There were no health or safety issues.

It was a voluntary recall.

They didn't have to recall the items at all.

So we should be happy that they want their product to be as good as possible.

The news was on on the 23rd. I watched it. I saw the story on this. You could easily inspect the craisins. Think of the odds of getting one of the few bags out of millions of bags.

People forget that there were things like this from the begginning of packaged products.

People seem to want to have no personal responsibility in inspecting the food they eat anymore.

If there is one worm in one apple, they freak out -so the producers have to put massive amounts of pesticide on every single apple now. You could eat a worm without any health problems - can you say the same for the fix (massive pesticide use).

They want to be able to walk without looking where they are going, and if they slip on a piece of fruit that another customer knocked off the shelf in a grocery, they want to sue the store.

Look at your food. Smell it. Wash it if it has dirt on it. You have to take some responsibility - we don't live in a perfect world.

Even if you grow your own food in your backyard, you still would have to inspect it before you eat it.

And the tiny hairlike metal fragments? Should I grab a magnifying glass and inspect for those, too? Should I inspect everything I brought home from the store? Is this a new job you've created for me? And the payoff is that I get to avoid, what? Laceration, botulism, salmonella?

And the payoff is that I get to avoid, what? Laceration, botulism, salmonella?

The payoff is that you get to stuff your face with minimal effort. God forbid you be asked to do anything more than tear open a bag or a box.

I fully agree with everything you said, Ryan, and I gave you a thumbs up. There are exceptions however, things that shouldn't happen and can't be inspected by the consumer. I'll give you two that happened to my family, one that SHOULD have been caught by the manufacturer and one that I don't believe could have.

The first case happened to my mother. She bit into one of those fruit pies which contained a large piece of metal. It broke her upper denture. This was during the times when a company could be trusted, so she sent the piece of metal to the company with a letter of what happened, including the wrapper from the pie. The company wrote back immediately, identifying the metal as a link from a conveyor belt that had snapped on the production date from the wrapper. They told her to go to the dentist of her choice, get new dentures (upper and lower) and have the dentist bill them directly. Companies did the right thing then (1970s) and people weren't sue-happy. (Most companies DON'T do the right thing today, which may be the biggest reason so many people sue today. Think about that.) But that COULD have been caught, since they knew the belt had snapped and the product might have been compromised, simple metal detection would have found the metal in the fruit filling.

The second one happened to me. I bit into a cupcake that had a cooked caterpillar inside. It obviously fell into the dough or batter and then poured into the form and cooked. No big deal, except when a caterpillar is cooked, its hairs turn like glass needles. The pain was like biting down on glass shards, on my tongue and the roof of my mouth. That lasted a day or two. Today, everyone would scream 'SUE', but really, how would they ever have found out a caterpillar fell into the dough? Like you said, how can they be responsible for something like that? But I don't crumble my cupcakes before I eat them, and my mother never ripped open any fruit pies to strain the filling. Things are going to happen that neither the company nor the consumer can avoid. As you said that's just the way it is.

Steel Toe Boots - You make some good points.

You are right that you can't inspect the inside of a product. Companies do make mistakes, they are just a big organization of people, and people make mistakes.

And if they cause damages, they should be liable for those mistakes.

I guess my reaction is to the slant that stories like this one seem to have. They seem to be anti-business which overlaps the views of the left in many ways.

I don't think anyone has accussed msnbc of being anything other than left leaning, and I comment to balance their assertions.

Or put another way: to point out the defects in their product.

Now if we could only get them to recall THEIR product when it is defective.

First off MSNBC Craisons are not traditional Thanksgiving icons. Don't confuse Craisons with Cranberries in order to push a mem.

Second, Ryan in Texas, you mentioned all these inspections and fail to mention the two above are not covered in your list. WTF, doesn't make sense. Plus checking or eating a worm isn't comparable to eating metal fragments from a can or did you forget the metal detection in cans we should perform at home. The pie filling, well the article isn't clear, so I assume what they mean by "imperfections in can packaging,"is some form of bacteria got into the cans. Where's that on your list, botulism poison testing ?

And of course the pesticide angle is easily avoidable, they call them organic.

Third, Steel toed Boot, I can easily avoid a caterpillar in batter by... I don't know, cleaning the place up. If you want to sell stuff that is inherently loved by small creatures, taking care of people who are injured, like yourself, is part of the cost of doing business. Otherwise sell straws or gravel.

I would mention that MSNBC is slightly left on some issues, and slightly right, maybe a little more so on other issues. Your gut feeling isn't a good measure because it's subjective to your interpretation. So the only true test I think is party affiliation of writers/broadcasters. MSNBC employees a lot of registered republicans, and their big name broadcasters are almost all registered republicans.

I'm a liberal, but not a democrat, because the party has long ago left that train. And this stuff, the anti-business angle you mentioned is, to me at least something everyone should be agreeable to, but we aren't. Big Business would serve you lead sandwiches and not tell you they are bad. They have a proven record of not being able to police themselves, as the article alludes to. Only a fool thinks these companies did this out altruism, they did it because it was going to get out one way or another. they got in front of the story.

I am not a litigious person, but you should have been compensated for their product causing you harm. Not a million, but they should have given you enough to get a doctor to look at it to make sure that it's OK.

And Lastly. Every company does risk/reward analysis and part of that equation is the payout factor created by cutting costs. Which is fine, but that doesn't mean they can unleash dangerous products to the public to save a couple bucks, then fight the litigation they created. The caterpillar may have been a pain for you, but what about a child or an old person who may have gotten it in their throat and caused a real emergency. It happens, I get that, but the day they set-up shop, took your money, is the day they signed on for the liability that is attached to that type of business. People speak of litigious people, but never mention these greedy companies that are essentially the same when they defend the indefensible. They want quick easy bucks. Not all companies, but the majority. After all that is their main function, to generate profits.

Ryan in Texas,

How can you defend that.

Is it that you believe that the US Citizens do not have the right to believe that everything that they buy with their hard earned money to eat must be safe for Human Consumption, especially "Processed Foods". Or do you believe in "Buyer Beware".

Ever heard of "Metal Splinters", as those "hairlike metal fragments". Sure sit there inspecting each and everything that you eat with a microscope or magnifying glass. And you still will not detect those pieces of food that the hairlike metal fragments penetrated (went inside of).

Do you know what that will do to your digestive tract after the actual food is digested. Can you say perforated digestive tract (you sh!tting blood), and the complication of an internal infection (especially intestinal). Think how long those metal fragments will be inside you until they dissolve, can you say some World War II Veterans still have metal fragments inside them, and they do not stay in one place, sometimes the metal fragments travel and hit vital organs.

Ask yourself why they do not have a electro magnet incorporated into the production process to prevent the metal fragments, can you say additionalcosts, $$$$$$$$$$$. Or a means to separate possible things like stainless steel brush bristles (gravity or centrifical), thats right still costs additional $$$$$$$$. Risk analysis, possible chance of problems and a resulting lawsuits versus cost to implement.

As far as the "imperfections in can packaging,", if this is the labelling, then fine, no harm no foul. If this deals with the actual can, then there are problems. Didn't you ever wonder why before when parents were buying canned goods, they used to carefully inspect the cans for dents. It was not as if they were buying a car, the dents being bad as cosmetics. It was because the dents broke the lining of the cans, with the not necessarily sterile metal of the can getting into contact with the food inside the can. The result being microbial growth (some that would kill you).

The same is true today, except it is harder for the dents to compromise the liner inside the can, but now the liner inside the can, used in the US is banned at other Nations as toxic plastic. Why because the non toxic plastics that can be used inside the metal cans are too expensive. Again the $$$$$$$$$$.

As either they pay the $$$$$$$$$ or you pay the $$$$$$$$$$ as medical expenses after eating their products.

The only things that should be inspected by the consumers are Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. All the other Processed Foods must be to some degree already Fit for Human Consumption, and yes, that includes all Meats (safe handling processes at the Meat Processing and Packaging Plants).

So with much sarcasm, you inspect all your food in a fully equipped CSI Lab before you even eat anything. And do not give me that crap about cooking raw fruits (like oranges, apples, pineapples) and vegetables (like lettuce, carrots, etc.) for 10 minutes at 165 degrees Fahrenheit (you try that and see what happens), just to kill some of the possible contamination, instead of buying fresh fruits and vegetables you may as well as buy that really stink baby food.

The solution that the Europeans came up with pertaining to Meats, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables is irradiation (successfully used since the 1980s), but no we US (existance for over 200 years) cannot listen to those that have been around for thousands of years (lots of trial and error (deaths) so they have more stringent rules. And I am not talking about the Brits (that seem to not be able to learn from their mistakes, criticisms based on observations (firsthand experience)).). note: Sun dried is Solar Irradiation. Microwave Ovens are Irradiation. Light generated from Light Bulbs is Irradiation. Radio, TV signals are Irradiation. All Irradiation is just different wave lengths. Of course this Irradiation will not do anything about the introduction of contaminates, like metal fragments or will not stop contamination after being Irradiated and being put on the Supermarket shelves (people touching themselves then touching the produce).

The problem with all US Government Agencies, is that they are an inverted pyramid. High paid Academic Bureaucrates at the top in large numbers (Usually with no Real World experience from working at the bottom), and at the bottom low paid Workers in low numbers.

With your beliefs, how about this, on all US Food Products we require by US Law Labels with Pictures of Corpses captioned "Caution This Food Product Might Not Be Fit For Human Consumption". On Fresh Meats, Fruits and Vegetables a picture of people volcano vomitting captioned "Sterile Safe Handling Procedures Mandatory". On Frozen Meats, Fruits and Vegetables Label "May Contain Time Bomb frozen e coli, listeria, etc.".

Whoa there liberals.

YOUR GOVERNMENT SAYS THEY POSED NO HEALTH RISKS!

"Ocean Spray notified the Food and Drug Administration, which issued a press release on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Because there was no health risk, Giant Eagle officials didn't notify the FDA, Borella said. But the agency became aware of the recall and issued a press release anyway on Monday night."

It's right there in the article.

Surely you noticed that there was not one incident of people actually being harmed by the products.

Oh, wait, I'm talking about liberals. Facts are not as important as Feelings. And if it isn't one of their talking points, they can't understand it.

Food is not less safe than 20 or 80 years ago.

We simply have more news outlets that report any incident.

And in the case of msnbc, they also have an agenda. Just look at this article. The companies voluntarily recalled products. There was no health problems, but they wanted to notify their customers. They were under no legal obligation to do that, and the GOVERNMENT did not find there to be any health problems.

So what does MSNBC do? They can't blame them for trying to correct their mistakes so they write an article that accuses the manufacturers of wrongdoing in when they released the info on the recall.

My point is that if we use the same scrutiny on the media and the giant nanny state Gov't - they wouldn't be able to handle it.

The free pass for the media and the Gov't is over. It's time to question their motives in what they do.

I agree with David on this. As I have posted many times and will continue to do so, Corporations have no soul, they have no feelings, they have no morals. The are things and have but one mission, to maximize profits. They do what they do because a calculation was made that pretending to care is good for their image and sales. Corporations should not be over-regulated, but history has shown us that they will not regulate themselves. In this particular case, we don't really know when these companies originally became aware of the problems they eventually reported, and that is the jist of the story. When did they know? Is it merely a coincidence that the timing of the announcements just happened to be most favorable for them, when it's already too late for consumers to make an informed choice. Or did they know a week before, or a month before and just sit on it so as not to impact their biggest sales day of the year? The smart money is on the latter.

Ryan-So only liberals don't like metal hair-like items in food that are "unlikely to cause consumer injury," according to a statement on the Ocean Spray website?

Ryan, what planet are you from? Liberals ignore the facts? As in regards to global warming, evolution, childhood vaccinations, environmental protection, history, et al?

lib·er·al (lbr-l, lbrl) adj.

1.
a. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.

You know the second reason is the only reasonable explanation, based on evidence.

or are actively trying to poison the populace at

Yeah because if you were trying to do that naturally you'd voluntarilyrecall the product. The fact that it was a voluntary recall tells you that nothing they had done violated FDA regulations. You'd be surprised the types of things that are allowed to be in your food. Instead of ripping on these companies, as is the popular thing to do now days, maybe you should be thankful they recalled them at all since they didn't need to. If they were greedy SOB's they'd have looked the other way and no one would have been the wiser.

I'd rather rip on the FDA, but they are too busy today, approving questionable drugs without proper clinical evaluation...

the fda is simply a pathetic institution.

now because "consumer reports" found arsenic in apple juice, the fda will officially take a new look into the issue.

big Corps can do what they want without legal risk

Which begs the question? If they have no legal risk why did they voluntarily recall their product? Maybe because they're not the greedy SOB's you've been told they were. Seriously, do you guys stop to use your own brain for even a second before you start parroting the same tired old drivel?

because if they didn't and something happened they would have solid legal ground to sue because they knew about it.... do you use your brain before you start defecating threw your mouth?

really? thats pretty doubtful

Overreact much?

I am thinking the very same thing. Over the decades I have seen the beauty of the bogs from Mass. to as far south as MD. Thanksgiving eve I checked the bags of cranberries from Ocean Spray. They read in fine print; "a product of Canada."

MrCool,

Most food now a days comes from Mexico, South and Central Americas, especially the Fruits and Vegetables. Lower standards, if any, of Sanitation.

There is also the current situation of the Illegal Aliens (also not very well versed (educated) in Sanitation and Sterile Handling Procedures) in the US Food Chain, especially Meat, Fruit and Vegetable Processing. So even if you bought (paid more for) Local Grown; if it went thru a Processing Plant, then to the Warehouse, then Distributor (Wholesale), then Supermarket, and finally you; that small contamination (e coli, listeria, etc.) has had enough time to grow into the meats, fruits, vegetables as colonies, that you cannot "wash" or "rinse" out.

To compound the problem is human waste gathered in sludge ponds processed then used as fertilizer (see Undercover Boss Episode). A mistake in their processing of the human waste and basically you would be spraying raw liquid human feces and urine all over the vegetables and fruits.

They are required to submit reports to the FDA within 24 hours of learning of the problem. Notifing the public after hours Wednesday (Thanksgiving eve) does not sound like a legal time frame. I am beginning to think like pragmatic. I don't like feeling paranoid. Gee, great law inforcement! (sarcasim)

That's incredible. I've done dozens of searches on Yahoo and Google and Scroogle and NOT ONE HIT! What obvious illegal and/or immoral 1% covering for the 1% on Corbett! Should we be proud of the media that did report it on Thanksgiving Day? Why didn't Google/Yahoo index the story?

Su3385 - Just like the ones who deprived their employees of Thanksgiving.

Boycott yourself, the Politicians you hired (don't say yours are innocent), and the US Government too.

As after the President Obama Aprill 2009 US Military Defense Budget Cuts of the USAF (F-22, 95,000 US Civilian Jobs) and USN (One USN Aircraft Carrier Group, xx,xxx US Civilian Jobs), your Politicians reappropriated money from the US Military Operational (Maintenance, Training, etc.) and Sustainment Funds (our Food, etc.) to save their Pet Projects and Programs to keep US Civilian Jobs in their States (especially California and Virginia, USN Ports, Labor Unions).

This resulting in, since April 2009, my men, women receiving MREs (Meal Rejected by Everyone) for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years; last year they would have ended up with canned Ham (real f**king smart at an Islamic Nation), canned green beans, and powdered potatoes. So I bought them Roast Duck Dinners for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years (the French, Germans, Brits did not have Turkey), you think paying for 4 to 10 people is expensive, try hundreds (at many locations, risking lives to deliver the dinners.). Those propaganda videos showing US Military having Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Dinners are just like the World War II German Newsreels showing the Germans having big parties while at the Russian Front; as it is NOT as if we can just stop everything, leave (abandon the Afghan Villagers to be massacred) and go to a secure FOB, COB, Airbase, Green Zone, etc. for a Turkey Dinner. "Hey Islamic Jihadist stop the War we got to celebrate a Christian Holiday (Thanksgiving a Puritan Christian Holiday), Christmas (Christian))" with the current Islamic Laws Calling all Islamic Believers to War Against the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers; so sure they will understand (NOT, just incite them to want to kill you even more.). And if you think I did not see the difference between now (after President Obama's April 2009 Defense Budget Cuts) and before, we have been here for years of consecutive tours (we, US Military Asymmetric Warfare Forces, do not rotate out after a year, like the US Military Conventional Warfare Forces).