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A food product recall is the last line of defense for keeping contaminated food off store shelves and out of our kitchens. But there’s hitch: Not all recalls are created equal.
The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t always alert consumers to the store names and locations of where recalled products were sold. The agency has defended these inconsistencies by pointing to an obscure and broad interpretation of what qualifies as “confidential commercial information” under the Freedom of Information Act.
For example, when the FDA announced a recall in May of frozen raw tuna cubes imported from Indonesia that tested positive for hepatitis A, the action included retailer and location specifies. But when the agency announced a recall last year of strawberries imported from Egypt that also tested positive for hepatitis A, it declined to offer those same details.
There is small window to get vaccinated against hepatitis A after exposure, so sharing those locations could have helped mitigate the multistate outbreak traced to the berries.
Consumer Reports (CR) believes that specific retailer details should be released in the wake of every recall and is asking the FDA to address this inconsistency. Along with 10 other consumer and public health organizations, CR sent a letter to the agency urging a policy change. We think consumers should be armed with as much information as possible to protect themselves and their families.
Go to recalls.goc/food.html to make sure you didn’t pick up dangerous items during your recent grocery shopping trips.
CR.org Issue December 2017
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