It Finally Happened: Gerber Baby Food Recall
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
July 14, 2007 5:09pm CST
For some reason I was wondering with all the various recalls of pet food, and human food, when the news would be out that a recall would occur with baby food, and not just any baby food, but one of the largest manufacturers of baby food going--Gerber
The one recall deals with baby cereals made by Gerber, as it seems that the cereal doesn't dissolve well and "clumps" which could cause a choking hazard to babies. The link for this news is here:
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_21291961.shtml
Now the second is even more "amusing" --like what in earth can these people at Gerber be thinking. It seems many of the jars of baby food might contain glass fragments...
It is said that ..." the agency had opened 30,000 jars of Gerber baby food, obtained from stores and warehouses, and had found just five pieces of glass that he described as ''harmless specks.''
The article says that they just don't think a massive recall is necessary since it's a fairly isolated incident--gee, tell that to some mother feeding her baby any of Gerber's baby food that just might have glass fragments and the baby chokes to death..
The article is here:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9A0DE0DF1E3BF937A35750C0A960948260
Don't you think it would be just plain safer to recall the food rather than risk maybe the possible deaths of babies eating food that might have fragments in it...mere "specks"?
8 people like this
26 responses
@AmbiePam (93885)
• United States
14 Jul 07
I tell you, if one baby is even injured in a minor way from one of those glass 'specks', Gerber is going to be hit with a huge lawsuit. And as with most recall lawsuits, a couple people with no babies will try to get in on it! I guess the mothers that make their baby food at home can sleep peacefully. I seriously don't know how they do it, but these days it seems worth the effort.
4 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
14 Jul 07
I know--I mean what might be considered a "speck" and not harm us, it's different with a baby...I actually used to feed my cats baby food..lOL--when the strained meat foods got too darn expensive I started making my own...just boil chicken or turkey, cut up in chunks, put in a blender with the broth and blend it...It would be a pain to do for women with babies, but at least it's one, safer, and two, you know what you're getting, and three, it is fresher
4 people like this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
15 Jul 07
I have also been waiting for something to happen with baby food. Berber is unbelievable.Can't beleive they opened that many jars and have the nerve to say it's an isolated incident
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
15 Jul 07
I'm telling you.unbelievable.they would rather put babies lives at risk because they don't want to lose any money
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Jul 07
Some isolated incident...and what happens if some mother just happens to open a jar and it does have the glass in it?
1 person likes this
@elizabeth525 (654)
• United States
15 Jul 07
harmless specks???? i read a book once about this girl who killed her boyfriend by putting crushed glass in his food....so yeah it is not harmless....that is just down right ignorant for them to say glass in BABY food is harmless.
2 people like this
@PurpleTeddyBear (6685)
• Canada
15 Jul 07
Wow! I am very shocked. How could pieces of glass be classified as "harmless specks"? I think it would be in their best interest to recall because if someones baby does get very ill or heaven forbid die then they will get one hell of a law suit. I am also kind of scared now considering that is the brand I get for my 1 year old daughter. I guess I'll be looking for a different brand. Thanks so much for your informative post!
3 people like this
@PurpleTeddyBear (6685)
• Canada
15 Jul 07
Heinz baby foods come in plastic containers, not glass so I bet they will be much safer. They are also cheaper at the Walmart here so looks like a good thing to me! I get to save money and protect my child at the same time! Thanks again for the informative post!
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Jul 07
You're welcomed --there's Beechnut brand....wonder if that is any safer though??
3 people like this
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
15 Jul 07
Darn it all, pyewacket, just when I thought it was safe to come out of the water! As my mother would say, "This is just the tip of the iceberg." People have lost their moral compass and their scruples, and we are taking a chance on all the products that we consume any more. Welcome to the new millennium. They say that they only found 5 pieces of glass in the baby food-well, isn't that special. I hope that mothers will boycott these products until they take them all off of the market for inspection.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Jul 07
And I wouldn't have even known about this news...I had heard about the other--about the cereal being recalled on the radio, so did a search for an article about it...that's when I came across this other news...seems they didn't announce it much to the media much..really keeping it quiet..isn't that "nice"?
2 people like this
@morgandrake (2136)
• United States
14 Jul 07
You knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
So what exactly is a "harmless speck"? How large can a piece of glass be and still be considered harmless?
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Jul 07
Very good question! It might not be harmful to an adult but I think a baby is something else
2 people like this
@morgandrake (2136)
• United States
15 Jul 07
Can you tell that I just took Technical Writing last semester?
Yeah, what is insignificant for an adult may not be the same for a child. Just like I have to ask myself about whether the cat really should be eating whatever they decide they are going to, I have to ask if what is safe for me could be unsafe for a child.
1 person likes this
@brendalee (6082)
• United States
15 Jul 07
I am so glad my grandkids are past the baby food stage. That is scary. I think they should do a massice recall. I know I wouldn't want to take a chance and feed that to a baby.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
16 Jul 07
they should do a recall...they did with pet food, why not baby food?
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
15 Jul 07
As many posters above me have pointed out, I believe that this isn't an isolated incident. Seems I recall similar problems before. What they heck are they doing at their manufacturing plant that is causing glass fragments, and why don't they correct it?! If I had babies again, I wouldn't even bother with baby food, I'd make my own. With my fourth child (last child) I made more of my own food and he was just fine! It is so eacy to make one's own food with a blender...and one can assure that there are no blooming glass fragments in the food too!!
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
16 Jul 07
I think a lot of women are going to turn to making their own baby food
@charms88 (7538)
• Philippines
15 Jul 07
Oh goodness, black cat. I fed my daughters gerber cereals before. There seems to be no problem with them. I like the gerber actually because it completely dissolved with my girl's formula milk. I need to have a check on the link you provided. Thanks for bringing this to our attention though. :)
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
16 Jul 07
Well this seems to be a recent problem....one has to be careful of everything these days though--right?
@eden32 (3973)
• United States
14 Jul 07
I have children ages 18, 14 & 5 and I seem to recall there being a recall based on glass fragments when each of them were around baby food age. I seldom fed them baby food, they had teeth very early & I always made them fresh foods but it's scary how often it happens. If you think about it, it's easy enough to see how it happens. Those jars are small & delicate (compared to other products that come in glass like tomato sauce) between packaging & shipping I'm sure there are many opportunities for small breaks to happen. I wonder why they haven't changed all baby food to the plastic containers some come in now?
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
14 Jul 07
Plastic might be safer but would the food keep as fresh for as long--most foods in glass jars of any kind usually have an shelf life of about a year--plastic might not
2 people like this
@sumofalltears (3988)
• United States
15 Jul 07
I think that life may be getting to simple and we ought to think about going back to the basics. People just don't seem to care anymore about what harm they may do either directly or indirectly. It is so very sad the world has become so selfish, but the price of progress can be high.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Jul 07
It's all economics...Gerber doesn't want to recall as they would lose too much money--right?
@katied1985 (147)
•
15 Jul 07
There shouldnt even be a discussion on whether to recall this food or not. Its disgusting that a major manufacturer is putting their clients at RISK by not recalling these products. I am glad I am in the UK as i would most certainly not be buying there foods.
2 people like this
@dcroome2005 (1210)
• United States
15 Jul 07
Thanks for sharing. I knew it was only a matter of time. I don't have any kids, but I have friends and family who do so I will definetly pass this on to them so they can see. Hopefully they already know about this and have taken the measures to make sure their kids are safe. Thanks for always keeping us up to date :)
2 people like this
@mrrtomatoe (800)
• Canada
15 Jul 07
It is quite shocking that a huge company would say something so harmful to their public image. I am sure if more people heard about this, the will not be around for much longer. I think it is in their best interests for a recall, because their long term sales will suffer greatly and people will try to capitalize on these events anyways.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
16 Jul 07
They just don't want to do a recall cause they're afraid of losing too much money...
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
16 Jul 07
That is so horrible. I can't believe that they would not recall the babyfood. That would be more of a danger, I would think, than the cereal. At least with the cereal you would know that it did not dissolve. My grandson is not eating Gerber for a while!
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
16 Jul 07
How true...how is one to even know if there are "specks" of glass in the food
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
15 Jul 07
This wouldn't be the first time the Gerber has found glass fragments in their food.
And with all the other materials that are not more available, I am surprised they are still using glass jars!
Look at all the jello and pudding that is now manufactured into those disposable or even recyclable plastic cups. I would think the Gerber would want to jump on that band wagon and make it even safer for shipping! One would think that the cost for shipping would be less also. Since the weight of the food would be significantly less also because one would not have glass jars that weight more but also the packing to prevent breakage!
I am so glad that I no longer have babies at this stage. Because I would be mashing up my own bananas again. ha ha
1 person likes this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
15 Jul 07
OK...how about a spam can then with a pop top? LOL
That would still be lighter and safer than glass. :)
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Jul 07
Only problem is,is that a lot of people are suspicious of the safety of plastics for any kind of food,even for sodas and water...that the chemical compounds in plastics could leech into the food or water..yuk
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
16 Jul 07
Hehe..that actually wouldn't be a bad idea...how about a pop-up top can the size of Fancy Feast cat food? Spam..yuk--lol
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
15 Jul 07
I just don't know what to think about that!!
I can't even wrap my head around that one.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 Jul 07
Scary huh? Especially since they don't want to do a recall
1 person likes this
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
17 Jul 07
Mere specks- wonderful- I’d stop feeding my baby Gerber if I had a baby- My daughter is 10 now so no fear of this one- I can’t believe it though- Gerber of all companies- the clumpy one is easy- if I made it and it didn’t dissolve- I’d toss it- Knowing it was a hazard- but specks of glass?? No way- and how would I know-?? Shame on Gerber
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
17 Jul 07
I know you'd think a big billion dollar company like Gerber could afford the loss of a recall
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
17 Jul 07
Couldn't agree with you more MsTickle! What's mere specks to adults could be very dangerous to babies
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
16 Jul 07
I think it was Gerber, back when my son was little, had a major problem with their Apple juice - I think it was sugar water. Then a few years, it was a problem with a chemical fertilizer used for the apples in an orchard.
So it is not really a finally, it is another recall, just much more recent.
I don't know about harmless specks though.
Want to read something interesting - it is an out of print book - was out in the early 70's I think - The rape of the A.P.E. (American Puritan Ethic) - this book told things like how many parts of flies are allowed in a pound of chocolate. A really good book to read.
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
16 Jul 07
Yes, read the book..I am serious..I checked on Amazon, a used copy is available for almost $100.
