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USDA
Applesauce produced by Snokist Growers of Yakima, Wash., was recalled from the nation's schools earlier this year. Now, FDA officials say the company cannot ensure the safety of moldy applesauce reprocessed and packed in units such as this 106-ounce can.
A Washington state fruit processor that supplies the nation’s schools and a baby food maker is under scrutiny by federal health regulators for repackaging applesauce contaminated with several kinds of potentially dangerous, multi-colored molds, msnbc.com has learned.
Food and Drug Administration officials this week posted a warning letter to Snokist Growers of Yakima, Wash., saying the company cannot ensure the safety of moldy applesauce and fruit puree that has been reconditioned for human consumption.
“Your firm reprocesses moldy applesauce product … using a method that is not effective against all toxic metabolites,” read the FDA letter sent Oct. 20 to Jimmie L. Davis, Snokist’s president. “Several foodborne molds may be hazardous to human health.”
Products recalled earlier this year by Snokist were blamed for illnesses of nine North Carolina children who became sick after eating applesauce at school.
The latest warning came after FDA officials said Snokist failed to adequately address problems identified during a June inspection in which regulators found large, laminated bags of fruit products that were supposed to be sealed and sterile, but instead were broken open and tainted with white, brown, blue, blue-green and black mold. Some of the compromised bags were bloated and one had “a strong fermented odor,” the report said.
The FDA’s letter identified at least eight instances last year in which Snokist had reprocessed the moldy applesauce into canned goods for human consumption. The inspection report said Snokist documents showed the company had reprocessed mold-contaminated applesauce at least 13 times between January 2008 and May 2011, repackaging food into 15-ounce cans, 106-ounce-cans, 300-gallon bags and 4.2-ounce, single-serve cups.
It's not clear whether the mold-tainted applesauce went to schools. However, the June inspection followed a voluntary recall of more than 3,300 cases of canned Snokist applesauce in May after North Carolina schoolchildren became mildly ill after eating the fruit product. The recall was blamed on faulty seals on cans. The children have since recovered.
Snokist officials admit that they “rework” some moldy food for future use. But in an e-mail to msnbc.com, company officials said that the contaminated fruit represents only a fraction of the company’s products, that compromised product is typically separated and destroyed, and that any reprocessed food is heat-treated to kill toxins.
“If rework occurs, our thermal process is more than adequate to render the product commercially sterile,” Tina Moss, a company spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail.
The company said it has begun testing for patulin, a common toxin produced by mold in rotting fruit.
However, the FDA said the company's tests are not adequate and that officials must prove they're testing for other dangerous microbes: “Most mycotoxins are stable compounds that are not destroyed by heat treatment,” the letter said.
FDA regulations to allow companies to "recondition" food, but the final product must be free of contamination. Firms aren't required to notify the agency they've reprocessed food unless they're required to under terms of an inspection or other action, such as an injunction. In addition, rules prohibit mixing contaminated product with sound product to get to acceptable levels of filth, said Pat El-Hinnawy, an FDA spokeswoman.
A 2009 consultant’s report showed that the types of molds in the Snokist fruit products included Alternaria, Fusarium and two types of Pennicillium, all of which can cause illness in people.
That report was commissioned by Snokist after a baby-food manufacturer returned dozens of bags of the company’s fruit product in 2009 because they were contaminated with “a large amount of mold,” according to the FDA inspection report.
In early 2010, the consultant recommended six steps that Snokist could take to fix the problems, but during the FDA’s June inspection, company officials said they’d implemented only two.
Snokist sold more than 3.3 million cases of processed fruit with sales of $53 million in 2010, according to the company’s annual report. That represents more than 50,000 tons of processed fruit.
In the past, Snokist has supplied applesauce to schools nationwide through federal nutrition programs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A spokesman said he couldn’t comment directly on whether Snokist had been removed from the program, but added that no firm under investigation by the FDA would be allowed to participate.
Snokist officials said they were working to address all of the concerns raised by the FDA and were awaiting a new inspection to confirm progress. FDA officials said the company has 15 days to respond to the warning letter.
Leave a Comment:
So basically a vat of applesauce gets mold on top...they scoop off the bad part and then package and send out the rest?
I wonder of Del Monte or Dole have similar issues?
Never ever again buying a Snokist product again. If they are that braindead to say that and actually believe it or think that we will buy that line of BS then they need a lobotomy, DISGUSTING!!!!!!
Pretty much.
Makes you wonder when you open that can or box of food at home...
What makes you think that they scrap off the mold? They say that they reprocess it. That just means that they mix is up. The old school answer to pollution - dilution is the solution to pollution. Works with food going to that 99%. What do the rich care about the poor? This is a perfect example.
of course not mike757 that would be stupid, they cook it again first.:(
scumbag$$- anything to save a buck. put them out of business for the simple fact that they actually think educated people will comply with their BS response...
I just threw up in my mouth a lil. I hate reading stuff like this, because I immediately visualize eating it. Where are the fines? Enough with the slap on the wrist already.
Who is the baby food manufacturer to whom they are referring in the article?
Interested Observer: Are you suggesting the children of the "rich", and lord knows how you make the leap that the "rich" are somehow involved in this, don't eat applesauce, too?
Idiot.
and the republicans say "you can trust american business so we don't need no stinkin' regulations!"And these fools want us to put them in charge again!!??
MAXX: Regulations don't keep anyone from doing anything. Ask Jon Corzine from MF Global. All they do is establish punishment for those who break the law. The regulations in the food industry establish the standards but at the end of the day it is people who comply or don't comply. The issue isn't more regulations, again using the MF Global example, there are plenty of regulations including Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc. The issue is people who don't obey existing laws.
and ron paul and others want to do away with the f.d.a. and all regulations on businesses huh?Ya . I'll pull the lever for those guys.......as long as it drops the trap door under their feet.
Heat treatment is not very good at eliminating Fusarium as a toxin - nasty stuff.
The scary thing is you know these guys probably aren't the only ones guilty of this. They are just one of the few to actually get caught. It's probably been going for a while, it's just that finally a generation of kids that have lived in sterile homes with allergies up the wazoo that are immuno-immature compared to other generations are getting sick from these contaminates. Not that I'm advocating eating moldy produce, or anything other than cheese, but corprate greed and the persistent push to reduce waste while maximizing profits has been going strong for some time now. It was really only a matter of time before something like this came to public light.
Our nation's food supply is no longer safe because corprate greed yet again corrupting oversight protecting the common good. Just one more thing us 99% have to be angry with!
You big babies. You scrape the mold off of aged cheese and eat it! This is just doing the same thing with stuff you feed to kids. They even go the extra mile and heat it back up! What elso do you want? A little shot of Clorox?
Hello Chuck, I Googled for your web site "keep it fair" and could not find it. Please provide me with the address and your mission and, if you would be so kind, how you are able to pay for your service. Thank you.
Ah, the "job-killing"doing what it does best. PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM TOXIC FOOD.
Corporates exist only to pay executives incredible salaries, and for share-holder profit. Anything other than this is totally un-American, in this day and age. Employees and clients - who cares?
FDA should fine these serial / repeat offenders. How are these white collar different from blue collar crimes?
CORPORATIONS ARE PEOPLE... So why the F--- arent' they fined and locked up? As far as the article reads, they are simply writtened up and warned!!! DISGUSTING DISCRIMINATION.
@norm903:
"children of the rich" don't buy school cafeteria food.
People - Only 2% of our imported food is inspected by the FDA. If you want to live your life solely trusting Big Brother to make things safe for you, find and eat only the 2% of inspected imports or stop whinning, you hypocrites.
I heard of a story of employees at a tv dinner manufacturer. THey had a bird get loose in the facility and it ended up landing in a vat of peas and carrots and died. The supervisor just made them take a shovel and scoop the bird out and any veggies that may have been touching it and then keep on working.
welcome to corporate America !!!
Maybe Snokist should move to China, they allow anything there !!
Norm903, your entire argument is not just wrong, it's laughable.
1. By your absurd logic, we should do away with laws against ANYTHING because....hey doncha know...some people still break laws.
2. You ignore the fact that the Tea Partiers/Republicans want to take away existing regulations. You can't enforce regulations that don't exist any more because your friendly neighborhood republican got rid of them in exchange for huge campaign contributions from the deregulated corporations.
3. You ignore the general point that incidents like this show that many companies will endanger human lives just to make a profit. With freedom comes responsibility. If multi-millionaire CEOs are not going to take responsibility for their company's actions, an outside authority needs to step in and make sure they do.
I find it disturbing that they think it's okay serving moldy reprocessed food to children.
Then again, corporate (greed) logic is that the millions made by selling moldy food is more than enough to offset some nominal fine and a slap on the wrist.
Why were they not closed down when the problem was first identified. The regulations are a joke and what exists is not even followed. Wonder how much cash changed hands under the table.
Oh come on. Do you honestly mean to tell me that you don't know how the rich are involved in this?
Who do you think made the decision to repackage potentially dangerous food for children to consume? Do you think it was the cleaning lady? No, it was the very rich management of the company. Even after the danger was pointed out they *STILL* tried to claim it was safe.
I hate to be the one to have to point out the glaringingly obvious, but I guess I will. Not all children eat applesauce. Of the ones that do, not all of them use that particular company's products.
Another buck at any price.....as long as you can get away with it. Fortunately, they didn't get away with it.
Shut them down, fine the #### out of them, arrest the owner, clean the equipment, then start over under watch for the next year. Be sure to tack on the tax-payer cost to the fines.
Yes NOW is the time for the Tea Baggers and the Ron Paul devotees to explain how getting rid of Federal Regulations and letting private industry regulate itself would deal with this, their answer would be for the free market to decide, if enough people got sick then this company would fail and rightfully so.
Lady: because despite the hyperventilating vitriol by the right, the FDA has been stripped of most of its authority and has become a toothless tiger.
Interested Observer: Lots of well off kids eat at the school cafeteria (yes, even in private schools).
Moldy, shmoldy... that applesauce is still better for kids than a lot of other stuff they eat or drink every day, like soda. And reprocessing makes it sterile again. Who would want to waste a big vat of food if it had a few specs of mold on the surface? Ever seen apple cider being made in real life? Be practical, people!
Screw fines. This was a calculated management decision to take these risks. Shut them down and liquidate all of their assets. Pay the money to the laid-off workers with one year's severance and the rest goes to a fund for lawsuit awards.
Done.
My first glance at the picture with the company name on the can, I thought it said SNOTKIST. Maybe that isn't too far off the mark?
No. Since I'm highly alergic to food mold (as in anaphylactic shock alergic), I would like them to package FRESH food, unless of course they are willing to print in big bold red letters..."WE ARE RECYCLING CRAP FOR YOU AND YOUR KIDS TO EAT!". Then I will be satisfied.
Junicon, Renee, et al: It is not to say that regulations aren't needed, to a degree they are; the point is that the regs by themselves don't prevent bad acts, and to suggest that because of this incident more are needed is wrong.
Additionally, contrary to what one poster wrote, everyone eats applesauce including both the rich, poor, and in between. Max, loved your post along with whomever else wrote about everyone on this board scraping the mold off of cheese at home. How true!
By the way, would someone on this board define what "rich" is for me. I fear I may qualify and that would be terrible!!!
Unless of course they are alergic to food mold in which case it will FREAKING KILL THEM! But what's a few dead 99%ers when were messing with the profits of the 1%, RIGHT?!!
That's true Norm, but without the regulations we have no way to hold these people accountable. And don't even start with "you can always file suit". Since the Supreme Court has virtually done away with "class-action" suits, that avenue is pretty much out of the question for at least 99% of us.
Didn't need that, norm903. Do better.
You're suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
Many of you are asking questions that are answered in the article, which means you are ONLY skimming the article.
They are ALLOWED by the FDA to recondition the product because the process they use is suppose to kill the mold. So when they test the final product they should not be seeing ANY trace of mold which apparently is not the case. So their process is not always working it seems. They have been warned to step up their testing and apparently have only partially done that.
I have worked in the food industry and have worked first hand with health departments and the FDA. Things are not always as they appear, nor do they often make much sense. Here is an example that might give some of you a clue.
It is required by health departments for a restaurant to keep eggs on the bottom shelf. If eggs are moved and an inspector makes a visit, that restaurant will get written up. The thing is however, is that the health department does not inspect the eggs themselves. So they could be rotten or broken and the restaurant would not get written up.
Government = stupidity.
I can tell you that apples bruise easily and thus do get moldy very easily. You might not see this in the grocery stores because they pick through the produce to remove the ones NOT perfect because the general public is very squeamish. While this is fine, the amount of waste at the store level is unreal and very costly. I grow produce, live on a farm, and do pick out mold, worms, etc and have never gotten sick.
The more people move away from rural life into urban and suburban areas the less they know about the imperfect life.
That being said, the FDA gave them directions and they failed to adhere to them.
We are a wasteful country.
Obviously not.
The chinese execute those for doing things like this, please let's execute this lowlifes.
That figures why American kids rank last in everything, aint because we got dumb kids here ya know....it's the mold the've been eatin and sniffin on...
Solution to corrupt school food suppliers .....Start having reall cooks cook real meals for our children. It has got to be a cheaper alternative to paying vast medical bills.
Wonder if they can recondition wine into grapes too?
I wasn't surprised by this headline at all. I've been to my son's school and seen the food. Some of it looks amazingly like ancient leftovers from the back of the refrigerator. It should be carbon dated to check it's age. Some of it is pretty unrecognizable too so it also needs to be analyzed to determine whether it's animal, vegetable or mineral. To me food should at least be recognizable as food. The school might not care what my son eats but I do.
It's funny that people equate being rich with being Republican. The wealthiest people I've met, including doctors, stockbrokers, and business execs, all vote for Democrats. I get really sick of people trying to make every issue into a case of evil, rich Republicans trying to trample all over all the poor, victimized Democrats.
LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT..........................
So the SAME company has been doing this since 2008 and the FDA has been aware of it since 2008 yet the company is STILL in business???
What's wrong with this picture???
I find it hard to believe how foolish some of the statements are on here. Some molds can cause serious infection - systemic infection spreading to every body system and organ and basically start rotting you from the inside out. Yes it does happen to people every year, and I know someone whose father died from it. The toxins some of them generate can make a person sick or worse. It's no different than bacteria, and actually it can be worse because any infection resulting from mold is harder to kill than a bacterial one. These people were also blatantly and purposely negligent and irresponsible.
They should serve this stuff in the Congressional cafeteria instead of schools, maybe a few sick bobble heads would be motivated to do something.
OL_Doc, they should put it in the ingredients Mold added for extra flavor ...... LOL
I was a manufacturing engineer for years. You can re-work plastic, steel, aluminum, finished goods (I made roof-racks for cars) etc.
But food? Seriously? WTF?
Once again, there are those that want to "blame republicans". Really??? And the regulations people say the republicans want to ease up on, do you even know what the regulations are? Not really sure they (republicans) want to throw out ALL regulations. Intelligent comments based on sound knowledge are a wonderful thing.
Reconditioning is allowed, but the method for reconditioning has to be appropriate. As for why things like this happen, perhaps we should take a look back at another article on Snokist:
www.inc.com/magazine/20080701/when-workers-strike-back.html
Here, this article's even better:
www.inc.com/magazine/20070501/casestudy.html
And these tea party people want to get rid of the FDA.
Morons!!!
Reworking/Heat sterilization may kill all the mold and serilize it to the nth degree, but that does NOT eliminate the byproducts of the mold being there in the first place. You live and breathe and eat. You eliminate CO2 and body polutants and unusable mass in the bathroom. Mold does the same. Chemicals are not always responsive to sterilization and remain in the product. It is POISON and dilution may reduce it to low concentrations but you still have it accumulating in your body because it is not recognized by your kidneys. Enjoy your next bowl of applesauce.
Well, forever when I see "Snokist", I'll just see "Snot" - it's as disgusting, what they have done. Ugh. Applesauce will never quit seem the same after this, just thankful my kids insisted on a packed lunch.
Snokist: "Oh snap, we got another warning letter from the FDA. Hahahahaha! Hey Harry, write 'em a letter and tell 'em we're working to address all of their concerns."
Yeah, that FDA is one scary government organization. Maybe the FDA will fine Snokist or make more recommendations that they wont/can't enforce.
Unless I missed something, all the talk about not wanting to get rid of regulations - um, how are those regulations working out for you? Seems like a lot of tax dollars going to waste on a toothless machine that either wont or can't do anything.
Seems it would be more effective to have a good article with good information and people simply deciding whether or not to ever buy Snokist. Enough people not buying Snokist, bye, bye Snokist - and didn't cost a single tax dollar.
Perhaps the masses would be a bit more involved if the gummit was less involved. Would probably force us to do more, to find out if our schools are feeding our kiddos Snokist products and maybe we would go to the trouble to stop such a thing.
But, thankfully, there's no need because we trust in regulation. The FDA is going to take care of Snokist so we have nothing to worry about. Just send our kiddos off to school Monday to eat whatever the gummit has approved for them to eat.
Seriously....if we allow corporations to contribute heavily to campaigns...in order to get "favors" later on...then why act surprised when regulations have no teeth to them? They placate the people by putting in regulations, then negotiate in the back room what the (non-existent) penalties will be. Everybody wins.
Except the only winners are the corporations. The 99% can all eat dog dung and die as far as they're concerned. There are seven billion people in the world...there will never be a shortage of consumers. We are expendible. We did it to ourselves. Went for the cheap big box store over the mom and pop and helped drive all the little guys out of business. Now with major corporations deciding who works and who doesn't..and how much they get paid...most couldn't afford to buy locally made food or products if they wanted to. We need to wean ourselves off of the "discount" teat. It's poisoning our air, our water, our land and our food. Our products are unsafe, our working conditions deteriorating, our jobs in jeopardy, our wages shrinking...and the CEO's who make in the millions and tens of millions...got a 27% raise.
I work in food manufacturing. You would not believe what goes on, but the attitude is - as long as the government doesn't find out - no harm no foul.
Pretty good example of why we need regulation and why we can not expect businesses to regulate themselves. If corporations are people, they should all be in prison for attempted murder, and I mean every stock-holder as well as everyone in management, at every level. If you profit from their actions, you should pay for their crimes.
If a poor person steals $10 to feed his family, he could get 20 years if it is his third strike. But these companies get meaningless fines after 20 strikes, and just pass it on as the cost of doing business. These people need to do serious jail time. And half of wall street should be in prison for stealing trillions from our economy, destroying the savings of millions and bankrupting pension plans. They need to meet Bubba up close and personal.
One has to wonder about the nutrition of these recycled food products. Fresh apples are good for people. Cooked applesauce tastes pretty good but lack the kick of the fresh article. Once mold and other spoilage agents attack the batch the recycling would mean cooking yet again. The end product would be pretty useless, tasteless, and might ought to be used for animal feed rather than sell it back into our food supply.
What's the answer? Plant a dwarf apple tree on your patio. It is possible to grow some of your own food. After reading this article it's worth some serious consideration. I've got two large apple trees in my front yard and plant a giant garden every year. I can tell you after eating home produce it's difficult to purchase commercial produce as it tastes pretty dead really.
Hummmmmmmmmmmmm
And who are the real terrorist in the United States? ... lol
RE: If rework occurs, our thermal process is more than adequate to render the product commercially sterile
It's no wonder that the public is not get any nutrients from the food we eat.....If the food is sterile, then there is no nutritional value either - this is plain common sense and I don't need science to verify it or try to prove me wrong. This company should be shut down immediately and permanently.
But m, that would be being mean to business.
Close em now! I run a business and its called keep it fair!
Chuck - sorry, but if you expect fairness - then you are not part of that 1%. Your expectations are unrealistic.
No you just have no idea, and I do not expect it I demand it, only pussies take it dry. People like me stay in business, your comment is ludicrous.
" In the past, Snokist has supplied applesauce to schools nationwide through federal nutrition programs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."
Is this the very same government agency that brings us "tainted" lettuce, spinach, mixed greens, and other bagged items sold at our local grocery?
The same that works to subsidize corn farmers who now grow 50% of all of our corn for "ethanol?"
The same that has allowed for grocery stores, nation wide, to fix the prices of groceries so that very few can really afford to eat a nutritiousness and substantial diet?
Where should the fools on the hill begin to make cuts in the spending of our tax dollars?
time for them ALL to go in 2012
No Incumbents No Obama 2012
FDA regulations do allow some tainted food products to be reprocessed, but the final product must be free of contamination. In addition, rules prohibit mixing contaminated product with sound product to get to acceptable levels of filth, said Pat El-Hinnawy, an FDA spokeswoman.
Another reason for the Occupy Movement. FILTH?? Not only does Snokist need to be closed down, the FDA AND congress needs a good looking at. FILTH? How can anyone in good conscience package and sell filth as good food for school kids or anyone else for that matter? How can the government allow for this? More payoffs?
If the food is sterile, then there is no nutritional value either
Since when does sterile mean no nutritional value? When you cook corn-on-the-cob in boiling water is it no longer nutritious? When you fully cook a steak does it loose all of its protein and nutrients? Sterilization is the elimination or killing of all microbial life not the removal of its nutrients.
No actually it makes more sense that just because you are heating food up to a certain temperature to kill microbes doesn't mean that all of the nutrients, vitamins, and proteins just vanish into thin air. But if you are unwilling to change your mind based on factual evidence staring you in the face to the contrary then I must say you are a lost cause.
UpNChuck You got me with your "free" advertising. What is the web site address? How do you pay for your site? What is your mission?
Plain is right, not that there is any excuse for what the company did. Many nutrients are killed in the heating process, while some become more active, such as lycopene in tomatoes. In general however fresh fruits and veggies are much more nutritious than the canned variety. Plus, you know how fresh it is if it is not canned.
American Citizen: So your solution is NO government regulation or inspection?? And you post that on a story about a corporation endangering the health of children to make a profit? Not a really deep thinker, eh?
I just want to comment that nutrients are not alive and thus can't be "killed". It is possible for nutrients to be "ruined" during heating such as proteins being denatured, but sterilization doesn't mean that "nutrients are killed." Sterile usuallymeans " free from microbes", which is very different from nutrients being lost.
An example of a nutrient product that is sterile( or so we hope) is the following:
http://www.clinimix.com/about
Now there is some debate about how many nutrients are truly lost especially in the case of vitamins, but we should use correct terminology to avoid confusion.
Thanks.
Another case for deregulation right teabaggers?
The FDA has been gutted of staff and funding by the GOP congress since the early 2000's.
Maybe we should fund them again huh?
No you just have no idea, and I do not expect it I demand it, only pussies take it dry. People like me stay in business, your comment is ludicrous.
@UpNchuck, might want to ease up on the coffee dude, Interested observer was using sarcasm there.
Sterility isn't the issue. People allergic to mold are allergic to spores that are living, dead, or pieces of dead spores.
Heat treatment can kill the living mold. It may or may not kill the spores (some are very tough and can survive inactive for years in harsh conditions.) It may or may not breakdown the toxins (chemical compounds) that have been generated by the mold. If broken down, the result is new compounds that could be more or less dangerous than the original toxins.
We all inhale and ingest plenty of mold, thousands of spores, and their toxins every day. If you are lucky enough to have an effective immune system, there will be no ill effect. If your immune system is too active, allergic reaction will happen. If there are leaves falling in the yard right now, they are moldy. They will continue to break down via molds, bacteria, etc. as they lie in the damp grass. When the wind blows or they are disturbed by raking or mulching, clouds of mold and spores will surround you. Unless the concentration is too intense or there is a nasty fungus like histoplasmosis, most people will survive it with no problem.
Shhhh...... We don't have enuff inspectors as it is..... Don't tip off the bureaucrats that someone is actually watching out for the people, and interfearing with profits. They will just demand less regulation, after all, so what if a few 99%ers die.
There was an article yesterday about the increase in government jobs, and most of the posters were complaining. Maybe this article should be linked to that one, because I don't see anyone here calling to shut down the FDA.
That's because the right wing nuts have no CLUE whatsoever what federal workers do...They just assume if you work for the federal government from Air Marshalls to research scientists, you must be a Democrat and therefore should not have a job.
There are some places in the Govt that need cutting. I think we should scrap the ATF and the DEA, can all the bosses and send the officers to the FBI (thats if the FBI will even take them).
Good Old American GREED!
Besides what are they going to do to you?
The jails are over crowded, and who cares about a $10,000 fine when you are making millions
There the government goes again... hurting companies and hurting jobs. /snark
I take it you're not serious. I hope you're not, anyway.
Tell you what Ill ship you my mouldy food and you can feed it to your kids, common sense man!!!
neither of you know, or can't be bothered to know, the word "snark", eh?
Nope.
Mr, Up, Dave,
Mark is being facetious.
facetious
To make an attempt at being funny, while being sarcastic at the same time.
Jacky was being facetious when she said, "Yes, let's all go to Iraq for my birthday party!"
snark
noun
Combination of "snide" and "remark". Sarcastic comment(s).
Also snarky (adj.) and snarkily (adv.)
His commentary was rife with snark.
"Your boundless ineptitude is astounding," she snarkily declared
Dont be to hard on UpNchuck, he may not get sarcasm but he seems like a guy you can feel safe doing business with. He believes in fairness, thats a quality thats in very short supply now days.
How can a company get away with this....can't they close down the company after all the complaints.
This is not the kind of company that should be supplying food to our school children.
Yeah isnt that sad. There is a law protecting food companies (seriously), no matter how many times they get in trouble they can not be shut down (Im sure we can all guess who paid for that law), example the meat company, a huge supplier has millions of pounds of ground beef recalled just about every year. The law can not shut them down. I say we change the law then! 1 in 6 people get a food bourne illness each year, 128,000 are hospitalized for a food bourne illness and 3000 die. The law needs to protect the consumer not the companies. More needs to be done to ensure this doesnt happen instead of waiting and scolding them after they kill a few kids.
You can't be serious, Judy!!! The Republicans would never allow a business to be shut down for something so trivial as potentially killing a few schoolkids.
Best way to shut a company down is to stop using their product. Thank goodness for the 4th estate who can at least clue us in to who's doing what. When my son was in school I always sent his food because it was clear to me 18 years ago that the food served there was crap. In fact I've had to make all kinds of similar sacrifices to protect him in our strange heartless culture. Luckily I have the education and experience to be able to do that for him, what about all the folks who can't say the same? What ever happened to caring? Like a bunch of rats all packed into a small cage, we're starting to eat our neighbor's children. Personally, I'd check out tonight except for my son, this world of people is getting really really ugly and harder and harder to justify participating in. I know...waaa-waaaa. I don't expect any sympathy, humanity is too inhumane for that.
Generally speaking, a food company will not be shut down except perhaps in the most extreme of cases. The FDA doesn't really have much in the way of teeth as far as that goes (just don't get caught legally selling herbal supplements though - then the government can confiscate your inventory!). While regulations are important in that they state what levels of standards are expected in food production, violating them seems to be a pretty common theme with little federal redress. THIS comment section right here shows where the real power is to do something about these places. How many in these threads are going to purchase this brand again? Not many. I don't agree with getting rid of regulations and believe that they are necessary, but the truth is they won't keep us safe, and they won't put unethical companies out of business. People will do that by boycotting companies who don't bring us safe products. The real trick is getting that information in the first place!
I'm glad that my high school actually had decent lunches. I have heard the horror stories about what comes out of inter-city cafeterias and poorer schools. I don't blame it on the cooks either. You can only make what your given...
i think i'll make my own from now on
You don't have to make mold, it grows all by itself.
RedWht&BlueMom's not talking about mold, Sirlafalot...She's talking about making her own applesauce from now on
Someone's a genius! I feel so sorry for you.
Crime pays when you do business in the US. The FDA prbably won't do a thing to them. It shows how greedy this country is becoming to make a dollar and no one is fixing the problems!!!
Jimmy - as long as they update their labels to include the mold (and the calorie change), then they will get away with it. And if you elect a republican president in 2012, then the FDA will be closed - so you will never hear about something like this again.
That 99% should be honored to get the privilege of buying this canned food. A little mold will not kill you, and if it does - you can't sue (you'll be dead).
These people have no morals or ethics, other than the bottom line. If the Repubs gain power in '12 we'll all have to grow our own food because we won't be able to trust anything coming out of the corporate food system. They'll de-regulate and non-regulate everything.
Because the republicans own the food companies and drug companies, you eat the food you have to take the drugs. They want you to get sick and they will give you a 'magic' pill to help you. Our government is a joke. Republics favor tax breaks for the wealthy because they are, they dont want to lose any money while selling you things that are going to kill you.
Chuck,
RE: If the Repubs gain power in '12 we'll all have to grow our own food because we won't be able to trust anything coming out of the corporate food system
Thats if we can even afford seed after they get done :(
Time for them to change their brand name ... then business as usual
How about "Uncle Festers' Spotted Apple Sauce". When it comes to fermented flavor, you know we've hit the spot!
When it comes to full flavored spotted apple sauce, we've broken the mold.
lol.....now thats funny. I don't care who you are.
Along with poison apple sauce at school, I found out my son was kicked out of school again, for letting a female student fondle his genitals. I told him, "Look son, this is the third school this year. If you keep this up they are going to take away your teaching license for good."
The mold encountered was on the actual fruit being processed, not discovered after the original proccessing, according to the story. As far as I'm concerned, this makes the fruit unfit for consumption by any person or animal. Although, I doubt that animals would eat it anyway, having the sense not to eat moldy items.
I'm done with SnoKist, unless they can prove to me that they have totally changed the way they examine and reject fruit before processing. Besides, I make and can my own applesauce...........
Yup done with em! and if they change names I won't buy it again. Sounds like a Chinese run company.
Yep UpChuck, no way an American would do this right, bigot!
Chuck - I know that you have argued for ethical behavior (and that they should be closed). But (unfortunately), many companies define ethics as what they can get away with. I have been a management consultant for F100 companies, and (in my opinion) - ethics in this country are a thing of the past. I have seen very questionable actions by way too many companies. Employees who apply ethics are penalized for driving up costs. Until american businesses refocus their priorities away from only next quarter's profit, we will see this over and over again.
We have financial companies sending customer personal information (name, addresses, credit card #, authentication info, etc) to outsourced companies in Eastern Europe - places that my IT Security people call 'Hackistan'. IMHO, this places the data for millions of customers in serious jeopardy - but management does not care because nothing has happened yet. And if so - they will blame the vendor (this is the new game).
We have manufacturing companies allowing their Chinese outsourcer to use lead based materials in childrens toys and products. Again - management's answer is 'vendor issues'. Nobody takes responsibilty anymore. This short-sighted attitude is devaluing the 'american brand', and will continue until people go to jail. Unfortunately - I don't see this happening in the near future.
interested,
You hit the nail on the head. Compliance with regulations and fines are just another variable in the business calculus. If it is more profitable to be non-compliant, there is no incentive to be compliant. When you take away a lot of the teeth the FDA has (fewer regulations) and the number of regulators (less bureaucracy) this is the obvious result. Sure, the company may be profitable, but as I pointed out above, those with mold allergies are allergic to the spores dead or alive, whole or in pieces.
Seriously!!! You "rework it"? If I find out I've eaten anything you "reworked", I'm suing you for mislabeling your product. It should clearly state that it had mold and toxins in it, but you reworked it. Otherwise, I have to assume you are trying to make us all sick. Luckily, my children are grown and I don't eat apple sauce. But what else is out there that is also "reworked"? I will not buy anything with your comapny name on it.
From the article: "Some of the compromised bags were bloated and one had “a strong fermented odor,” the report said."
Can you say Botulism toxin? And they send this to kids at our schools?
Of course, the company would say that their heat treatment kills it and renders the toxin inert.
However, you also have Staphylococcal enterotoxin B which is excreted by the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium. This enterotoxin found in meats, dairy, and bakery products is very stable; and it can cause widespread systemic damage, multiorgan system failure, and even shock and death when inhaled at very high dosage. Worse, it can withstand boiling at 100 º C for several minutes.
Companies like this should be shut down and have their food license permanently revoked.
This reminds me of something that happened to me just a few weeks ago. I had a jar of Thai curry sauce in my refrigerator way too long, and it puffed up. I made the mistake of opening and smelling it, and I felt sick almost immediately, and for the next day. I wondered then if botulism can be inhaled; it may have been this staphylococcus toxin instead.
Sorry, but anyone that can get Staphylococcus aureus right should get Botulinem toxin right as well.
Botulism is the condition.
What has happened to workers taking pride in what they do? Is a job so important that you would feed children spoiled goods? This country is in big trouble and to think I have been worrying about purchasing food that is made in China. I have grandchildren who go to North Carolina schools. What is safe in this country anymore? Sad days for this country and I am afraid many more to come.
Keep insisting on the cheap stuff. We'll be dead before you know it.
But regulation is killing businesses. We need less of it, right?
High price of food now a days ya gotta save everything.! My Dad, Grand father's, Uncle'sall used to eat the mold on thier smoked & sugar cured hams....they lived to be ripe old ages! ???????
Yeah. Mine liked tripe, pigs feet, and brain sandwiches.
Some molds that grow on aged cheeses and meats are not the same that ferment on fruit. Not all molds are created equal.
Molds that are used for curing meats and making cheese are either harmless or healthy molds.
Rework? Never here of it. What other foods are reworked in this country?
Almost everything that comes wrapped in a non-biodegradable container. I know you can't be expected to make your own applesauce, but remember that peanut factory with the disgusting crud all over the floor. I think half of the factories are operating in filthy conditions. I think the CEOs should eat scrapings off the floor of their factories, and those that refuse should be put out of business.
The local private school grinds up premium apples to make their applesauce.
Another example of Job killing regulation by the Obama Administration.
SET MY CORPORATIONS FREE!!!!
You need mental help
What? You're not paying attention. It's the Republicans that don't give a damn about "we the people" - I'll bet you're not really part of the working poor, you're pretending just like the Republicans do to get people to vote for them. You can't blame this one on Obama. Do you remember the Reagan administration calling "ketchup" a food? If not than do some research. It's the Republicans waging war on the middle and lower classes not Obama.
Pretty sure that was sarcasm on workings part, although to be fair he didn't use the universal sarcasm symbol ;)
;-)
sorry my bad.
But it's telling that anyone couldn't tell that from real TPGOP Wingnut comment.
There no need for the Feds to intervene. Here is why. We top 1% get the money and the 99% get the food. It is a win-win situation.
What kind of sloppy processing lets the products get mouldy in the first place? I think the CEO ought to be forced to eat his own tainted products in jail for the next 5 yrs. How can the workers live with themselves knowing what they are doing?
exactly right, since pretend fines are a cost of business, and the regulators probably catch one case in a thousand. feed the rot to the suits.
Probably recycled from the out-of-date stuff that was returned and reprocessed. I do believe that their spokesman said they "reworked" returned and moldy foods.
Why is any method of reprocessing of contaminated food be allowed ???????
“Your firm reprocesses moldy applesauce product … using a method that is not effective against all toxic metabolites,” read the FDA letter sent Oct. 20 to Jimmie L. Davis, Snokist’s president. “Several foodborne molds may be hazardous to human health"
Food and Drug Administration officials this week posted a warning letter to Snokist Growers of Yakima, Wash., saying the company cannot ensure the safety of moldy applesauce and fruit puree that has been reconditioned for human consumption.
Another fine job done by the government. Another reason for not giving the government any more power than they already have. They don't know how to properly operate what they have.
The FDA is a joke, a very bad joke.
OMG we wouldn't want any more regulations on the over-regulated moldy applesauce industry now would we??
Maybe it's because funding is cut and if you google you will see the shortage of FDA inspectors and what they are expected to do. Maybe a little more funding and OMG some more of those Federal WORKERS would help. Just sayin'
Don't worry...private industry and capitalism will keep us safe...just ask a republican about how all rules are worthy of getting rid of except the ones restricting personal rights...they don't mind keeping those...
Yeah, let's get rid of the EPA too while we're at it - Trust a corporation, really??? Obviously profit supersedes human life. Get used to these stories and a whole lot more if you vote republican.
Dennis, the FDA and EPA have had their funding for actual field inspectors cut consistently. It's like complaining about being robbed when your local government has had to cut back on its number of police because business wants more tax cuts to stay in an area. Cause and effect pal. You want government slashed and burned but complain when something happens. Should we just get rid of FEMA too? But its okay to continue subsidies for oil companies and tax loopholes for corporations like this one...
Chuck,
RE: If the Repubs gain power in '12 we'll all have to grow our own food because we won't be able to trust anything coming out of the corporate food system
Thats if we can even afford seed after they get done :(
And yet once again an article that has absolutely nothing to do with partisan politics degenerates into a commenting extravaganza about Republicans, Democrats and Tea Party-ers. SMH
Before we go all bat crap crazy on adding more regulations, why not look at the 2 problems you're determined to merge on their own. Problem 1 would be the lack of funding. This has nothing to do with regulations. We could add one million regulations and if there aren't enough people to enforce them it doesn't matter. Problem 2 isn't the lack of regulations but rather the lack of enforcement of regulations. How long has this company been "on notice" for issues? The article said the FDA has known about problems since 2008. While there's not enough funding for the level if inspectors needed to catch many of the problems, what about the problems already identified? "Please fix this" and we're making a note of this and then move on. Blame whomever you want, but I remember it being like this 20 years ago and we've had a nice 2 party variety during that time, yet nothing's improved. At this point it might be best to scrap the whole thing and start over with a new FDA type organization that is actually funded and armed with regulations and competent non-corporate affiliated staff that can do the job correctly.