WSJ headline: Government Knew about Bacteria in Turkey--more on Cargill, Inc and salmonella in turkey processing plants. Bottom line: who is the USDA protecting?
Coconut water: ConsumerLab.com tests electrolyte content of three coconut waters: Zico, O.N.E. and VitaCoco. Zico comes out the winner as reported by Huffington Post.
Showing posts with label turkeys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label turkeys. Show all posts
Monday, August 08, 2011
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
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:
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.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Blog Post He Didn't Want to Make
We have fifty-some unsold Thanksgiving turkeys, now FROZEN HARD and DISCOUNTED (price is as marked). Take this opportunity to buy an American Bronze heritage turkey -- $2.95 lb. CHEAP -- for the winter holidays. Defrost in the refrigerator for at least four days before roasting.
We will not be bringing in any fresh turkeys until these sell out...in any case, we won't be getting any more fancy heritage birds, which were raised just for the Coop by McDonald Farm, in NY's Finger Lakes region. Consider these facts well, my friends.
There are also a few Countryboy Farm turkeys (also raised just for us, in Lancaster, Pa., by Amish guys) and Eberly Organics left. Also frozen and discounted. But they're mostly heritage. You've always wanted a heritage, haven't you?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thanksgiving shopping-A Cautionary Tale
Shop Early
No, the Park Slope Food Coop is not a rapacious retailer, forcing Santa down your throat by Columbus Day weekend. We just want our members to be able to get all the basics they need for a holiday meal. And that means that you need to start stocking up on supplies now. Our basement cannot hold the amount of food required if everyone were to wait to shop until the last week or even the week before Thanksgiving.
Prime example: frozen pie crusts. Our supplier always runs out Thanksgiving week. So we try to stock up ahead. Have you ever been inside our basement freezer? By the end of the week all the shelves are full and there are 4 to 5 full U boats clogging the space, making it hard to send up all those pizzas and frozen berries. There is no room for six more carts full of pie crusts waiting for you to buy them at the last minute. So please buy your pie crust now. You're not sure if you are the one bringing the pie, buy the pie shell anyway. It keeps very well in the freezer and doesn't take up too much space. Buy the frozen peas and broccoli and vanilla ice cream now too.
Dry goods to purchase in advance: chicken stock, canned pumpkin, dried mushrooms, olive oil, pasta, packaged bread crumbs or dressing, evaporated or condensed milk, maple syrup, corn syrup, brown and white sugars (please consider purchasing the wonderful Wholesome Foods Fair Trade sugars we sell in Aisle 2A), chocolate chips, flour, parchment paper (Aisle 2A), cheesecloth, vanilla, spices including cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, etc. Dried cranberries, apricots, and other dried fruits keep well in a glass container in the cupboard. Pecans, walnuts and other nuts can be refrigerated or frozen. Dried fruits and spices take time to bag and there may not be enough workers to meet the demand during the holiday week. And there is only so much space for workers in the food processing area and everyone wants cheese and olives too. Don't forget the crackers.
Cheeses, olives and smoked fish keep for weeks refrigerated. I refrigerate my corn meal and flour. Butter freezes very well, eggs have a shelf life of weeks. Heavy cream is also hard to get from our distributors holiday weeks--hedge your bets and buy ultra pasteurized Organic Valley heavy cream--it has a shelf life of weeks. A lot of produce stores well too--buy your potatoes, squash, shallots, garlic, pearl onions and fresh cranberries..
Get a leg up--buy your chestnuts early, roast and peel them and store in the refrigerator. Or sit back and buy the peeled chestnuts in the jar on the front end display across from the eggs. Don't forget the beer, Martinelli's sparkling cider, San Pellegrino limonata, chocolate truffles. Your cousins are going to remember the terrific hard cider you brought to the dinner last year--don't disappoint them. Only problem is: remember, this is the Thanksgiving stash.
Get rid of all the leftovers in your refrigerator. You need to make room so that you can buy your turkey as early as possible. Turkeys will start being delivered the Friday before Thanksgiving. Turkeys delivered the week of Thanksgiving are not going to be fresher; they are all butchered at least a week in advance. We max out our coolers for the turkeys. This means every time we need to send up butter, someone has to drag out 3 or more heavy carts of turkeys to get at the butter in the basement.
For the vegans, Tofurky "turkeys" will be in the freezer. The flatten Road Kill Fresh Tofu "turkeys" will be sold next to the tofu in the egg case. Buy them as soon as you see them.
It is not fun shopping at the Coop during the holiday season. Even if we have everything you want, we probably won't have the workers to stock the shelves. And who can get near the shelves to stock when the lines wrap around the store. Consider going in late to work one morning during the week and do your big shop then. Late week day evenings are generally not too busy either. The Coop does open at 6 am on Saturdays and Sunday mornings.
You can do quick grab and go shops if you don't have anything to weigh, three items or less. Pick up your turkey, pumpkin pie and fresh cream and head to the cashier, bypassing all the checkout lanes. If you plan ahead, you won't have to go to one of those Really Expensive Stores to get the special ingredients that make your holiday. Besides, they would also have long lines and no heavy cream. If all else fails, you can lie low and shop Thanksgiving Day, 8 am to 2:30 pm.
No, the Park Slope Food Coop is not a rapacious retailer, forcing Santa down your throat by Columbus Day weekend. We just want our members to be able to get all the basics they need for a holiday meal. And that means that you need to start stocking up on supplies now. Our basement cannot hold the amount of food required if everyone were to wait to shop until the last week or even the week before Thanksgiving.
Prime example: frozen pie crusts. Our supplier always runs out Thanksgiving week. So we try to stock up ahead. Have you ever been inside our basement freezer? By the end of the week all the shelves are full and there are 4 to 5 full U boats clogging the space, making it hard to send up all those pizzas and frozen berries. There is no room for six more carts full of pie crusts waiting for you to buy them at the last minute. So please buy your pie crust now. You're not sure if you are the one bringing the pie, buy the pie shell anyway. It keeps very well in the freezer and doesn't take up too much space. Buy the frozen peas and broccoli and vanilla ice cream now too.
Dry goods to purchase in advance: chicken stock, canned pumpkin, dried mushrooms, olive oil, pasta, packaged bread crumbs or dressing, evaporated or condensed milk, maple syrup, corn syrup, brown and white sugars (please consider purchasing the wonderful Wholesome Foods Fair Trade sugars we sell in Aisle 2A), chocolate chips, flour, parchment paper (Aisle 2A), cheesecloth, vanilla, spices including cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, etc. Dried cranberries, apricots, and other dried fruits keep well in a glass container in the cupboard. Pecans, walnuts and other nuts can be refrigerated or frozen. Dried fruits and spices take time to bag and there may not be enough workers to meet the demand during the holiday week. And there is only so much space for workers in the food processing area and everyone wants cheese and olives too. Don't forget the crackers.
Cheeses, olives and smoked fish keep for weeks refrigerated. I refrigerate my corn meal and flour. Butter freezes very well, eggs have a shelf life of weeks. Heavy cream is also hard to get from our distributors holiday weeks--hedge your bets and buy ultra pasteurized Organic Valley heavy cream--it has a shelf life of weeks. A lot of produce stores well too--buy your potatoes, squash, shallots, garlic, pearl onions and fresh cranberries..
Get a leg up--buy your chestnuts early, roast and peel them and store in the refrigerator. Or sit back and buy the peeled chestnuts in the jar on the front end display across from the eggs. Don't forget the beer, Martinelli's sparkling cider, San Pellegrino limonata, chocolate truffles. Your cousins are going to remember the terrific hard cider you brought to the dinner last year--don't disappoint them. Only problem is: remember, this is the Thanksgiving stash.
Get rid of all the leftovers in your refrigerator. You need to make room so that you can buy your turkey as early as possible. Turkeys will start being delivered the Friday before Thanksgiving. Turkeys delivered the week of Thanksgiving are not going to be fresher; they are all butchered at least a week in advance. We max out our coolers for the turkeys. This means every time we need to send up butter, someone has to drag out 3 or more heavy carts of turkeys to get at the butter in the basement.
For the vegans, Tofurky "turkeys" will be in the freezer. The flatten Road Kill Fresh Tofu "turkeys" will be sold next to the tofu in the egg case. Buy them as soon as you see them.
It is not fun shopping at the Coop during the holiday season. Even if we have everything you want, we probably won't have the workers to stock the shelves. And who can get near the shelves to stock when the lines wrap around the store. Consider going in late to work one morning during the week and do your big shop then. Late week day evenings are generally not too busy either. The Coop does open at 6 am on Saturdays and Sunday mornings.
You can do quick grab and go shops if you don't have anything to weigh, three items or less. Pick up your turkey, pumpkin pie and fresh cream and head to the cashier, bypassing all the checkout lanes. If you plan ahead, you won't have to go to one of those Really Expensive Stores to get the special ingredients that make your holiday. Besides, they would also have long lines and no heavy cream. If all else fails, you can lie low and shop Thanksgiving Day, 8 am to 2:30 pm.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Thanksgiving Turkeys at the Coop
FRESH turkeys available beginning
Tuesday, November 13th
Plainville Farms Pasture-raised (New York)
16 to 24 lbs., $2.35 lb. (November 15)
Eberly Certified Organic (Pennsylvania):
8 to 24 lbs., $3.67 lb. (November 16)
FROZEN Wise Kosher Certified Organic (Pennsylvania):
12-24 lbs., $3.45 lb. (November 13)
Stonewood Farm Pasture-raised (Vermont):
16 to 20 lbs., $2.35 lb. (November 19)
Murray’s (Pennsylvania):
12 to 24 lbs., $2.42 lb. (November 13)
Bell & Evans (New Jersey):
8 to 26 lbs., $2.14 lb. (November 13)
Jaindl Farms (Pennsylvania):
10 to 16 lbs., $2.25 lb. (November 13)
All the above are delivered FRESH, except for Wise Kosher. All are locally raised, hormone- and antibiotic-free.
RISING GRAIN PRICES LED TO HOLIDAY SHORTAGES. BUY YOUR HOLIDAY TURKEY EARLY.
SMALL SIZES GO FAST.
Tuesday, November 13th
Plainville Farms Pasture-raised (New York)
16 to 24 lbs., $2.35 lb. (November 15)
Eberly Certified Organic (Pennsylvania):
8 to 24 lbs., $3.67 lb. (November 16)
FROZEN Wise Kosher Certified Organic (Pennsylvania):
12-24 lbs., $3.45 lb. (November 13)
Stonewood Farm Pasture-raised (Vermont):
16 to 20 lbs., $2.35 lb. (November 19)
Murray’s (Pennsylvania):
12 to 24 lbs., $2.42 lb. (November 13)
Bell & Evans (New Jersey):
8 to 26 lbs., $2.14 lb. (November 13)
Jaindl Farms (Pennsylvania):
10 to 16 lbs., $2.25 lb. (November 13)
All the above are delivered FRESH, except for Wise Kosher. All are locally raised, hormone- and antibiotic-free.
RISING GRAIN PRICES LED TO HOLIDAY SHORTAGES. BUY YOUR HOLIDAY TURKEY EARLY.
SMALL SIZES GO FAST.
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