Hartz Dog Treats Recalled

If you're thinking of giving your dog a holiday weekend treat, don't make it a Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treat, because they've been recalled due to possible salmonella contamination. While no dogs have been reported ill because of these treats, nobody wants their pup to become sick. And people can catch salmonella from pets.

Salmonella causes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain, and can be a serious illness in children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems

The recall affects 74,700 8-oz bags of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs, lot code BZ0969101E, UPC number 32700-11519. You can read the full recall notice here.

All Eggs Are Local: Salmonella-Free Eggs Are Here

Half a billion eggs recalled.  1,300 people, and possibly more to come, already made sick from salmonella contaminated eggs. Nobody wants to get sick with salmonella

There are strategies for making eggs safe:  Thoroughly cooking eggs (and cleaning utensils and cooking surfaces) is always a good, and effective, way to prevent the spread of salmonella and other food-borne diseases.  Buying locally farmed eggs, alas, isn't one of those strategies:  Your locally produced eggs can easily be contaminated with salmonella.  What kind of tools do local farmers use to thwart salmonella?  "We're a small producer and we have a better handle on everything that goes out of here," is how one farmer described her strategy.  Not very reassuring.

I buy pasteurized eggs.  Not the kind that come in liquid form, which are low-cholesterol egg whites only-- but real, in-the-shell-from-the-chicken eggs.  Pasteurized eggs taste every bit as delicious as regular eggs, and they are completely free of  bacteria.

Davidson's Eggs produces pasteurized eggs.  You can find out where to buy pasteurized eggs on their website.  In the District of Columbia Harris Teeter sells them -- but call ahead to see if they have pasteurized eggs in stock.  If your local supermarket doesn't carry pasteurized eggs, you can --pardon the irresistible pun-- egg them on through this online form.