HUGE Egg Recall!

Yesh Me'Of Eggs and the Ministry of Health announced a HUGE egg recall, due to possible Salmonella contamination.

If you have eggs that are from Yesh Me'Of, please check the table below to see which batches were recalled. I think it's easiest to check your eggs for the expiration dates listed, and then compare batch numbers to see if they were recalled.

The public is being asked NOT to eat these eggs. If you have any questions, please send an email to: Orel.ymb@gmail.com

Recalled Batches:

Food Recall -- Eggs!

Yesh Me'Of Eggs and the Ministry of Health have announced a WARNING regarding the following products:

Brand: Yesh Me'Of
Product: Eggs
Size: Unspecified
Production Code: אל16
Expiration Date: 6-2-18 / 8-3-18 if refrigerated

These eggs are being recalled because tests showed they may be contaminated with Salmonella. Yesh Me'Of announced that these eggs were not processed by their company, and the stamp on them is FRAUDULENT. The company announced that all recent tests of their chicken coops have not shown any evidence of salmonella.

If you have purchased these eggs, the Ministry of Health requests you DO NOT USE THEM.

I don't think there is any way to get a refund as far as I can tell.

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Recent Food Recalls

Here are some of the recent food recalls you should know about:

Eggs

Brand: Beitzei Meshek Avivi'im (Spring Farm Eggs)
Size: Medium
Dates: They say sell by 14/12, and in the fridge until 14/12

The eggs SHOULD have a sell by date of 14/11. If they were purchased unrefrigerated after Nov 14, they are not safe to eat!

If you have questions about this recall, call the company at 050-727-5754


Smoked Salmon

Brand: Delidag
Barcode: 7290008340618
Size: 100g packages
Production Date: 30.10.2017
Expiration Date: 30.11.2017

This product is being recalled because tests show that samples were contaminated with listeria.

Consumers who have purchased this product are instructed NOT to eat it. To arrange for a refund, please call Delidag customer service at 1-800-504-050

Please help get the word out! Share this post with anyone who might have bought these products.

Egg Recall - what you should know

Yesh MaOf Eggs have once again made it into the news for being contaminated with a highly dangerous strain of salmonella.

This is not the first time this company has had this problem.

The company claims that in the past week, tests of their chicken coops showed no evidence of the dangerous strain of salmonella, and therefore they are saying that the eggs that are unsafe are "counterfeit" - that they come from an unregistered source that is labeling their eggs as Yesh Maof eggs.

They urge any customer who has eggs with the following batch info to DESTROY them for safety reasons:

Batch # וק67 with use by date (refrigerated) of 14.11.2017

Batch # וז98 with use by date (refrigerated) of 7.11.2017

If you have questions about this, please contact Yesh Maof at 052-577-8537

Do not expect a refund, as they are claiming these eggs are not actually from their company.

Salmonella in Eggs

I'm a bit late posting this, but in case you haven't heard, the Health Minstry is warning of a dangerous strain of salmonella that is present in certain eggs currently on the market.

Here's what you need to know:

Less than 1% of the eggs currently on the market are assumed to be contaminated.

The recalled eggs are from a processor that uses the label "Yesh Me'Of" (יש מעוף).

All use-by dates up to and including 20/10/17



Please check your eggs before you eat them! If you have eggs that were recalled, you should be able to return them to the store where purchased, but you are advised NOT to eat them! The Ministry of Health advises that you throw out these eggs immediately!

Update: No official instructions have been given to return them, and I have heard stores are NOT accepting returns. I highly recommend to all of you who have bought these eggs to CALL the company at 04-980-7063 and demand a refund. It is my belief that they should take responsibility. Good luck and let me know in the comments if you are able to get your money back!

Unsafe Eggs found at Shuk Machane Yehuda

As reported on Globes.co.il, unsafe eggs are being sold with forged  stamps on them.

About 5,000 eggs that were deemed unfit for sale, due to lack of veterinary oversight at the farms where they are produced, were discovered in the Machane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem. The eggs appear to have been smuggled into Israel from the PA-controlled territories, and do not have appropriate certification that they are safe to consume. They could pose a health risk to the public.

The eggs were removed from the seller's stalls (yes, he has two separate stalls).

Salmonella in Eggs - Check your eggs!

I'm a bit late posting this, but in case you haven't heard, MORE eggs were recalled last week due to the presence of Salmonella.

Here's what you need to know:

The recalled eggs are stamped with code  ES5236 (ES is the import code, these eggs are from Spain)
They have a sell by date of 6/2
They have a use by date (if refrigerated) of 6/3 

You won't find these eggs in stores any longer, but some of you may have them in your refrigerator. Please check your eggs before you eat them! If you have eggs that were recalled, you should be able to return them to the store where purchased.

This post is a follow up to last month's post about eggs from Spain.
For more information about Israel's egg importation, see that post (click here).

Imported Eggs: Possibly Contaminated with Salmonella

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about eggs from the Ukraine that were contaminated with salmonella.
 
This time, I am going to tell you about eggs from Spain.

The Ministry of Health suspects that eggs that were imported from Spain may contain, you guessed it, salmonella - and is conducting further testing.

In the meantime, the MoH has asked the public to be sure to only eat eggs that have been thouroughly cooked, in order to minimize the risk of food poisoning.

(Food poisoning is something to avoid, really, at all costs. It's awful. If you've never had it, you'll just have to trust me on that one, because I'm not going into the details here!)

You can check if the eggs you have are from Spain - they will have code ES stamped onto them.

Here is a list of countries that we currently import eggs from, and their corresponding codes. You will see one of these codes on the eggs you buy if they are imported (eggs produced locally do not have letter codes stamped on them):

Spain = ES

Holland = NL

Italy = IT

Ukraine = UA

Turkey = TR

Now that we know how to identify imported eggs, we will be more educated consumers. Personally, I'd rather get local eggs! How about you?

Egg Recall Info!

The Ministry of Health has ordered the removal from store shelves of all eggs recently imported from the Ukraine (who knew we imported eggs from the Ukraine?!?).

Tests show these eggs may be contaminated with salmonella.

They have already been removed from store shelves, but some were sold before the recall was put into place. Please check your eggs for a stamp that says "UA" on them. If you have eggs with a "UA" on them, they originated in the Ukraine and are part of this recall. Please return them to the store where purchased.

Consumers are also warned not to buy eggs from unauthorized sellers, like those who sell from the back of a truck at the side of the road. Sometimes recalled eggs have been sold illegally in this manner in the past.

UPDATED PRICES: Price Controlled Foods

New prices for some breads went into effect recently (June, 2015). I decided to republish the entire list with the new bread prices for your convenience.

Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know about government price controls on food in Israel:

--- Retrieved from http://www.kosherfrugal.com/2014/09/updated-list-of-price-controlled-foods.html ---

--- Retrieved from http://www.kosherfrugal.com/2015/02/price-controlled-foods-price-update.html ---

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - in theory, a store can discount it further, if they want to.
If a store is selling price controlled items for a higher price, they are in violation of the law. You can (and should) report these violations to the regional supervisor.
Here are the items that are supervised, and the maximum price to consumers:

(The prices shown below are for the entire country, excluding Eilat. Eilat is exempt from Ma'am, so prices there will be lower.)
Lechem Achid (I believe this is about 65% whole grain) - 750g loaf, 5.11

White bread, 750g loaf, 5.11
 
Challah or yeast cake, 500g, 5.31 (was 5.58) (don't ask me what kind of yeast cake this is referring to, I have no idea!)
 
Lechem Achid, sliced and packaged, 750g, 7.30 (was 7.67)
 
White bread, sliced and packaged, 500g, 6.49 (was 6.82)
Regular Kitchen Salt, Fine Kitchen Salt, Fine Table Salt, and Coarse Table salt, 1 kg, 2.09
  3% milk, 1 liter, bag, 5.30 1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.95 3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.30 1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.90
  Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.65  Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.52  Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.44 Sweet Cream, 38% fat, 250ml, 6.60   Butter, regular, 100g, 4.13 Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter),per kg, 45.45  Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 43.14 Gvinah Levana (white cheese), 5% fat, 250g 5.11 
  XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.20
L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.10
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.20
  Do you ever see stores overcharging? Have you ever made a report to the supervisory board?
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Price Controlled Foods Update

I just wanted to make sure that all of you know that as of the end of last week, the price of conventional eggs has been changed.

The new price for a dozen large eggs is 12.50 (old price was 12.90), a dozen medium eggs is 11.50, and a dozen extra large eggs is 13.60.

Below you can find the list of price controlled foods. There was some talk of adding whipping cream and cottage cheese to this list, but those products have not been added to any official lists yet.

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - if a store is selling price controlled items for a higher price, they are in violation of the law. You can (and should) report these violations.

Here are the items that are supervised, and their maximum price to consumers:

I'm showing prices for the entire country, excluding Eilat, by the way. Eilat is exempt from Ma'am, so prices there will be lower.

Lechem Achid  - 750g loaf, 5.11
White bread, 750g loaf, 5.11
Challah or yeast cake, 500g, 5.58 (don't ask me what kind of yeast cake this is referring to, I have no idea!)
Lechem Achid, sliced and packaged, 750g, 7.67
White bread, sliced and packaged, 500g, 6.82
Regular Kitchen Salt, Fine Kitchen Salt, Fine Table Salt, and Coarse Table salt, 1 kg, 2.09
3% milk, 1 liter, bag, 5.28
1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.95
3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.54
1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.11
Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.66
Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.52
Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.47
Butter, regular, 100g, 4.08
Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter),per kg, 45.96
Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 43.72
XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.60
L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.50  
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.50


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Tnuva Egg Recall

Probably most of the eggs affected in the latest recall have already been used up because they were sent to market so long ago - the recall affects Tnuva eggs that have a sell by date of Aug 21-24, which likely came on the market about a month before that.

However here's the information you need, just in case you have some old eggs in your possession!

The eggs are being recalled due to "chemical abnormalities"

Check your eggs for the following codes and expiration dates:

Production code 1269, sell by date 21.8 (refrigerated 20.9)

Production code 1269, sell by date 22.8 (refrigerated 21.9)

Production code 1988, sell by date 24.8 (refrigerated 23.9)

Production code 1997, sell by date 23.8 (refrigerated 22.9)

Production code 1997, sell by date 24.8 (refrigerated 23.9)

Tnuva is asking customers not to consume these eggs, despite the fact that they do not present a public health issue.
Consumers with questions should call Tnuva at 1-800-25-24-24


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Dioxin in eggs: Follow up

So many people have asked me so many questions about the practicalities surrounding the dioxin in eggs announcement. To be honest, I have many questions myself, so the time has come to find some answers.

What are dioxins?

image source: Wikipedia

They are in a class of environmental pollutants, that are commonly referred to as "the Dirty Dozen". The World Health Organization has a very thorough factsheet about dioxins.

To sum it up:

While dioxins can contaminate our environment through natural means like fires and volcanos,  most of our dioxin-pollution is from industrial waste that is not properly treated.

90% of our exposure to dioxins is from our food supply. It builds up in fatty tissues of animals, and when we consume those fatty tissues, we are exposed to dioxins (and other persistant pollutants as well). So most of our exposure comes from eating fatty animal-based foods.

The WHO says that all people have "background exposure" to dioxins. They are concerned that we need to find ways to reduce our background exposure, because it is highly toxic.

So when Misrad Habriut announced that they found dioxin in eggs, it means that they found dioxin in a too-high concentration in the eggs, as most eggs contain some amount of dioxins (sadly, in my opinion).

According to Misrad Habriut, dioxins cause the most damage when there is long term exposure to higher than "acceptable" levels. 

According to Mako (channel 2 news), who broke the story, Misrad Habriut is saying that (even though they won't release the names of the farms) the four egg farms that were found to have high dioxin levels are ALL very small and are scattered throughout the country, and they stopped distribution from those farms immediately upon learning the results of the lab tests (and destroyed any remaining inventory).

They maintain it is unlikely any one person had a consistent exposure to these particular eggs, daily, over the long term.

So as far as the nitty-gritty of what we all need to know: Misrad Habriut says you can buy new eggs, as they have removed the tainted ones from the market. 

As far as the ones in your fridge. My personal feeling is that it is a gamble. Let's say 3% of the eggs on the market were problematic. Are the eggs in your fridge (or mine) likely to be part of that 3%? No. But how would you know? I am going to have to leave that up to each person to make their own decision.


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Egg Recall (Israel)!

New testing shows that eggs from at least 4 major egg suppliers in Israel are tainted with Dioxin. 10 egg suppliers were tested, but there are other egg suppliers that were not tested this time around.

Dioxin is no joke, it is a known carcinogenic material, and can also cause reproductive damage, immune system damage, and more. It is a known toxin, that is a member of the "Dirty Dozen" persistant environmental pollutants.

Despite the fact that news outlets are saying this information is coming from the Ministry of Health, I cannot find a word about it on their website.

Eggs from the 4 suppliers that tested positive for dioxin are being removed from the marketplace, and efforts are underway to determine the source of the pollutant.

I will update as I get more information, but it is usually slow in coming. 

I do not have further directives. Some people are asking me to post a "don't panic" line. But I really don't know what to do. The testing was done on conventional eggs. I have been using organic eggs almost exclusively for a decade now, but since I do not know if organic eggs are tainted, I cannot recommend that as a way to deal with this problem. 

The best thing I can say for now is DO NOT BUY EGGS right now. It will take stores and suppliers some time to weed out the tainted eggs. They will have to check for codes on the eggs (they are not labeled with a brand for each farm) to figure out which ones are tainted. It will not be an instant process.

Personally I will be cooking without eggs until I know more. 

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Egg problem update

Regarding those eggs I wrote about, the Ministry of Health has issued the following warning to consumers:

DO NOT CONSUME eggs that bear the code 114 "מן הטבע" in the Jerusalem area, that bear a sell-by date of 28.2.2013/refrigerated sell-by date of 28.3.2013

They are likely contaminated with unsafe levels of pesticides.

There are no specific instructions, but I would recommend returning them to the store where purchased. They should agree to exchange them for safe eggs, as these eggs are being returned to the distributor.
(Let's hope they are disposing of them in a safe manner!)

Egg problem (Israel)

Hundreds of eggs are being recalled from store shelves in the Jerusalem area.

The hens that laid the eggs apparently ate feed that was contaminated by unsafe levels of pesticides.

I have no further information, but if I get any, I will update.

Price Controlled Foods in Israel

Some readers wanted more information about government regulated prices for certain foods in Israel, a.k.a. price controls.

Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know:

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - of course a store can discount it further, if they want to!

If a store is selling price controlled items for a higher price, they are in violation of the law. You can (and should) report these violations.

I'm showing prices for the entire country, excluding Eilat, by the way. Eilat is exempt from Ma'am, so prices there will be lower.

Lechem Achid (I believe this is about 65% whole grain) - 750g loaf, 5.29

White bread, 750g loaf, 5.29

Challah or yeast cake, 500g, 5.77 (don't ask me what kind of yeast cake this is referring to, I have no idea!)

Lechem Achid, sliced and packaged, 750g, 7.93

White bread, sliced and packaged, 500g, 7.05

Regular Kitchen Salt, Fine Kitchen Salt, Fine Table Salt, and Coarse Table salt, 1 kg, 2.07

3% milk, 1 liter, bag, 5.04

1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.74

3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.27

1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.87

Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.59

Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.45

Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.37

Butter, regular, 100g, 3.73

Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter),per kg, 44.52

Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 42.21

XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.90

L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.80

M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.80

If you see a store charging higher prices, you can report them to the regional supervisor.

Last year, the Ministry of Finance decided that Badatz milk products are also price regulated products, so stores cannot be charging more for the Badatz-supervised milk, leben, butter, sour cream, and Emek and Gilboa cheese, FYI.

Spinach and Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Ok, I splurged. Spinach is not on most frugal shopping lists in this country.

Here's what happened: I was at Mega for a 10% off day (Friday, select locations only) and I decided to splurge and buy a bag of frozen spinach. First I checked the fresh produce section to see if there were any suitable fresh greens that would work out cheaper. But there weren't. They had chard, but the bunches were small, buggy, and wilted. And cost 8.99. But I decided against that in favor of spinach, because once I cleaned, chopped, and wilted the chard, it would have been a lot of effort, and not so much chard.

So I bought a bag of frozen spinach, for just over 20 NIS with the discount.

My family likes spinach, so I justify the purchase of a bag of spinach every so often.

I wanted to stretch it to last a few meals, so here's the first spinach recipe I made, using about 1/3 of the bag.

Spinach and Cottage Cheese pancakes

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 package of spinach (about 265 grams - maybe 8-9 oz?)
400 g cottage cheese (approx 1 lb)
2 cups whole wheat flour
salt, pepper to taste
nutmeg if you like it

Mix well. It will be pretty thick. Spoon heaping spoonfuls into a hot, oiled skillet, and brown on both sides. Serve hot.

Ok so this is not the best picture. But as you can see, I used very little oil to cook these in my enameled cast iron frying pan. And I really like that blue pan. I have the same in green for pareve, and one in red for meat. I also have a regular, not enameled cast iron frying pan. That one is pareve, and gets used almost every time I cook!

Variations: you can lower the cost of this by using less expensive greens than spinach. Sometimes chard or beet greens are a lot cheaper. Here in Israel, you might try lowering the cost of your cottage cheese by subbing PART of it with Eshel or Gil .

If you have a couple extra shekels, these are really amazing when you use 1/2 cottage cheese and 1/2 feta cheese. This will raise the cost a bit, as feta DOES cost more than cottage cheese, so this is not a good option when looking to lower your costs.

A Note of Explanation

We basically follow a lacto-ovo-vegetarian lifestyle (that means we do include dairy and eggs in our diet), and we even eat chicken on Shabbat. I know that there are others out there who do the same, and for those of you who eat more meat, well, you can always use my ideas to expand your repertoire of vegetable-based dishes! For those of you who are vegan, I will have to refer you to my friend over at Vegan Start, although many of my dishes can be adapted as you like.