Walmart Meat Recall: Is Anything Safe to Eat Anymore?

(MoneyWatch)  A Tyson Foods subsidiary recalled 172 tons of deli meat aimed for Walmart sandwiches yesterday, saying the meat might have been tainted by illness-causing Listeria bacteria. And, of course, that comes on the heels of the massive egg mess, which saw more than half a billion eggs recalled because of salmonella contamination.

Oh, and most of those potentially tainted Walmart sandwiches have likely already been eaten, a Tysons spokesman told the Associated Press. So far, nobody's reported Listeria-related illness, but we're all feeling a little bit queasy now. And as if all these recalls weren't bad enough, beef prices are soaring at the commodity and consumer levels, and U.S. pork prices have hit a record high.

Clearly, our food has problems. Each year, more than 300,000 Americans are hospitalized and 5,000 die after consuming contaminated foods and beverages, according to Department of Health and Human Services data. But the number of safety inspections has fallen sharply in recent years. The FDA inspects fewer than 25 percent of food facilities each year, and more than half of all food facilities have gone five or more years without an FDA inspection. That's the domestic producers; it's even more rare for a foreign producer that sends food into the U.S. to get inspected.

So, it's a good week to clean out your fridge and maybe do one of those juice fasts. Here's what else to do:

• Follow the moving target. One week it's beef, the next week it's organic spinach. There's little ability to predict which food will be contaminated and recalled next, so stay on top of the latest news by checking web sites like Recalls.gov, run by the Federal government, and the home page of the Center for Foodborne Illness and Prevention.

• Eat dried lentils. Seriously. Dried lentils and other legumes are cheap, extremely healthy, and aren't typically contaminated. Even one or two meatless meals a week will save you money that you can then spend buying better meat. Organic, grass-fed meat is better for you and the environment, and hasn't had any massive contamination issues yet.

• Watch Washington. Congress has been playing with the idea of boosting the FDA's budget and mandate for a couple of years already, but its food safety inspection bill has been stalled in the Senate (Just like almost every other piece of legislation I write about; I should just program a 'stalled in the Senate' macro on my computer.) Now the FDA has jumped into the egg-inspection biz, and the Senate is dusting off that food safety legislation. Something about the whole country talking about food safety in the weeks leading up to the election.

• Practice safe eating. Eat a wide variety of different foods. This will keep you from overexposure to any one ingredient that might make you sick. And it can give you a lot of low-grade exposure to all sorts of bacteria that can boost your immunity. Re-wash your greens, and if you can't afford organics, peel your fruits and vegetables. And be sensible about the items you consume. One of the meats recalled yesterday was called "Black Forest Ham With Natural Juices Coated with Caramel Color." I know it wasn't the "caramel color" that caused the listeria but still -- does that sound like something that's good to eat?

Photo by JimBrickett on Flickr. This is a different sandwich entirely, and has not been recalled.

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