Kitchen

[Kachina624]

Here's some info on the caramel apple fiasco. It sounds like the apples themselves are suspect, not the caramel. That's kind of scary; what about regular produce apples?

(WASHINGTON) — A Missouri firm is recalling its Happy Apple brand caramel apples because of the potential that they could be contaminated with listeria. The recall comes after at least three deaths and at least 29 illnesses in 10 states have been linked to an outbreak of the deadly bacteria.

Happy Apple Co. of Washington, Missouri, said in a statement Wednesday that one of the apple suppliers to its California facility reported that there may be a connection between the listeria outbreak and the apples it had supplied. The recall covers 31 states.

The Food and Drug Administration is continuing to advise consumers not to eat prepacked, commercially produced whole caramel apples.

The recalled Happy Apple caramel apples were sold in single pack, three packs, four packs and eight packs with a best use by date between Aug. 25 and Nov. 23. They were available for retail sale through grocery, discount and club stores in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Happy Apple said the recalled caramel apples were no longer available in stores.

[chickenbutt]

So, if it's the apples and not the caramel - does that mean there are bad apples out there? I always have apples on hand, mostly for the bird, but I always buy Gala and they are usually from the West Coast.

I guess it doesn't make much more sense still, eh?

[Plaid Pants]

One can always thoroughly wash the (plain) apples before eating. That should remove any contaminates on it.

[chickenbutt]

That's good to know. Thanks! I always do that, especially for the benefit of the bird. I hit it with GSE and then rinse and dry well.

[dooBdoo]

Thanks for posting this, Kachina.

I think it's worth noting that it's not only the CDC advising people to avoid commercial caramel apples -- from 12/25/14 "Caramel apples recalled due to listeria concerns":

"...The Food and Drug Administration is continuing to advise consumers not to eat pre-packed, commercially produced whole caramel apples..."

[VaBelle35]

On the CDC page they said they didn't think it was the apples only because no one had gotten sick from just eating plain apples. But if the apples are only grown for the purpose of making candy apples and are all sold for that purpose, then that would make sense.

[Kachina624]

On 12/25/2014 VaBelle35 said:

On the CDC page they said they didn't think it was the apples only because no one had gotten sick from just eating plain apples. But if the apples are only grown for the purpose of making candy apples and are all sold for that purpose, then that would make sense.

Like the cantaloupes that caused the listeria outbreak, they could have come from one grower who had dirty equipment. Perhaps that grower sold all his crop to the caramel apple company.

[VaBelle35]

Yes, it could be a similar situation.

That outbreak killed about 30 people, I think. The owners of the cantalope farm did not go to prison. Personally, I think their sentence should have been more, but that's for another thread.

[darktimesarenow]

I recently received a gift of a box of the chocolate-covered caramel apples from QVC for Xmas -- I don't want to eat them due to the recall. Does anyone know if returning them is a possibility? I don't want to offend the gift giver but I'd like to have something I can actually eat, and QVC's website still offers the offending items for sale

[VaBelle35]

Yes, people are calling to get refunds. If it was a gift, I think they may be able to offer you QVC credit since you weren't the purchaser. You can use the credit to get something else, like the Honeybells that will be available in a few days I imagine, if they are not on the site already.

I got the mini box of Cheryl's cookies which I am enjoying.