Chicago Moms Blog

Beef Recall, Hot Lunch, and Dog Food

This is cross posted from our sister site, Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

On Sunday, the USDA recalled 143 million pounds of beef from Chino-based Hallmark/Westland meatpacking company.  DC Metro Mom blogger Joanne posted about the recall here a few days ago.  Over the past two years, thirty-seven million pounds of meat from so-called downer cows were shipped to school lunch programs. Schools are busy pulling meat from freezers, but our kids already ate most of it, according to the the Department of Agriculture's food safety official. Thankfully, the meat is not known to be tainted with e. coli or another pathogen. It's "just" from sick cows, so Hallmark/Westland thought they could get away with it.

I'm curious why it took this video from the Humane Society for the USDA to wake up.  These issues with putting downer cows in our food supply are not new and are quite widely known.  According to Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, a third of slaughtered cows have liver abscesses that would kill them within months anyway.  These aren't even the downer cows, who presumably have worse issues.

This all leads up to a conversation I had a few months ago, when I got a question from a mom of a kinder at our school:

"Your son told my son that 'hot lunch' served at school was the same as dog food. Is that true?" Time for that video:

Maybe I was too honest with my kids...

Click Here to continue reading the rest of this post on Silicon Valley Moms Blog....

BPA Free Sippy Cups and Bottles? Does it Matter?

In light of the BPA media frenzy I decided to do some of my own research. I wanted to know for myself if this is just media overkill or if this is the real thing like the lead issues we faced this past fall. What I found was a lot of contradictory information, very unlike the lead scare.

Murky Recalls

Thie was originally posted on our sister site, DC Metro Moms Blog.

After spending the entire day rushing around and getting ready to fly solo with my three babies tomorrow morning, I decided to steal a minute for myself.  My plan:  sit down (for maybe five minutes, at which point I'll surely be interrupted by a "mommy, more water, puh-lease" request). Relax. Check email.  Catch up on the day's news. 

After sitting for precisely three minutes, I'm the most frazzled I've been all day.

Why?  It has nothing to do with H2o.

I just read that Merck & Co., Inc. announced a recall today of somewhere around a dozen lots (or 1.2. million doses) of the vaccine for Hib, and a combo vaccine for Hib and Hepatitis B.  You know, the concoction that allegedly protects against meningitis and pneumonia and other infections.

I usually don't freak out too much when I hear about recalls.  Probably "it couldn't happen to me" thinking is partly to blame. 

But this time, the recall could affect me--it could affect my baby, who just received her first Hib vaccine.

Where I'll be on Black Friday

I'll be on the Magnificent Mile on the day after Thanksgiving, but I won't be clutching an armful of shopping bags. I won't be scanning the ads for doorbuster sales or wearing out the magnetic strip on my credit card.

Instead, look for me (and perhaps some other Chicago Moms Bloggers) at 10 a.m. outside the original Water Tower (806 N. Michigan Ave). I'll be wearing my "Get the Lead Out" t-shirt and handing out stickers and coupon booklets to passersby as part of the Consumers Union Chicago rally to kick of 12 Days of Safe Shopping. We'll be encouraging shoppers to hand a "Not in My Cart" coupon to the cashier as they make their purchases, letting store managers know that consumers are demanding higher safety standards for toys and prompt compliance with recalls.

Learn more about the Consumers Union's efforts at www.notinmycart.org.

Cross-posted to Marketing Mommy

Remember to keep the lead out! And the PVC...roofies....

I know, I know, we're approaching a dead horse with this lead toy issue, but as this is Thanksgiving Eve and thus Black Friday Eve Eve, here's another reminder to check out Pickle's list of lead-free toys.

There is also an article in the latest issue of The Nation on toxic toys. "But the uproar over banned substances and rogue Chinese toy manufacturers has overshadowed an even more troubling issue: the toxins in toys that are perfectly legal. The United States remains one of the few developed countries to permit the import of plastic toys made with polyvinyl chloride additives called phthalates (pronounced tha-lates), which help make toys soft and pliable enough to be twisted or sucked yet durable enough to survive a 1-year-old's grip. A mounting body of scientific evidence suggests that phthalates impede the production of testosterone and disrupt the sexual development of infant boys."

Keep the lead out...Support Indie Crafters

Thanksgiving is next week people and we all know what that means. Holiday shopping officially begins. But what's a mama to do when it seems like every day that toy our lil ones have been begging for gets recalled? Even our BFF Dora was recalled over the summer!

This weekend is the DIY Trunkshow. Hit it. Hard.

Yes, yes, my BFF organizes it, but that doesn't diminish the awesomeness that is DIY. Imagine 2 rooms chock full of handmade goodies. Need a bag? Stationary?  Rings? Soaps? Yarn so you can get your DIY on? There won't be many toys, but come on, our kids have enough of them. But there will be dog sweaters!

So come on out on Saturday, shop til you drop and don't forget your tote bag to bring it all home. Or buy one while you're there! I figure that my arrival time will be around 10 am as we have a doggie event at 1 pm. Seriously thou, I look forward to this event every year because I can find handmade, quality, and unique things to buy my friends & family for the holiday season. I love my Target, but the trunk show is oh, so better.

Is this for Real?

On October 1, 2007 Walmart released their annual top 12 toys for the upcoming Holiday season. You all know my take on plastic, non-educational toys. And you all know that I purchase non-toxic sensory enriching toys for my son, his friends, and his family. And you all know that I totally disagree with the toys on the top holiday lists. But, what about parents who don't disagree with the lists and purchase those toys? What about the ones who have already purchased toys such as the Aqua Dots and had to report to the U.S. safety agency?

The U.S. safety agency received two reports of children who swallowed Aqua Dots and became unconscious, the spokeswoman said. The children have since recovered.

But, what if they hadn't?

Check Your Freezer!

There's recalls in the freezer, too! Millions of Totino's and Jeno's frozen pizzas are being recalled due to possible E. coli contamination. Eight types of Totino's brand frozen pizza and three types of Jeno's brand frozen pizza with pepperoni topping, or pepperoni in combination with other toppings are included in the recall.

According to the CDC, E. coli is one of hundreds of  strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli.  Although most strains are harmless, this strain produces a powerful toxin that  can cause severe illness, especially dangerous for the very young or elderly. Infection with E. coli often leads to bloody diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure.

So, take a break from checking the toy box for lead and Halloween candy for razors (and lead) and be sure to check the freezer, too. It's probably a good time to clean it out anyway, at least it was for me, because I found some scary stuff in there that I think used to be Veggie Burgers... but I'm still not so sure.

Holiday Toy List for the Savvy (and safe) Shopper

Toys R' Us and KBtoys.com released their Hot Holiday Toys of 2007 October 11th and they hit Google like a landslide. But I disagree with the lists they came up with.

Why? Mostly because the toys on the list are flashy plastic character toys. But, also because some of the toys are ones I have never even heard of. Are they not listening to the public (mommy bloggers?)

Obviously other researchers are...I know that Parenting Magazine did all of their research before the lead recalls even hit so that just may be the case with many research and development teams and unfortunately, they are going to lose out to savvy consumers like me. (Only one of their toys came from one of my much researched list...Hape)

Losing My Faith: Mattel Boycott Pending for this Mama

Mattel, I hate to be addressing you like this, in front of your public and all,  but I don't know whether to applaud you for being forthright and issuing "voluntary recalls" or to curse you out for not having firm policies on hand in the first place.

At this point, after more than 21 million toys recalled in just over a month, this is what you say you are doing;

1. All paint must be tested before it is used on our toys. No exceptions.
2. We have significantly increased testing and unannounced inspections at every stage of production.
3. We are testing every production run of finished toys to ensure compliance before they reach you.

But the looming question is...Why were you not doing this in the first place?