Tag Archives: Conagra

Coffee, Conagra and consumers – talking in bed

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Amy’s convinced the coffee in our Wellington, NZ, hotel room has no caffeine, so I made an early morning run yesterday to the Starbucks around the corner.

The coffee place was just opening and as I awaited my order, a load of prepared sandwiches arrived. The first thing the staff member did was insert a tip-sensitive digital thermometer into one of the sandwiches to verify that the proper temperature had been maintained. Good on ya. The guy getting my order said it was standard operating procedure, and as we chatted it emerged he was newly arrived in Wellington from Montreal. Another Canadian buddy. Or friend.

Next was a talk with ConAgra’s Food Safety Council in Omaha, Nebraska. That’s ConAgra of pot pie and peanut butter fame.

Quality experts at ConAgra Foods today will hear from a lawyer who has sued the company due to food borne illnesses and from two food safety advocates as the company stresses the need to keep its products safe.

"It’s part of raising the game and listening to every expert on the food safety front," said Teresa Paulsen, ConAgra spokeswoman.

ConAgra decided to bring in Bill Marler, Barb Kowalcyk, director of food safety and co-founder of the Center for FoodBorne Illness Research and Prevention, and myself to hear what we had to say.

Marler told the Omaha World-Herald he was going to talk about fostering a culture that focuses on food safety while remaining profitable in a competitive industry, and credited ConAgra Chief Executive Gary Rodkin and other company executives for inviting him to speak.

"It says a lot for the company.”

Being in Wellington, NZ, and 17 hours ahead, provided several technological hurdles, which we sorta managed to get around. Video didn’t work, so the folks in Nebraska saw my slides and heard my disembodied voice – apparently in surround sound.

I was talking into a telephone (left, exactly as shown), advancing my slides, but had no audience feedback. While awkward, I could get used to this lecturing style.

By the time I spoke with the consumer advisory group for the New Zealand Food Safety Authority later that afternoon, I had the message much more focused: here’s the top-5 factors that contribute to foodborne illness, here’s the research we do to reduce the burden of each, and here’s how we use different mediums and messages to foster a food safety culture, from farm-to-fork.

It’s been good to reflect on why we do the things we do, and it’s been great traveling in Wellington with Amy. Now it’s time for a couple of days of hanging out, catching up on news if I ever get my e-mail working again, and then its off to Melbourne on Sunday.

Live … From the Safe Food Caf?: Cooking the poop out of pot pies

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ConAgra announced Nov. 14, 2007, that it was starting to manufacture Banquet pot pies again, and by early December they were available for purchase.

On Oct. 11, 2007, ConAgra announced it was recalling all of its frozen pot pies to fix some label discrepancies. This was two days after an outbreak of Salmonella was linked to Banquet pot pies and the company reassuringly told consumers that getting sick was their own fault and they should be more careful and cook pot pies thoroughly.

In the end, at least 272 people in 35 states had trouble simply cooking the pot pies and got sick with salmonella.

As I documented before, the instructions on the pot pies weren’t so great.

The old labels had statements about how easy it was to cook in the microwave. The new labels are much more explicit, saying the pot pies need to be cooked in at least a 1100 Watt microwave and that a meat thermometer should be used in several places to ensure that an endpoint temperature of 165 F has been reached.

I bought some of the new and improved pot pies and did the same cooking experiment, following what ConAgra called " redesigned easy-to-follow cooking instructions … to help eliminate any potential confusion regarding cooking times."

After four minutes in a 1150 Watt microwave, the interior of the pot pie registered at about 50F. After letting it sit for an additional three minutes — as per label instructions – the temperature varied anywhere from 75 – 190 F.

I decided to cook an additional two minutes.

After six minutes of cooking, and the previous three minutes of resting, the pot pie had tremendous variation in temperature: anywhere from 200F down to 100F.  165 F is required to kill Salmonella.
I wouldn’t want my kids popping these in the microwave after school.

ConAgra has never come clean on which various ingredients may have been the source of the Salmonella. Was it the poultry? How about the vegetables? The pie crust? ConAgra won’t say.

Further, were the new labels tested with consumers? There is a lack of research examining whether safe food handling labels perceived as effective translate into actual safe food handling behavior, including the use of proper thawing and cooking techniques, the use of measures to minimize cross-contamination, and the use of meat thermometers to confirm doneness.

If I was a multi-million dollar corporation like ConAgra headed to a dance with food safety lawyer Bill Marler cause my product made people barf, I’d want some evidence that pot pie fans where actually following the instructions on the labels. I would have tested the new labels with at least 100 teenagers — those afflicted with hormones and horniness — before introducing it to the mass market.
Maybe they did. But that’s up to ConAgra to prove.

And until they do, all products that claim to be safe in the microwave should contain nothing but fully cooked ingredients.

That’s the only way to get the poop out.

Pot pies are back: new labels, same problems

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Guess what I found at my local supermarket last week.

ConAgra announced Nov. 14, 2007, that it was starting to manufacture Banquet pot pies again, and earlier last week, they were available for purchase.

On Oct. 11, 2007, ConAgra announced it was recalling all of its frozen pot pies to fix some label discrepancies. This was two days after an outbreak of Salmonella was linked to Banquet pot pies and the company reassuringly told consumers that getting sick was their own fault and they should be more careful and cook pot pies thoroughly.

In the end, at least 272 people in 35 states had trouble simply cooking the pot pies and got sick with salmonella.

As I documented before, the instructions on the pot pies weren’t so great.

The old labels had statements about how easy it was to cook in the microwave. The new labels are much more explicit, saying the pot pies need to be cooked in at least a 1100 Watt microwave and that a meat thermometer should be used in several places to ensure that an endpoint temperature of 165 F has been reached.

The best the bureaucrats at the British and Irish food safety authorities can come up with is "piping hot" to cook an entire turkey, while American ConAgra expects teenage kids full of hormones and horniness to test pot pies with a meat thermometer in several places so they won’t barf from Salmonella.

It’s not going to happen.

And there’s a risk.

I bought some of the new and improved pot pies and did the same cooking experiment, following what ConAgra called " redesigned easy-to-follow cooking instructions … to help eliminate any potential confusion regarding cooking times."

After four minutes in a 1150 Watt microwave, the interior of the pot pie registered at about 50F. After letting it sit for an additional three minutes — as per label instructions – the temperature varied anywhere from 75 – 190 F.

I decided to cook an additional two minutes.

After six minutes of cooking, and the previous three minutes of resting, the pot pie had tremendous variation in temperature: anywhere from 200F down to 100F.  165 F is required to kill Salmonella.

I wouldn’t want my kids popping these in the microwave after school.

ConAgra has never come clean on which various ingredients may have been the source of the Salmonella. Was it the poultry? How about the vegetables? The pie crust? ConAgra won’t say.

Further, were the new labels tested with consumers? If I was a multi-million dollar corporation like ConAgra headed to a dance with food safety lawyer Bill Marler cause my product made people barf, I’d want some evidence that pot pie fans where actually following the instructions on the labels. I would have tested the new labels with at least 100 teenagers afflicted with hormones and horniness before introducing it to the mass market.

Maybe they did. But that’s up to ConAgra to prove.

And until they do, all products that claim to be safe in the microwave should contain nothing but fully cooked ingredients.

That’s the only way to get the poop out.

USA Today reported on the new pot pies Monday morning.

ConAgra pot pies are back after Salmonella otbreak sickens 272

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Much rejoicing for Eric Cartmen this evening. ConAgra pot pies are coming back.

The company says environmental tests of its Marshall, Missouri, plant have not shown any trace of salmonella since the Oct. 11 recall, and that lab tests showed that the tainted pot pies were produced between July 13 and July 31.

The pot pies made by ConAgra have been linked to at least 272 cases of salmonella in 35 states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 65 people were hospitalized as part of the outbreak, but no deaths have been linked to the pot pies.

ConAgra Foods also said on Wednesday said a recent recall of pot pies due to salmonella contamination would cost about $30 million — or 4 cents per share, and that earnings in its trading and merchandising group would be stronger than expected and would offset the recall costs.

A company statement today notes,

redesigned easy-to-follow cooking instructions are now in place to help eliminate any potential confusion regarding cooking times.

I look forward to checking these out for myself. The directions on the previous pot pies really sucked. And didn’t work.

Seattle attorney William Marler, who as of today had filed five lawsuits related to the outbreak, told the Tri City Herald in Washington State today that he would continue to file lawsuits against ConAgra until it begins compensating clients for damages.

No kitty, this is my pot pie

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Amy says she ate a lot of pot pies growing up in Montana and "they were always frozen in the middle."

After a brief story yesterday in Idaho speculating that several local salmonella cases may be linked to undercooked chicken pot pies, and a blog this morning by uber attorney, Bill Marler, suddenly the U.S. Department of Agriculture announces this afternoon that its

"Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is investigating a Missouri establishment that on October 9 voluntarily ceased operations due to reported illnesses linked to their products. Banquet brand and generic store brand frozen not-ready-to-eat pot pie products with "P-9" printed on the side of the package may be the potential source of reported illnesses caused by Salmonella based on epidemiological evidence collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and State public health departments.

The Agency is advising consumers not to eat or to discard these chicken or turkey pot pie products until we are able to determine the source, products and potential production dates of contamination and to verify proper cooking instructions for these not-ready-to-eat products. We will provide updates as further information becomes available."

ConAgra issued its own press release, stating,

"The company reminds consumers that these products are not ready-to-eat, and must always be thoroughly cooked as instructed on the packages. The cooking instructions for these products are specifically designed to eliminate the presence of common pathogens found in many uncooked products. Microwave cooking times vary, depending on the wattage of the microwave, so carefully following all instructions is important.

"Consumers with questions regarding the cooking of Banquet pot pies may call 1-866-484-8671 or contact us online at www.conagrafoods.com/contactus. For more information on food safety, consumers may reference IFIC.org."

The most recent news has 135 people sick in 35 states, and maybe as many as 200, going back to March of this year.

Wow.

So Amy and I went to the local supermarket after dinner. We found the products in question, with the P-9 on the side, and on sale, 2-for-$1.

I called the number suggested by ConAgra (see above). After listening to a recorded message, I spoke with a human, who wanted to know my name, zip code, state, and when she got to address, I said, I just want to know how to properly cook these in the microwave, cause the press release says they’re safe if cooked properly.

The human hung up.

Amy and I then examined the ingredient list, which included cooked chicken, and mechanically deboned chicken — but did not specify whether the meat was coked or not. So maybe there is raw poultry in the pot pies, which could be a source of salmonella, or maybe it’s all cooked but there was a failure in reaching 165F. Don’t know at this point.

And then there’s the cooking instructions, which ConAgra says to follow carefully.

On the front in big capital letters, bottom left:
KEEP FROZEN
COOK THOROUGHLY
 
On the image of the potpie:
 Ready in 4 minutes
Microwaveable
 
On the back:
For food safety and quality, follow these cooking directions:

Microwave Oven
(fine print: Ovens vary; cooking time may need to be adjusted.)
Place tray on microwave-safe plate; slit top crust.
Microwave on High.
(Med. OR High Wattage Microwave 4 mins.
Low Wattage Microwave 6 mins).
 
Let Stand 3 minutes. Carefully remove as Product will be hot.
 
Conventional Oven
(fine print: Do not prepare in toaster oven.)
 
Preheat oven to 400F. Place tray on cookie sheet, slit top crust.
Bake in oven 30 to 32 minutes.
Carefully remove as Product will be hot. Let Stand 5 minutes.)
(fine print: Temperatures above 400F and/or failure to use a cookie sheet may cause damage to the paper tray, food and/or oven.)
 
Assuming I’ve got an urge for a chicken pot pie, and assuming I’ve read the label, I don’t know the wattage of my microwave. I don’t know how heat is dispersed throughout the microwave. I want to see the validation studies that verify the cooking instructions. In the meantime, the only way to verify safety is to use a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer and cook to 165F.

Or as William Keene, a state epidemiologist with the Oregon Public Health Division told the Statesman Journal this evening,

"Even though salmonella infections can be prevented by thorough cooking, the bacteria can survive undercooking or uneven cooking such as from microwaves.

‘I wouldn’t want to take that chance; I’d just throw it out.’"