Health Hazard Alert - My Organic Baby

HEALTH HAZARD ALERT - RANCIDITY DETECTED IN CERTAIN MY ORGANIC BABY BRAND CEREAL

OTTAWA, January 25, 2008 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and My Organic Baby Inc. are warning the public not to consume My Organic Baby brand cereal described below because these products may be rancid.

All lot codes of the following My Organic Baby brand cereal with Best By dates of April 2008 (04-2008) and June 2008 (06-2008) are affected by this alert:

Product
Size
UPC

Step A Organic Barley Baby Cereal
227g (8 oz)
8 78427 10102 6

Step A Organic Brown Rice Baby Cereal
227g (8 oz)
8 78427 10101 9

Step A Organic Oatmeal Baby Cereal
227g (8 oz)
8 78427 10103 3

Step B Organic Multigrain Baby Cereal
227g (8 oz)
8 78427 10104 0

The affected products were manufactured in the USA and have been distributed nationally in Canada.

There has been one reaction associated with the consumption of these products.

If the cereal has an unusual odour or smells 'off', it should not be consumed. If an infant has been fed any of the products described above, discontinue feeding this cereal and monitor for symptoms. Consumption of rancid food may cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. If you have any concerns please seek medical attention.

My Organic Baby Inc, Vaughan, ON, is voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information, consumers and industry can call one of the following numbers:

Michelle Moskalyk, My Organic Baby Inc., at 1-877-308-2229
www.myorganicbaby.ca

CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.

- 30 -

Media enquiries:

Diana Robinson,
My Organic Baby Inc.
416-871-5420

Garfield Balsom (English)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Food Recall and Emergency Response
613-760-4232

Julie Lacoursière (French)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Food Recall and Emergency Response
613-760-4044

Red fish, blue fish - How kids identify objects

Curious Boy is going through a dramatic language explosion, in both French and English.  One thing that has struck me though, is his choice of words to describe various objects.  It turns out that I'm not the only person who finds this interesting.  Cognitive Daily has a 
post elaborating on research into the word choices that children make when asked to locate an object.  

The research shows that kids start with simple, obvious identifiers like colour and move to more complex ones (like location) as they age.  There is a marked progression from colour to location between the ages of 3 and 4.  In perspective, adults almost always use location to identify an object.

Weekly Science Roundup

The kids are on the mend, so of course I'm sick now.  Here's something for you to chew on in the meantime:

Discovery Major Step Forward In Treating Leukemia
ScienceDaily (2008-01-20) -- Researchers have discovered for the first time a pathway that makes cancerous leukemia cells resistant to treatment. The discovery is the first stage in the development of new drugs that could significantly improve survival rates for leukemia sufferers.

Lack Of Training For Children's Medicines Prescribing May Increase Risk Of Error
ScienceDaily (2008-01-20) -- Researchers have discovered for the first time a pathway that makes cancerous leukemia cells resistant to treatment. The discovery is the first stage in the development of new drugs that could significantly improve survival rates for leukemia sufferers.

Two sick babies makes blogging challenging for local man

First him, now her. I wish they would coordinate.

Back soon.

Oy.... More half-appropriations of Jewish Culture

First the food, then the Yiddish words, now the snipping.

The Jewish Daily Forward is running a story about non-Jewish families in New York (where else) using a Mohel (Jewish ritual circumciser) to perform circumcisions on their babies.

An excerpt:

When his son was born, Reverend Louis DeCaro Jr. was dismayed to learn that none of the doctors on call at Manhattan’s Allen Pavilion hospital had time to perform the circumcision. At a loss, the DeCaros turned for advice to their Manhattan pediatrician, Andrew Mutnick, who offered a simple solution: Hire a Jewish ritual circumciser, known as a mohel.

Mutnick put the family in touch with Cantor Philip Sherman, an Orthodox mohel working in the tri-state area. Sherman says he has performed more than 18,000 circumcisions in his 30-year career. There were no piles of bagels and lox waiting in the next room, no family members on hand to celebrate, but the DeCaros developed an admiration for the ancient tradition informing Sherman’s work.

“When [a circumcision] is done by a mohel, you appreciate the gravity, the beauty of the religious connotations,” DeCaro said in an interview with the Forward.

As an interfaith family, we wrestled with circumcision, and ultimately decided to have it done on Curious Boy. The boys in Philosopher Mom's (Catholic) family had it done, so she was comfortable with the idea. Being Jewish I was in favour of it. Our decision took in to account both the proposed health benefits as well as the cultural elements. Since we are raising the children as interfaith, we had the circumcision done at the hospital by the pediatrician.

Mohels Give Non-Jewish Babies a Slice of Tradition

Via Freakonmomics

2007 in Review

As 2007 rapidly draws to a close (WHOOSH!). Oh. Right. Missed that one. I have been deliciously unplugged since my last post, which means that I have managed to miss all of the stupid top ten lists and falling disco balls. It also means that I haven't been able to keep letting you know how we've been doing.

Actually quite well, thanks.

Zen Girl can now safely eat carrots, applesauce, squash and pear. Her iron levels have stabilized and she's sitting rather nicely.

Monday is a pivotal day. We are going to introduce lamb into her diet. She needs a source of protein, fat other than breast milk, but the iron in it is critical.

If she can tolerate lamb, than we are essentially out of the woods for the time being. As Zen Girl's palate broadens, so hopefully will Philosopher Mom's (who is carrying on as valiantly as ever).