Water Survey & Franks Recall

Water Survey & Franks Recall plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Farmers and ranchers who irrigate are eligible for a USDA survey on water use and irrigation trends according to Donald Buysse of National Agricultural Statistics Service.

BUYSSE: We do several surveys in conjunction with the Census of Agriculture. We call them census follow ons because they come after the census and we use the data from the census to form the population by which we're going to go out and look at certain parts of the agriculture sector. Best thing about is is it establishes benchmark data.

If you are a fan of Seattle Mariner Beef Franks you need to be aware that the North Dakota company that produces them is also recalling them. Cloverdale Foods is recalling approximately 2,664 pounds of beef franks due to misbranding and an undeclared allergen. The products were formulated with milk, a known allergen, which is not declared on the product label. The problem was discovered by the company during an internal label review. Non-fat dry milk is an ingredient used in the product. The problem occurred when the newly designed label included an incorrect ingredient statement.

Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray.

When it comes to fresh produce to wash or not to wash is the question. To help answer that question the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has provided guidelines that are pretty much common sense - before eating or preparing fresh fruits and vegetables, wash the produce under cold running tap water to remove any lingering dirt. That will help to reduce any bacteria that may be present. The surface of firm produce, like potatoes or apples can be scrubbed with a brush. They go on to say that "when preparing fruits and vegetables, cut away any damaged or bruised areas because bacteria that can cause illness can thrive in those places." As far as eggs or meat - eggs do not have to be washed before storing them as they are washed in commercial egg processing plants and don't need to be washed again, and experts now say that raw meat and poultry should not be washed because the bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can get splashed onto other surfaces and be spread to other foods and utensils, creating cross-contamination that could lead to food borne illness. To find out more visit the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service website.

Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.