Will it ever be safe to go back to the grocery store?
Still cowering in fear at the supermarket, clutching our grocery baskets as we inspect product label numbers on cartons in our own, makeshift, at-home test for salmonella following a massive recall last week of more than a half billion eggs, and just when you thought it was OK to clip coupons, things just got scarier.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced 380,000 pounds of lunch meat used in deli sandwiches at Wal-Mart stores nationwide may (or may not) be contaminated with Listeria.
According to the USDA, Listeria can cause high fevers, a stiff neck, nausea and (no big deal) listeriosis, which can be fatal. A stiff neck followed by a potentially-you-may-or-may-not-die-a-horribly-painful death all because we were running late to class and grabbed a smokehouse hero sandwich from one of Wal-Mart's deli cases? And don't even think about making an omelet until this all settles down.
As of Friday, more than 1,000 people have been exposed to the salmonella in the egg recall that affects 28 percent of the United States.
Luckily, the egg recall has not yet reached Florida, but the Food and Drug Administration warns the outbreaks are not over. Cue the scary "Jaws" theme music.
And listen up, all you smug vegans and vegetarians out there: You aren't so immune to this either.
Leafy vegetables account for the third-most tainted food item behind poultry and beef, according to a recent Center for Disease Control report.
Is it just us, or is grocery shopping becoming more like a game of "Press My Luck?"
