Cooked Chicken Breasts Join Tainted-Food Recalls

In the case of the cantaloupe recall, the FDA is urging consumers to wash the outer surface of cantaloupes and other melons with cool tap water before slicing into them.

Dole said the recalled cantaloupes have a light green skin and orange flesh, and were distributed for sale in bulk cardboard cartons, with nine, 12 or 15 cantaloupes to a carton. The recalled cartons are dark brown with "Dole Cantaloupes" in red lettering. They have a 13-digit number on a white tag pasted to the carton; the 10th digit is a "2."

Consumers with questions should call the store where they bought the cantaloupes or contact Dole at (800) 232-8888.

The affected baby food involves:

Earth's Best Organic 2 Apple Peach Barley Wholesome Breakfast (4.5 ounce jars) 23923-20223 PFGJ14NP EXP 14 SEP 08 A Earth's Best Organic 2 Wholesome Breakfast Variety Pack (12 pack) 23923-20295 13 SEP 08 Earth's Best Organic 2 Apple Peach Barley (4.5 ounce jars within 12 pack) 23923-20223 PF6J14 NP EXP 14 SEP 08 A.

Consumers who have questions should contact Hain Celestial Group at 1-800-434-4246.

Last Wednesday, ConAgra Foods Inc. recalled its Peter Pan peanut butter and batches of Wal-Mart's Great Value peanut butter after they were linked to thesalmonellaoutbreak that struck across the country.

Scientists were still trying to determine howSalmonella tennesseegot into batches of the spread made at a Sylvester, Ga., plant.

The company still has not determined how many jars are affected by a recall. The plant, shut down since Wednesday, is the sole maker of the Peter Pan brand and one of the producers of the Wal-Mart Great Value house brand, and the recall covers all peanut butter made at the plant since May 2006.

Consumers should toss out jars with a product code on the lid beginning with "2111."

ConAgra announced that it has added extra capacity to its toll-free Consumer Affairs hotline (866-344-6970), which is set up to respond to consumer questions and concerns. Callers can also apply for refunds for products covered by the recall.

Meanwhile, in a related move, the USDA announced Monday that it was implementing the first changes to its meat and poultry plant inspections program in a decade, theAssociated Pressreported.

Plants with a history of problems will receive greater scrutiny, and conversely, plants that have better records of meat and poultry handling will see fewer inspections for contamination fromE. coli, salmonella and other germs.

The new "risk-based" system will evaluate the type of product produced and the plant's record of food and safety violations, Agriculture Department officials told theAP.

According to the CDC, there are an estimated 76 million cases of food-borne illness each year in the United States, the vast majority of which are mild and cause symptoms that last a day or two. Some cases are more serious, leading to 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, and those with weakened immune systems.

More information

For more information on safe food handling, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

SOURCES: Feb. 18, 2007, USDA press release; Feb. 16, 2007, FDA press release; Feb. 15, 2007, FDA press release; ConAgra press release;Associated Press