Enjoy your salmonella pot pie

by Larry Geller

A scary article from the New York Times, Food Companies Are Placing the Onus for Safety on Consumers (May 14, 2009) should be of particular concern to Hawaii consumers. Because of the length of the distribution chain, by the time food gets to us, any little buggers hitchhiking along have had a chance to party and prosper. Like flying here on United used to be, free drinks, Hawaiian music, you remember.

Take the frozen pot pie which the New York Times highlights (no, wait…). In 2007, according to the article, 15,000 people were sickened by pies contaminated with salmonella.

The pie maker, ConAgra Foods, began spot-checking the vegetables for pathogens, but could not find the culprit.

So what did ConAgra Foods do? They continued to ship pies (with salmonella and all?) but asked consumers to kill the little buggers:

The “food safety” instructions and four-step diagram on the 69-cent pies offer this guidance: “Internal temperature needs to reach 165° F as measured by a food thermometer in several spots.”

Somehow this does not give me much confidence. Heck, the idea of a 69-cent pie is to throw it in the microwave and gobble it down real fast. You don’t expect much from it. I don’t think many people will carry a food thermometer to the office lunchroom or want to spend time poking it around “in several spots.” At least they could define “several.” There should be some confidence that the food is safe to begin with, and then yes, we should take reasonable precautions.

The article highlights this company’s product, but apparently the problem of contaminated food is pervasive in this country:

Increasingly, the corporations that supply Americans with processed foods are unable to guarantee the safety of their ingredients. In this case, ConAgra could not pinpoint which of the more than 25 ingredients in its pies was carrying salmonella. Other companies do not even know who is supplying their ingredients, let alone if those suppliers are screening the items for microbes and other potential dangers, interviews and documents show.

The 90% or so of the food we eat in Hawaii travels a long and perhaps perilous path. By the time it ends up in our shopping basket it may be considerably older than it was when it left the factory. And along the way, the chances that it has been out of refrigeration or improperly frozen increase simply because of the distance (you did know that most milk shipped to Hawaii isn’t even refrigerated, right?).

Yet the supply chain for ingredients in processed foods — from flavorings to flour to fruits and vegetables — is becoming more complex and global as the drive to keep food costs down intensifies. As a result, almost every element, not just red meat and poultry, is now a potential carrier of pathogens, government and industry officials concede.

In addition to ConAgra, other food giants like Nestlé and the Blackstone Group, a New York firm that acquired the Swanson and Hungry-Man brands two years ago, concede that they cannot ensure the safety of items — from frozen vegetables to pizzas — and that they are shifting the burden to the consumer

The problem cannot be blamed only on manufacturers. State and federal regulations don’t protect us. As an illustration, I was dismayed to find heavy sediment on the bottom of the little bottles of Knudsen’s cranberry juice concentrate bought from our usual health food store. Stirring it into some water instead of discarding it produced an unpleasant drink. The little bottle has no date marked on it. Had there been a date, I would expect to find that the bottles on the shelf were quite old. At least, I would have information I need to decide whether to spend almost $12 on it.

So I ordered a dozen to be shipped by mail from the Continent. Not only did I save money, but the concentrate has no sediment at all. None. It tastes great.

Our local stores are often sloppy with “sell by” dates. For example, in April, at a Star Market, I found that the dairy product I was looking for had expired about two weeks earlier. While waiting for the store person to check in the back to see if there was anything newer, I picked up a little package of fig cake to check the ingredients and see if I might want to invest. It looked good, but the product had expired in January. When the guy came back I showed it to him. He cleaned the expired dairy stuff and fig stuff off the shelf. We’re talking about 15 or so items. Trouble is, of course, that had I not brought it to his attention, it might still be there.

I’ve seen soy drink on sale at a health food store. Checking the date stamped on the top, it had expired. When I brought that to the attention of someone, they did nothing.

So yeah, it’s up to us to cook our food properly and check expiration dates, but on the other hand, I don’t expect to buy toxic food that I’m supposed to sterilize before eating, or that is so old it has lost nutritive value and taste.

Hawaii consumers have a choice, though few will follow it: support our local farmers. Buy at the real farmers markets and make food from scratch. Make your own pizza, it tastes better than frozen anyway. Cook on the weekend and put away meals for busy evenings during the work week.

Few will do that. The supermarkets exist for the masses who want fast, microwaveable meals and are spending their food money for convenience. There should be sufficient regulation to protect them. As we know, regulation has been lax. It’s not working.

Research on raw ingredients, [an industry] guide notes, has found salmonella in 0.14 percent to 1.3 percent of the wheat flour sampled, and up to 8 percent of the raw spices tested.

ConAgra’s pot pie outbreak began on Feb. 20, 2007, and by the time it trailed off nine months later 401 cases of salmonella infection had been identified in 41 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates that for every reported case, an additional 38 are not detected or reported.

It took until June 2007 for health officials to discover the illnesses were connected, and in October they traced the salmonella to Banquet pot pies made at ConAgra’s plant in Marshall, Mo.

The steps marked on that pot pie which place the responsibility on consumers to kill the little buggers don’t work anyway, according to the New York Times article:

But attempts by The New York Times to follow the directions on several brands of frozen meals, including ConAgra’s Banquet pot pies, failed to achieve the required 165-degree temperature. Some spots in the pies heated to only 140 degrees even as parts of the crust were burnt.

Do you know the wattage of your microwave oven? No? Well, the pot pies have a minimum requirement. Most people will have no idea what the power of their microwave ovens is. And the article mentions that a fourth of the salmonella victims cooked their pies in conventional ovens anyway.

I’m surprised that there is little reaction from the public to the periodic contamination scares. In Hawaii, we continue to import milk unrefrigerated. It’s re-pasteurized, so it’s most likely safe enough, but whatever the little buggers did in the milk on their long journey over here remains, and it certainly can’t taste the same as fresher milk purchased elsewhere in the country.

Reforming commercial producers might be hard to do. We can and should vote with our wallets and buy local, wholesome, preferably organic, food products. In many cases it’s cheaper anyway, and nothing beats the snap of a freshly picked crisp red bell pepper as you bite into it (compared to the limp imported product from the supermarket). Cauliflower not only tastes better but is cheaper in the farmers market. The kale and salad greens you can buy on Saturday at KCC were just picked, and the farmer is there to answer your questions on how it is raised.

Buy direct and save money over Whole Foods. Enjoy the bounty of fresh taste, nutrition and good health that we can raise by ourselves even in middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Market find: Blue Lotus duck egg omelets

by Larry Geller

Check these out next time you are at the KCC Saturday Farmers Market.

(click for large enough to read)

Greg has set up a few tables to enjoy these classy omelets in comfort.

Peel me a grape

by Larry Geller

Send out for scotch, boil me a crab
Cut me a rose, and make my tea with the petals
Just hang around, pick up the tab
Never out think me, just mink me
Polar bear rug me, don't bug me
New Thunderbird me, you heard me
I'm getting hungry, peel me a grape

[Peel Me a Grape, Written by David Frishberg]

Now, that’s luxury. To get someone to peel your grapes for you.

In Japan, peeling grapes is pretty much standard practice, though.

Japanese grapes can be huge (a serving might be two of them), but those have very astringent skins, and it’s a totally different experience to pop them whole or to peel them first. As we know, it’s healthier to peel them anyway, since grapes are often sprayed generously with pesticides. So peeling is a good thing. It’s also easy in Japan—the grapes are either bred or selected to practically jump right out of their skins. We learned the technique when we lived there, though I was never very good at it with the average grape.

Unfortunately, similar grapes bought in the USA are more attached to their outsides. I had long wondered if any were imported directly from Japan so that I could try peeling those. Look, this may not interest you, but if you are in Japan and can get one to try, please do, and then let me know if you are still laughing (you can start saving for your grape treat now, they are not cheap).

So a display over at Don Quijote grabbed my eye. The picture was of the large (if not giant) grapes I knew would be super-special if they came from Japan, and indeed the sign describes the qualities of the Japanese Kyoho grapes. Trouble is, on the left, it says plainly enough, “grown in Chile.” That makes sense, it’s just April here in the Northern Hemisphere, so they would logically have to come from the bottom side of our planet. But wait… over on the right is a “Manager’s Special” sign. The manager says that these are “Product of USA.”

From grape to gripe

Ok, Don Quijote has problems with either their signs or honesty (see more below). So while believing these must be from Chile, now I have a whole new gripe. Why are they being represented as products of the USA if they are from Chile?

Just at that moment a young lady came by with a button that said “May I Help You?” So we cornered her and asked where these grapes actually came from. Picking up a package, we showed her that it said nothing about country of origin (and no, you can’t tell from the bar code, as I found out on returning home and looking it up).

She called out to a produce worker. He was dressed in his authoritative green produce apron and maybe should know. “From Japan,” he replied. If only!

Our helpful young lady shrugged her shoulders.

Oh, well. It’s not important, I’m not going to buy any. At that low price, they can’t be any good (see, we lived in Japan too long maybe).

Attention All Shoppers: Caveat emptor

If this were just an isolated instance, it would be of no importance whatsoever. Stuff happens in retail. But Don Quijote has had some very interesting signage.

For example, just before the Christmas holidays:

Here’s a Coby MPC-883 MP3 player advertised as a “Christmas Special Price.” In fact, an “Amazing Price!!” with two exclamation points.

I had been looking for a cheap player with more capacity than my ancient 256 MB Muvo Slim (a great player, by the way, for its time). So the price looked familiar to me, from scanning the shelves on prior visits. Wasn’t that the regular, not-so-amazing (!!) price? I had thought it was too much for a player without a display, and Coby isn’t a brand I’m too fond of. Wasn’t this the same player, at the same price, that I had seen earlier?

Nearby, just around the corner, was the answer:

Yup, the same player, at the same “Everyday Low” not-so-amazing price.

After Christmas, this is the price that remained on the item.

Of course, we know this happens in retail.

Moving on… well before the holidays I had noted this amusing product (one of the pleasures of shopping at Don Quijote for me is running into this stuff):

Yup, that’s a replica of the famous Belgian statue "Manneken Pis"immortalized in plastic on top of a drink dispenser. The Japanese on the box to the left, translated, is roughly “Saaa… drink up!”

I suppose it might be trying to evoke that great feeling when you finally do locate a public restroom. Or maybe not, I’m not sure.

A cellphone camera is a great thing. I also snapped this picture of the drink dispenser:

The box to the right advises that it is suitable for anyone from kids to adults.

Yeah, it’s a different culture, over there.

So this drink dispenser is supposed to be at home on the family dinner table or something.

Aside from the amusement factor, there was this sign, which is why I started snapping in the first place:

The sign clearly states that it is an “Electronic Soda Dispenser.” Hmm, thought I, if you put anything with gas in it (like beer?), wouldn’t it, um, be pissing all by itself while you ate dinner around it? After all, it’s just a container with a little pump. Checking further (click on the pic for larger), it says less prominently that it is not suitable for soda. The box did not say anything about soda that I could find, this is a Don Quijote invention.

Of course, we know this happens in retail.

The problem with Don Quijote is, it happens too often. I don’t snap pictures of every suspicious sign I see. Their signs are big and bold, something I appreciate and which is unique to this chain. It would be nice if they were not misleading. I don’t know whether I can trust any of them.

Disappeared news: why milk imported into Hawaii is re-pasteurized

by Larry Geller

A story in today’s Advertiser, Local milk back in stores, brings welcome news. An important piece of information was omitted, though, and it’s one you need to know about if you buy “local” milk at your favorite supermarket.

Hidden at the very end of the story continuation is this incomplete revelation:

Most milk imported from the Mainland, while it can be characterized as being produced locally because it is repasteurized in Hawai'i, cannot be labeled with the state's "Island Fresh" origin mark unless it contains at least 90 percent local milk.

Repasteurizing, or reprocessing, adds about eight days to the age of imported Mainland milk, which can be between 25 to 30 days old by the time it reaches its shelf expiration date.

What’s omitted is that the re-pasteurization is necessary because the milk is shipped to Hawaii in unrefrigerated containers.

Yes, and this information isn’t new, though it hasn’t been an issue in the newspapers. Why? Could it be that the reporter didn’t ask why “reprocessing” is necessary?

See:

Scary Dairy -- Frightening food news for Halloween, 10/30/2005

Scary Dairy revisited - Costco and organic milk probably ok, 11/5/2005

Costco carries 1% organic milk - shipped refrigerated, 3/11/2006

So now you have the scary picture: milk is shipped to Hawaii unrefrigerated, can be a month old at its expiration date, and of course sells for far more than folks on the Continent pay for a fresher, cleaner product. Ugh.

Whatever the little microbes did in the milk stays there, though they themselves are killed by the re-pasteurization before it is sold to you. Ugh.

The article doesn’t say whether Big Island milk is shipped to Oahu refrigerated. I hope the Advertiser will look into this.

I’m also curious about whether the Big Island dairies use hormones and antibiotics, of course, but that’s another topic.

The importance of a well-run kitchen

by Larry Geller

I have always admired a well-run kitchen. After all, we go to a restaurant for an enjoyable eating experience. If they’ve forgotten part of an order, if there’s a long wait, if it comes out cold when it should be hot, or if the dessert is microwaved and soggy, it makes it tough to enjoy.

On the other hand, when something is expertly prepared, seems to pop right out of the kitchen at the right temperature and perfectly seasoned, life is good.

The other night we visited Kookie’s Thai Kitchen again. I’m amazed that she can produce all of the dishes on the menu, and they do come out quickly and perfectly made. They’re also not going to drown me in coconut milk, as can happen at other Thai restaurants in town. So I feel confident in ordering anything at all. But the other night we reverted to our pattern when Kookie used to be at the place across the street from us. We asked her what she recommended that night. We were thinking of a fish, we said.

We always used to speak with Kookie about what to have. She made it easy by coming out personally to talk with us and answer any questions. It’s the same at her new place. Kookie does not hide out in her kitchen.

When we decided, she disappeared into the kitchen and shortly a server emerged with our dinner. Our fish dish was as we had discussed, a fried fish with lots of fresh vegetables. I can’t remember what it was called. It doesn’t matter. It was perfect.

I was reminded of how important kitchen management is while reading this unrelated article today. Some people know how to organize and run a kitchen. Kookie is one of them. Unlike the chef in the article, though, you get a chance to speak with her about what would please you that evening. The restaurant in the article is highly efficient, but you need to choose something from the menu and I’m guessing there’s not much discussion. Different situation here, but same basic idea remains—the chef needs to be able to organize and run a kitchen properly in order to deliver what’s on the menu perfectly prepared and in good time.

There’s a place for fast food and for formulaic ethnic or theme restaurants. There’s also a place for a style of dining where everyone feel cared for as well as fed, where new culinary experiences are safe, and where disappointment isn’t much of a risk. That’s what keeps diners coming back again and again, I think, when they become jaded with the fast food life foisted on us by our TV sets. It’s great when you have such a place, and we have found ours.

Catching up with Mark Bittman’s no-knead bread

by Larry Geller

It seems that almost everyone on the planet has tried Mark Bittman’s no-knead bread. The original recipe was in the New York Times article of November 8, 2006, The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work (recipe here), and there’s a video which will explain the whole thing to you (although Bittman’s recipe differs from the video, it’s close enough):

I’m guessing that if I lived in New York, nearly every neighbor would have already tried this shockingly simple way to make great bread. Here in Hawaii, not so. So I don’t feel so bad being a late adopter.

Why didn’t I try it right away? We didn’t have the necessary heavy pot. At Executive Chef, it would cost $280 for a Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot that might work. As the economy tumbles, however, there have been some great sales, and a similar pot appeared in a Macys one-day sale ad for $49.95. It was a 5.5 quart Martha Stewart enameled cast iron pot with a lifetime guarantee. It was not quite as heavy as the popular brand, but affordable. We picked up a metal Le Creuset knob for the pot just to be sure it could survive in the oven at the high temperature the recipe called for. The smaller pot is also a change from the video, made after Bittman adapted the original method to suit his own preferences.

So I did try it, at last. I made some mistakes along the way, and yet, strange thing, the bread turned out great! It had an incredible crackly crust as described. The inside was slightly underbaked but when the bread was reheated (we quarter the loaf and freeze the unused portion) it was perfect. I’ll fix that next time (the oven was not warm enough).

For me, kneading bread is something I look forward to. I used to bake frequently, but these days, with the availability of Bale bread at the KCC Saturday Farmers Market, I got lazy. I have a sourdough starter in the fridge that’s been neglected so long that I can’t remember when I last tended to it. Although I like to knead, I’ve been intrigued by the possibility that the whole ritual is, well, unnecessary. It’s something like my attitude to shifting a manual transmission in a car—why bother? Isn’t that why the automatic transmission was invented? So why knead, if great bread can be produced without it?

I tried the recipe as given in Bittman’s followup article, No Kneading, but Some Fine-Tuning.

My first mistake was that the dough was too wet. I used Bittman’s weight measures since we have metric scales. It was so wet that it stuck to the Silpat mat I let it rise on. It stuck to the plastic wrap. It was a mess. But I threw it into the oven-hot pot anyway, put on the lid, gave it the 30 minutes recommended and then 30 minutes with the lid off.

My second error was that I was impatient with my oven, which had probably not warmed to the correct temperature.

Amazingly, a perfect boule emerged at the end of this process.

(There’s another, more recent article here and here, but I find it a bit confusing. For one thing, Bittman talks about a loaf pan but the pic shows the same cast iron pot).

Soon I’ll do it again, probably with part whole grain flour, and following that I’ll try a refrigerated dough as described in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Imagine taking a lump of dough out of the fridge, letting it sit and rise awhile, then throwing it into a hot pot—and voila! fresh baked bread for dinner, the lazy way.

Kookie’s Thai Kitchen—outstanding flavor and affordable

by Larry Geller

We were thrilled to learn that Kookie is back in Honolulu, and this time with her own Thai restaurant and exciting new menu. Kookie’s Thai Kitchen opened Friday (Grand Opening will be Sunday, November 23) in a completely redecorated location on Middle Street, near Rose St. We rushed right over, eager for the flavors we remember from when she was the creative chef behind Club New Pattaya in Nuuanu. Kookie prepares the same food that we remember from our visits to Thailand.

We can report that her repertoire has expanded (the menu lists 69 dishes) and along with her versatility, her enticing presentation should make this new venture an instant success. The menu is priced right for our challenging economy—imagine finding a restaurant that is both affordable and at the top of its class. The interior is bright, welcoming and simple. Everyone is cheerful and happy to see you.
 
Thai regional cuisine melds familiar fresh ingredients with herbs and sometimes exotic spices into dishes that are at once complex and flavorful. For those who crave a lively and often spicy dining experience, there is no substitute. If you’ve spent time in Thailand, you know what to expect, and you’ll find it at Kookie’s kitchen. The menu also includes the standard dishes offered at other Thai restaurants, but why not explore a bit, there’s so much more.

The prawns must be fresh, because they will be eaten raw. Aromatic nam pla fish sauce is a staple ingredient in Thai cooking and resembles the similar variations that are ubiquitous in many Asian cuisines. This dish is a perfect introduction to Thai flavors as you would experience them in Thailand, rather than in restaurants offering stereotypical curries and dishes heavy with coconut milk. The prawns were fresh and crisp and perfectly seasoned. From the photo you’ll see that garlic is another key ingredient in this dish. You’ll also note Kookie’s creative hand in the presentation.

Next we chose a longtime favorite, Yum ma keau yao, grilled eggplant with hot peppers and lemon juice. Yes, we like it hot. Kookie can accommodate any level of heat, so don’t hesitate to ask. Again, the main flavor, slightly smoky eggplant, is supported by the crunch of raw carrot, cilantro and other vegetables in a sauce that’s appropriately spicy but that doesn’t overpower the eggplant.

Sticky rice, khao neow, is the perfect accompaniment for these dishes, but you have your choice. Dishes originating from central Thailand often go better with plain rice.

Try eating the way they do in Thailand—with a tablespoon and fork instead of chopsticks. There will be serving spoons to take some of each shared course onto your plate. Use your spoon to take a little rice. Then with the spoon in your right hand (if you are right-handed) as the main eating utensil, use the fork in your left hand to push things together. No one will give you funny looks in Kookie’s Thai Kitchen. You’ll see others doing the same. We’ve carried this Thai habit into our home. It makes so much sense for many dishes to dig in with a tablespoon.

We’ll be back soon to work our way around the menu. Kookie is always there to help with suggestions and to explain what might be best on a particular day. We always (always!) go with her suggestions.
 

Kookie’s Thai Kitchen
1326 Middle St.
Honolulu, HI 96819
(808) 847-7176
Open every day 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Parking in rear or on street
BYOB; Credit cards coming soon

It’s not just candy bars that shrink

Some supermarkets have jacked up prices more than others on a particular item. It’s hard for the consumer to tell whether increases are due to the higher cost of ingredients or just plain price gouging.

When the manufacturer shrinks the product, it’s easier to detect. Tropicana, which makes a not-bad fresh (not from concentrate) orange juice which we’ll buy when it is on sale and Florida Natural is not, must think we consumers are pretty dumb, though. They are promoting a new bottle as though it’s something so great we should rush out and buy it right away. In actuality, they’ve shrunk the product from 96 ounces before to 89 ounces in this new packaging. That’s almost one serving disappeared.

In exchange, we are supposed to love this new bottle. That’s hard to do. You’ll be cursing at it should it fall off your refrigerator shelf after opening.

The big deal is supposed to be the new cap. On the front it says “New easy pour pitcher,” and the back suggests pushing in the center to hear a snapping noise as it shuts.

Opening the cover initially is more difficult than just unscrewing the cap on the usual pitcher. Shutting it is easy enough wherever you push. I found myself pushing on the front lip of the cap so as not to hear the stupid “snap.”

What’s much worse, though, is that if you should accidentally drop a container with a typical screw cap, chances are that nothing will spill (it’s happened to me). With this container, the cap can pop open and you might have a few choice words for Tropicana about the convenience of their new pitcher.

To test this, I took my empty Tropicana pitcher into the bathroom, filled it about 2/3 with water, and dropped it onto its side from a height approximating the top shelf in my fridge (on a side-by-side model, the shelves would be even higher). Sure enough, the cap popped open and water began gurgling out. Three times out of three. Your mileage may vary, but it may not.

So much for the great advantage of the new bottle design.

(Click any of the pictures for larger image.)

(Yes, the picture is tilted, because the bottom of the container bulges out.)

The Nutrition Facts on the back still show a serving size of 8 ounces. The old 96-ounce size would have held 12 servings. This one is almost one serving short.

Consumers have a choice. You can buy this bottle or not. 

We are not sheep, we have intelligence. Let’s use it. If you have a calculator handy in your cell phone or PDA, check for which brand is cheaper by the ounce.

Also consider how much effort it takes to clean up sticky orange juice from the kitchen floor on that day when, not if, a container slips off the shelf (and suppose it runs under the fridge. Ugh!).

Cruel treatment brings pork to our tables in Hawaii

by Larry Geller

Hawaii has not dealt with charges that it permits cruel treatment of animals shipped here for food, and then covers it up by sticking “Island Produced” labels on the packages.

The cruelty was revealed in a video produced by the Handle with Care coalition and highlighted again in an August, 2008 story in Honolulu Magazine. But the cruelty continues today.

The Handle with Care coalition was formed in 2007 by a number of ten charities and animal advocacy organizations to lobby for change in the way animals are transported. HWC members filmed the cruelty in Hawaii and posted their video, which seems to have been effective. Shipments of live pigs from Canada to Hawaii ended last year:

A joint undercover investigation, during which coalition members followed and filmed lorries and ships transporting live animals, shows that animals are being driven across Europe for up to 70 hours without breaks, in violation of EU legislation.
. . .
Until 2007, Canada was sending live pigs 4,500 miles to Hawaii, a journey lasting nine days with no rest period, so that the pigs could be sold there as “island-produced,” but the Canadian government said it would end the transport after learning of the coalition’s investigation into the practice. [found here, original article uncited]

Here is HWC’s YouTube video:

YouTube: Canada ro Hawaii: Pigs transported for 7 days

Canada shipments, which had taken about seven to nine days—and included a five-day sea voyage—ceased in October 2007 (for reasons unrelated to HWC’s claims), but [Dena] Jones [program manager of the World Society for the Protection of Animals] says that Hawaii residents should still be concerned. She says up to 15,000 pigs will arrive in the Islands this year from two producers: one in northern Montana, which would require a similar amount of travel as the Canada pigs, and another in California, with about one day less of transport time. [Honolulu Magazine, Island Pork?, August, 2008]

The state and local pig importers have yet to see proof of these claims. The Department of Agriculture says that every livestock container is inspected once it enters the state, and that no evidence of mistreatment has been found. The CEO of Hawaii Food Products, one of two purchasers of the imported meat, says shipping pigs from the Mainland to Hawaii is not illegal. “If the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the state Department of Agriculture says that [the pigs] are being mistreated in any shape or form, we will stop,” says Norman Oshiro.

Maybe Oshiro hasn’t seen the video, which included inspection reports. They didn’t stop the Canadian shipments. Shipping from Montana is probably quite similar. The video showed clear mistreatment on the Hawaii end.

Thanks to Honolulu Magazine for re-opening this issue.

Have you watched the video? Will you do something to change the deceptive labeling and end animal cruelty?

I love raw oysters, but beware these

by Larry Geller

Just a word to oyster lovers.

I suggest not buying oysters at Costco unless the box is sealed shut.

We were over there today and observed three teenage boys going through the boxes of oysters in the refrigerator cabinet. They were opening each box and handling and inspecting each oyster!

Of course, we called this to the attention of nearby staff, but they took a long time getting over to the oyster fridge, and so the boys were gone. We suggested that they now need to throw out all the oysters in the fridge because they don’t know which ones were handled.

At the customer service desk we suggested that the boxes be taped shut before being put out. Nearly everything has a safety seal, you’d think oysters would also.

Many people eat oysters raw, so we thought you ought to know about this.

Update: An anonymous comment over at Disappeared News where I cross-posted this article warns against the dangers of eating raw oysters that have not been properly processed. Since many people don’t look at comments, I thought I would copy it into the main article here. Anonymous writes:

Check out the website www.rawoysteralert.com. I was shocked to learn that several individuals die each year from the consumption of raw oysters that are contaminated with naturally occurring Vibrio bacteria. Some gulf states have chosen to not take action in order to make raw oysters safe for ALL consumers.

Several years ago, the state of California made a requirement that all imported raw oysters must be pasteurized and since that requirement was put into place there have been NO FURTHER DEATHS in that state.

In order to affect change, consumers need to only accept oysters that are SAFE through post harvest processing or through being cooked. Consumer demand drives the market and the industry would be forced to provide oysters that did not lead to unnecessary deaths.

The website www.rawoysteralert.com has a wealth of information available and also explains how you can help in making the consumption of oysters safe for everyone. Please help us to spread the word and sign the petition.

Reading through the website, it seems to me that the number of individuals who get sick seems low, but on the other hand, one doesn’t want to become one of them. The consequences seem rather horrible!

Knowledge is good, so make your own choice about when/if to eat raw oysters.