about tackling product safety, while officials announced steps to safeguard food at next summer’s Olympic Games.

Um no, I doubt it has anything to do with them being serious about safety and tackling it head on. The Olympic Games is a big event and money maker for the country hosting it. China has to make an effort to appear as though they are concerned with safety and taking measures to ensure the safety of athletes now before the games draw any closer. Otherwise a new venue will definately be insisted upon by the other competing nations.

I seem to recall a recent event that had, at first, only dog owners switching from regular dog food to Premium dog food and then when the situation worsened cat and dog owners alike began to make their own pet food in order to ensure their pet’s safety. Hundreds of pets were affected and an international fuss was caused over this but China did little in way of taking measures then. And that was far from the only incident too.

I’m thinking Zheng Xiaoyu is just one of many who need to be executed.

Having a baby is not cheap, during a pregnancy mothers to be often find themselves burdened down with a staggering amount of expenses that they had not counted on having to foot the bill for. Regular check ups alone can cost quite the pretty penny. Despite this, it is rather shocking to see how many insurance and support programs will not help or cover the cost of a pregnancy if the mother to be is already pregnant prior to the initiation of the program. Maternity Card: Insurance for Pregnant Women is not one of those programs.

MaternityCard aims to help women who are having a baby and are worried about the never ending and forever increasing cost of maternity care. MaternityCard offers discounts on the cost of hospital delivery as well as other expenses associated with childbirth.

As more and more details are uncovered and leaked to the press the more and more I find myself disgusted with the hospital care in general and Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital.

A woman who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency calls reveal.

Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, died of a perforated bowel on May 9 at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. Her death was ruled accidental by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Relatives said Rodriguez was bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain for 45 minutes while she was at a hospital waiting area. Experts have said she could have survived had she been treated early enough.

County and state authorities are now investigating Rodriguez’s death. Relatives reported she died as police were wheeling her out of the hospital after the officers they had asked to help Rodriguez arrested her instead on a parole violation. Sheriff’s Department spokesman Duane Allen said Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing.

In the recordings of two 911 calls that day, first obtained by the Los Angeles Times under a California Public Records Act request, callers pleaded for help for Rodriguez but were referred to hospital staff instead.

Full article.

I understand that there are procedures and protocols to follow but there is always a clause, it’s called emergency/extenuating circumstances. In order to protect a life or the wellbeing of someone(s) you need to act beyond the protocol. There is a lot of finger pointing being down right now and the blame is most certainly very widespread. No doubt many are in denial as to who really is at fault here but one thing remains unchanged; a woman lost her life when she could have been treated and would have survived. Her death was completely unnecessary.