Tinker office answers questions on how food recalls affect base Published March 6, 2009 By 72nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron Public Health Flight TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- With the recent peanut butter recall all over the news, the Public Health Flight of the 72nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron wants to set the record straight about how food recalls are handled at Tinker. The following article addresses many questions the Tinker community may be asking. Q: Are you nervous about all of the peanut butter recalls and wondering if your food supply is safe? A: The Public Health office has been monitoring all of the recalls and makes sure that none of the recalled products are sold on base. Q: What is a recall? A: Something is "wrong" with the product -- this can be as simple as a problem with the label or as serious as contamination with a germ that can cause people to get very sick or even die. The company that provides the product notifies the government, the stores and others that there is a problem with the product. The stores stop putting the product out and remove the product from the shelves. Q: When a product has been recalled, what does Public Health do about it? How do they make sure that it's not sold on base? A: Upon notification of a recall, Public Health contacts any facility on base that possibly has the recalled product. We tell them what the recalled product is, ask if they have it and then tell them what to do with it. Q: What happens if a facility has a recalled product? A: If a facility has a recalled product: -- Public Health will tell the facility how to dispose of the products -- Public Health will come to the facility and ensure that all of the product has been removed from the shelves and placed in a location where customers can't buy it accidentally -- Public Health will provide a "Medical Hold" sign to place on the product that has the details of the recall, including a description of the product, lot numbers, etc. Q: What about off-base facilities? Does Public Health inspect them? A: Tinker's Public Health flight does not inspect off-base facilities. While these facilities are notified of recalls and usually do a good job of removing recalled items from their shelves, consumers should be more aware of what they're purchasing when buying off base because off-base stores may not have the ability to respond to recalls as rapidly as on-base facilities do. Q: What should I do if I purchased a recalled item? A: You can either throw the item out or return it to the place where the item was purchased. The recalled items with instructions are placed at the commissary. Products are recalled because there is a problem with them; therefore it is important that you do not consume these products once a problem has been identified. Q: Where can I get more information about the peanut butter and other recalls? A: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Web site lists all of the current recalls on peanut butter products. It also lists recalls on other consumer products. The FDA's Web site is http://www.fda.gov/ and can be accessed from any computer. This information is intended for education use only and is provided by the Public Health Food Safety and Sanitation Element. For more information, call 734-6806 or 734-3582.