In the news... salmonella +++

Salmonella has been detected in ground turkey but this turkey is not being sold at the Coop. Although Shady Brook is one of the brand names that Cargill uses, our meat buyer has been assured that the pre-formed Shady Brook turkey patties we sell were packed in Virginia, and that the contaminated ones were processed in Alabama. However, upon discovering Cargill's and Shady Brook's ties, we have decided to no longer carry Shady Brook turkey products.

Our meat buyer notes that Shady Brook was the last of the "supermarket" brands in our meat and poultry section; the sort which met our standards back in 1987 when the GM voted to carry poultry. We've kept it around as a low-price alternative to Plainville and D'Artagnan turkey products, bearing in mind that turkey growers -- unlike chicken farmers -- are modest enough in their profit-making that they do not resort to drugging, hormone shots, and other factory-farm evils.

Mark Bittman has written several posts at the NYT on this issue. He links to a thorough post on salmonella contamination written by Mary McKenna on Superbug.


On a happier note, the Wall Street had several interesting articles this week:

• appealing chilled summer soups (almond grape; cucumber honeydew sake..);
• Who gets drunk and why? how alcohol is metabolized
• linen- fascinating look at how plant is processed
• nut oils- great to perk up salads or other dishes. We sell the La Tourangelle brand at the Coop. The lightly roasted hazel nut is a personal favorite.