Don’t eat the cookies or use the baby formula
During tight economic times, it can be difficult to purchase the kind of snacks that children (and adults) enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely a proponent of health snacks like fruit, nuts and veggies, but darn it, I love cookies. That’s why it disturbs me to hear that there has been a Nestlé cookie dough recall. Seems that E.Coli bacteria has been detected, which is enough to ruin anyone’s well-being. That’ll eat through your payday loans in Delaware and cash loans for ER bills…
This Nestlé Toll House recall also reminds me that E.Coli symptoms isn’t the only thing the megalithic merchandiser has been guilty of in the past 40 years. Remember the boycott over their promotion of infant formula over breastmilk that began in the 1970s? That case is still going today… but more on that later.
Toss your cookies
Jonathan Birchall reports in The Financial Times that Nestlé’s U.S. products division is performing a voluntary recall of all Toll House frozen cookie dough. Apparently, 66 individuals have become ill after eating the raw dough, and 25 of those have been hospitalized at this writing. This happens at a time when the House of Representatives is considering a bill that would broaden the powers of the FDA.
According to a Nestlé statement, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control are “conducting an investigation into reported e.coli 0157:H7 illnesses that may be related to consumption of raw cookie dough.” The company also claims that “the e.coli strain implicated in this investigation has not been detected in our product.”
Oh, I’m sorry. It must have been the pig fecal matter those people had been slamming down the hatch immediately BEFORE eating raw cookie dough. My bad!
Don’t eat the yellow snow, either
To its credit, Nestlé does warn people not to eat raw cookie dough. But I say fah! Why make the devilish mixture so delicious, then? It is of course to tempt us to ruin! Similarly, African mothers (even those with HIV) could typically breastfeed their children without the sometimes salmonella-riddled help of Nestle formula, but their marketing was persuasive and using formula is easy. Sure! But like I said, you have to wait for that… wait… waaaaait…
Did you know that the bill before the House would give the FDA the mandatory recall authority it currently lacks? It would also require food processing plants that traditionally present high risk to consumers (peanuts, pistachios, fruits, vegetables, etc) to be inspected at least one every 6-18 months. Furthermore, if the bill passes, there will be new electronic systems for tracking contaminated food back to its source. Finally, in a long overdue move (as if all of this isn’t overdue!), ALL domestic and foreign food producers who operate within the United States would have to register with the FDA if they want to continue doing so.
That will be useful… and the breastfeeding skinny
For tracking those odd sources of e.coli and other harmful elements. However, when it comes from big boys like Nestlé, what can be done but a recall and spin PR?
I’ll tell you what. In addition to monetary reparations, unchecked monoliths with so sordid a history as Nestlé should admit to mistakes and wrongdoing. Problems for this giant began in the 1970s when they began to market infant formula in Africa. It was billed as being a better option than natural breastmilk, and it prompted a boycott. From Wikipedia, some basics of the issue:
The Nestlé boycott is a boycott launched on July 4, 1977, in the United States against the Swiss based Nestlé corporation. It spread quickly throughout the United States, and expanded into Europe in the early 1980s.[1] It was prompted by concern about the company’s marketing of breast milk substitutes (infant formula), particularly in less economically developed countries (LEDCs), which campaigners claim contributes to the unnecessary death and suffering of babies, largely among the poor.[2] Among the campaigners, Professor Derek Jelliffe and his wife Patrice, who had contributed to establish the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), were particularly instrumental in helping to coordinate the boycott and giving it ample visibility throughout the world.
Why is breast milk the best food for babies? Here’s a brief synopsis from the same article:
Breast milk has many natural benefits lacking in formula. Nutrients and antibodies are passed to the baby while hormones are released into the mother’s body.[8] Breast-fed babies are protected, in varying degrees, from a number of illnesses, including diarrhea, bacterial meningitis, gastroenteritis, ear infection, and respiratory infection.[9][10][11] Breast milk contains the right amount of the nutrients that are essential for neuronal (brain and nerve) development. [12] The bond between baby and mother can be strengthened during breastfeeding.[10] Frequent and exclusive breastfeeding can also delay the return of fertility, which can help women in developing countries to space their births.[13] The World Health Organization recommends that, in the majority of cases, babies should be exclusively breast fed for the first six months.[14]
Alternate viewpoints
Now, keep in mind that Nestlé supporters claim that it was the tainted water that caused all of the problems. OK, then why didn’t they bother to conduct a “boil your water” campaign? Apparently, the only instruction given to hundreds of thousands of African women was written in English! Was it easier for them to lay blame instead of taking action and using translation services? In addition, malnourished African mothers may not have been able to breastfeed their children as much as they’d like, so formula could be used as a supplement. I understand that, but when the advertising tries to claim that formula is better than breastmilk, that’s a gross lie.
And what about HIV? Some Nestlé apologists claim that mothers should use formula to prevent spread to the infants. According to well-researched, clinical medical studies cited by La Leche League, there is a small risk that can be lessened with the proper precautions and medication. The benefits to the children from receiving breastmilk, however, far outweighed the small risk of transmission.
So I say don’t eat the cookie dough, don’t use the formula and avoid anything Nestlé. I think they’re more trouble than they’re worth. More trouble than payday loans in Delaware or cash loans can get you out of, that’s for sure.
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