Hot Dogs Face Recall Over Listeria At Height Of Grilling Season
In other public health news, a grocery store tries out a sugar-free checkout lane, Los Angeles beaches may reopen after a sewage spill and researchers find that monitoring pigeons can help detect high lead levels in children.
KPCC:
Beware Of Corn Dogs — Your Latest Food Recall
Those delicious deep-fried and battered meat tubes known as corn dogs have a little problem. Well, 372,684 pounds of them do. The USDA on Tuesday announced the recall of several varieties of ready-to-eat chicken and pork hot dogs and corn dogs manufactured by Bar-S Foods Company, an Altus, Okla. establishment. Federal regulators say they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. (Shatkin, 7/20)
Orange County Register:
Veggie Jerky, Fresh Produce: Anaheim Grocer Northgate Gonzalez Debuts Healthy Checkout Aisle
On Wednesday, Northgate Gonzalez Markets opened its 14th Orange County store, on Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim, and debuted a mostly sugar-free checkout lane after testing the concept at a store in South Los Angeles since May. The company plans to spread the program to all 41 of its Southern California stores. The healthy checkout aisle is advertised by a large bilingual sign overhead and smaller displays that say, “Botanas Saludables/Healthier Snacks.” (Perkes, 7/20)
Orange County Register:
Seal Beach Water Samples 'Pretty Good' After L.A. Sewage Leak
An Orange County health official said ocean samples taken off of the coast here have largely come back clean following Monday’s sewage spill that potentially sent bacteria southbound via the Los Angeles River.
The ocean, at sand’s edge in Seal Beach and Long Beach, remained closed Wednesday. “Most of the samples are pretty good,” said Anthony Martinez, a program manager with the OC Health Care Agency’s environmental-health division. “We have one that’s slightly elevated (bacteria-wise).” (Fausto, 7/20)
LA Daily News:
Beaches In Long Beach, Seal Beach May Reopen Thursday
Beaches in Long Beach and Seal Beach, closed after a sewage spill Monday in Los Angeles made swimming hazardous, may reopen today. Health officials need to record two consecutive days of clean test results before letting beachgoers back in the water. Water samples taken from Long Beach on Tuesday showed bacteria levels that exceeded California public health standards but still at levels too low to require a closure had the sewage spill not occurred, said Long Beach environmental health operations Keith Allen. (Edwards, 7/20)
Capital Public Radio:
Pigeon 'Whisperers' Use Birds To Track Lead Pollution
A study of pigeons in New York City showed that levels of lead in the birds track with neighborhoods where children show high levels of lead exposure. The results were published July 18 in the journal Chemosphere. ... (Rebecca) Calisi says monitoring pigeon biology may provide more understanding of the location and prevalence of lead and other harmful toxins, which could lead to the creation of prevention measures. (Joyce, 7/20)