It’s nearly summer – feels like it already in many parts of the world – and let’s face it: food just seems to just taste better in summer, no doubt due  in no small part to the fact that local produce is more readily available.

Speaking of food, notice how many recalls there have been lately?

Just last week, “More Than 800,000 Units of Cream Cheese Have Been Recalled,” according to The Kitchn via MSN. “The recall has extended to a number of states across America: California, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Some of the products were also shipped to Puerto Rico.”

“A number of states?” Nineteen. Sizeable number and damn close to half!

Reason: Salmonella.

There were also 2024 Recalls of Food Products Associated with Dairy Products from Rizo Lopez Foods, Inc. due to the Potential Risk of Listeria monocytogenes, which is potentially fatal. Not that we see huge numbers of deaths each year from it but wouldn’t want to be included in the number.

Also this past week, Revealed: The 28 sodas, juices and other drinks recalled by FDA due to containing harmful ingredients and cancer chemicals, the Daily Mail  reported. “All but four (86 percent) of the 28 were recalled because they contained something the company had not declared – including drugs, bacteria and harmful chemicals.

“A tea sold for pain relief was recalled for containing anti-inflammatory medication that was not included on the label, while apple juice was recalled for containing high levels of arsenic, a toxic metal linked to an increased risk of bladder and skin cancers.”

If your plan is to stick to water, do note that “The biggest beverage recall of the year so far was Fiji Water. Some 1.9 million bottles of the water, made by Natural Waters of Viti Limited, were recalled due to manganese and three types of bacteria detected in the water.”

Also reported last week, Two brands of ‘healthy’ chips are found to contain high levels of toxic metal that can lower people’s IQ, and note to self: both are USDA certified organic. “The chips are made with cassava, a potato-like root vegetable, which may have accumulated lead from contaminated soil during the mining and farming process, the report said.”

Cookies? Cookies???

Next up, the cookie recall. Even cookies aren’t safe. “The Hy-Vee To Go Cookies & Cream Mix was one of several Hy-Vee products that the company recalled at the beginning of May,” Newsweek reported via MSN. As of Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined it to be a Class I hazard. For the record, “This is the most severe category and is used “when there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”

FYI, several of these are recalls that we noticed were just in the past few days, and we can only wonder what the hell is going on with the food supply. It’s especially concerning since, in the name of climate change, we’re being encouraged away from natural products and towards ingesting lab-grown alternatives. If we can’t even get onions and Romaine lettuce right – and yes, both have been recalled in the none-too-distant past due to potentially deadly e-Coli – are we ready to trust lab-grown products and what studies have been done on the long-term effects?

Although, note: Naturally occurring substance in pomegranates may improve treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. There’s much we’re still learning about food and the human body. Not sure that substance would be ‘naturally occurring’ in a lab…

Still, we’re sure that lab-grown foods are thoroughly vetted and why wouldn’t we trust the government when it comes to the food supply?

This Is Fishy

Heads up! This just in: U.S. Buying ‘Safe and Delicious’ Fukushima Fish Banned by Other Countries.  “Japan last month completed its fifth release into the Pacific Ocean of treated contaminated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The U.S. committed to buying seafood from Japan despite scientists’ warnings that the water threatens human health and the environment… In October 2023, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel announced the U.S. military would buy bulk Japanese seafood for service members stationed at military bases in Japan and explore more broadly how to help offset China’s ban on Japan’s seafood.

“He said the U.S. was also in talks with Japanese authorities to direct locally caught scallops to U.S.-registered processors.”

Coming soon to a store near you?

Meanwhile, Government Raid Seizes $90,000 of Healthy Food Grown by Nourish Cooperative, Mercola reported. “Nourish Cooperative is a farm cooperative that provides fresh, whole foods, such as low-PUFA eggs, raw milk, and “needle-free” grass fed and/or corn- and soy-free meat.

Possibly radioactive fish banned in most countries good, organic farmed food dangerous?

So, as to our food supply and the government, what can we say? These days it seems you have to be especially careful about of what you put in your mouth – and especially wary of some of the things that come out of theirs. Onward and forward.