How eggsasperating!

Kellogg’s has issued a nationwide voluntary recall of Froot Loops in the United States. Finally, I thought. The company has recognized the folly of its ways and refused to expose children to their atrocious spelling any longer. But no, the recall is because of an 'uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell coming from the liner of the packages'. Kellogg’s has not identified the substance that causes the smell but says it is commonly used in the waxy resins used to coat cheese and cucumbers. Why am I not reassured?
As long as you did not pick up your Froot Loops (or Apple Jacks, or Corn Pops) on a recent trip to the States, you need have no fear. None of the affected product appears on the Health Canada recall list. (Our national health watch dog does, however, want Canadians to be aware of the clear and present danger of counterfeit Viagra and “small pieces of metal” in certain chocolate chip cookies, so keep up your guard.)
The smelly substance in the foil cereal liners no doubt accounts for the “Better Before” dates of the recalled packages - March 26 through June 22, 2011. Do people really buy cereal seven to ten months in advance? Do they have cases of emergency Corn Pops in the basement to avoid temper tantrums at the breakfast table?
On a far more serious note, the number of eggs in the recent recall in the United States has now reached half a billion, and news reports say it may be the largest egg recall for salmonella in the past ten years. It “may” be?? The affected eggs could carry any of thirteen brand names, are suspected in illness in at least fourteen states, and might have been made into anything from meringue pie in a restaurant to the pudding in a senior’s home. But all the eggs came from two “farms”. Apparently the owner of the larger facility had paid $2 million in fines in 1997 for health and safety violations on his farm in Maine, where the national labour secretary called the conditions “simply atrocious”. He moved on to Iowa, where in 2000 he was designated the first ever “habitual violator” of environmental regulations. And they are still wondering how salmonella bacteria might have found its way into the eggs.
It would be nice to sit here in Grey-Bruce and feel smug that none of these salmonella- laced eggs were sold here. This time. But we are not immune. There are hundreds of dozens of American eggs being trucked into Owen Sound every week, and they are subject to no more scrutiny than the recalled eggs.