Earlier this month, the US Department of Agriculture released a summary of the meat and poultry recalls that were issued throughout 2014 – and the list is a frightening reminder about just how “unwholesome” and unsafe meat can be. Why exactly did 18.6 million pounds of meat get recalled last year?

The risk of pathogens, such as E.Coli, Salmonella, and Listeria, represented about 16 of the 94 recalls – or about 17%. That’s 2.5 million pounds of potentially contaminated meat and poultry – and it’s just the beginning.

This laundry list of meat recalls features additional reasons that include “undeclared substance,” “processing defect,” “extraneous materials” and the catch-all “other.” These categories could include anything from plastic bits found in chicken nuggets that are injuring people to cancerous cows being hidden from federal inspectors then processed for meat.

According to Food Safety News, “the number of meat and poultry recalls has generally increased over the past decade.” If you eat meat, how worried should you be?

Well, ironically, even the chicken served at the 2014 Food Safety Summit was contaminated, sickening at least 100 hundred attendees.

Luckily, you don’t have to worry about these hidden health concerns, because there is a whole world of delicious, hearty, down-home cookin’ goodness to fill you up – minus the fear. Find recipes at TryVeg.com or reach out to us directly for help at info@cok.net.