Meat Sauce Recall & Program Consolidation

Meat Sauce Recall & Program Consolidation

Meat Sauce Recall & Program Consolidation plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Tullia's is recalling Italian Meatless Pasta Sauce code 530140. This recall has been initiated because a records review by the Washington State Department of Agriculture revealed that one batch of sauce produced with the 530140 code had a pH level high enough to allow the growth of Clostridium botulinum. If present, this organism can cause botulism, a serious and potentially fatal foodborne illness. Recalled sauce is packaged in 16 OZ. and 32 OZ. clear glass bottles with white caps.

USDA allocates conservation funding to protect and restore key farm, grass and wetlands around the country. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack explains how the new Agricultural Conservation Easement Program or ACEP is a consolidation of three former programs.

VILSACK: It's really designed to give options to folks to be able to take a look at what works best. In the past we've been pretty prescriptive with these programs in terms of allocation gut resources and basically forcing people into one program or another. This basically creates the kind of flexibility that allows folks to put their own ideas together then seek assistance in funding under this consolidated program.

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

If you find yourself confused over food labels, you're not alone. In fact, it's a pretty common occurrence, especially when it comes to dates on food products. Consumers are inundated with "best before" dates, "sell by" dates, and "use by" dates on foods, and more often than not aren't sure what those dates really signify. Because of such confusion it is estimated that up to 90% of consumers throw away perfectly good, edible food before they really need to. It is important to understand that the date labels on foods don't necessarily indicate food safety. In fact, most of these dates are intended to pinpoint food freshness and peak quality - basically this product will taste best if used by this date. With the exception of baby formula, the FDA does not require food manufacturers to place "use by", "expired by", or "best before" dates on their products. Whether or not to do so is entirely up to the manufacturer. This is why numerous groups are still working to get a standardized food date labeling system that would help alleviate such confusion, which would also go a long way in helping to cut down the resulting food waste.

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

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