FULSHEAR, Texas – From eggs and lettuce to jalapeños and beef, a series of recent food recalls has put food safety back in the spotlight and left some Texas shoppers wondering what exactly is safe to put on the dinner table.
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For some Houston-area families, those concerns are changing not only what they buy, but where they buy it.
At Thomas Cattle & Catering, which supplies farm-to-table beef to customers across the Houston area, owner Anthony Thomas says more customers are choosing to bypass the traditional grocery-store meat aisle and purchase beef directly from local cattle producers.
Thomas Cattle & Catering works with Texas ranchers and sells beef in quantities ranging from smaller packages to a quarter, half or entire steer.
The idea is simple: Instead of purchasing a few pounds of ground beef or several steaks during each trip to the grocery store, customers can fill a freezer with enough meat to last several months — or, depending on the size of the household and the amount purchased, potentially an entire year.
But there is a significant upfront cost.
A quarter steer from Thomas Cattle & Catering is currently listed at roughly $1,800 to $1,990, depending on the animal’s weight. A half steer is estimated at approximately $3,035 to $3,240, while an entire steer can cost more than $6,000.
The company says those prices are based on the animal’s hanging weight, meaning the weight of the carcass after processing begins rather than the final weight of packaged meat.
Thomas says customers are increasingly willing to make that upfront investment because they want to know more about the source of the food they are feeding their families.
Recent recalls put food safety in focus
The shift comes as consumers have been confronted with several high-profile recalls involving products distributed or sold in Texas.
One recent beef recall involved nearly 30,000 pounds of raw beef imported from Argentina.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said Corte Argentino USA LLC recalled approximately 29,628 pounds of raw beef products after the meat entered the United States without the required import reinspection.
That distinction is important: the USDA recall did not say the beef was confirmed to be contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli or Salmonella. The recall centered on the fact that the products did not receive the required federal import inspection.
Most meat, poultry and processed egg-product recalls are overseen by the USDA, while the Food and Drug Administration handles recalls involving most other foods.
And FDA records show Texas consumers have had several other recalls to keep track of this summer.
More than 1.5 million dozen eggs recalled
On July 22, Midwest Poultry Services recalled approximately 1.59 million dozen eggs produced in Texas because they had the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis.
The recalled white shell and brown cage-free eggs were produced and distributed from Texas farms between June 6 and July 3 and had sell-by or best-by dates stretching through Aug. 17.
According to the FDA, they were shipped to retailers and food-service customers in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, including Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana and Brookshire Grocery stores across several states.
At the time the recall was announced, Midwest Poultry Services said it was not aware of any specific illnesses linked to the recalled eggs.
Iceberg lettuce recalled amid Cyclospora outbreak
In July, Taylor Farms de Mexico also voluntarily removed iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market because of possible Cyclospora contamination.
The FDA said the action was connected to a multistate Cyclospora outbreak under investigation.
The affected shredded iceberg lettuce had been distributed in more than two dozen states, including Texas.
Cyclospora is a parasite that can cause an intestinal illness. Symptoms can include frequent diarrhea, stomach cramps, bloating, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss. Symptoms can sometimes last for weeks and may disappear before returning.
Jalapeño recall expands to prepared foods
More recently, a Salmonella outbreak linked to fresh jalapeños prompted a series of additional recalls involving products containing those peppers.
The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been investigating a multistate outbreak linked to fresh jalapeños supplied by Coast Citrus Distributors. According to the FDA, a grower in Sinaloa, Mexico, was identified as the potential source in the investigation.
The recall expanded beyond whole jalapeños because the peppers were used as ingredients in prepared foods sold at major retailers.
Taylor Fresh Foods recalled multiple products distributed in Texas, including:
- Trader Joe’s Fiesta Style Salad with Shrimp
- Kroger Private Selection Spicy Roast Beef Sandwiches
- Taylor Farms pico de gallo sold at Target
- Taylor Farms guacamole sold at Target
- Freshness Guaranteed pico de gallo sold at Walmart
- Several salsa and pico de gallo products sold at Whole Foods
Whole Foods separately recalled multiple prepared dips, salsas, guacamole and other products containing jalapeños because of potential Salmonella contamination.
The products were sold in Texas and several other states.
No illnesses had been reported in connection with the recalled Taylor Fresh Foods or Whole Foods prepared products when those recall announcements were issued, according to the FDA.
Does buying local mean beef is safer?
With that many recalls making headlines, it can be tempting to assume meat purchased directly from a local rancher is automatically safer than meat from a supermarket.
Food-safety experts caution that the answer is not that simple.
Locally raised meat can still become contaminated, and small producers and processors are not immune from recalls or foodborne illness.
When consumers purchase meat from a local cattle producer, they may have the ability to ask directly where the animal was raised, how it was fed, where it was processed and whether the meat came from one animal or was combined with meat from multiple animals.
Thomas says that connection to the source is increasingly important to his customers.
His company says its cattle are raised in Texas and its beef is butchered locally. The company also says customers can choose how their portion of the animal is cut before the beef is vacuum-sealed and frozen.
Is buying beef in bulk actually cheaper?
That depends on how a family normally shops.
Thomas Cattle currently lists a quarter steer at $7.25 per pound based on hanging weight and half and whole steers at approximately $6.75 per pound based on hanging weight.
But shoppers should understand that hanging weight is not the same as the pounds of meat that ultimately end up in the freezer.
Because bones, fat and other portions are removed during processing, consumers receive fewer pounds of packaged beef than the hanging weight they paid for.
That means comparing a bulk-beef price directly with the price-per-pound sticker on a package of supermarket ground beef can be misleading.
The value can also depend heavily on the cuts a family normally purchases.
A bulk order may include premium steaks such as ribeyes, filet mignon and New York strips along with ground beef, roasts and brisket. A household that normally purchases those cuts regularly may calculate the savings differently from a family that primarily buys inexpensive ground beef.
There is also the upfront investment to consider.
Instead of spending $20, $40 or $60 during a grocery trip, a family purchasing a quarter steer could be spending close to $2,000 at once — and may also need to purchase a separate freezer.
Thomas says his customers look at that expense differently: as buying several months of groceries in a single transaction.
What consumers should ask before buying local beef
Buying directly from a rancher can give consumers more opportunities to ask questions, but shoppers should still do their homework.
Before purchasing a quarter, half or whole animal, consumers should ask:
- Where was the animal raised?
- Where will the animal be slaughtered and processed?
- Is the processor federally or state inspected?
- Is the quoted price based on live weight, hanging weight or packaged weight?
- Are processing or butcher fees included?
- Approximately how many pounds of packaged meat will I receive?
- Can I choose which cuts I want?
- How will the meat be packaged?
- How much freezer space will I need?
- What happens if there is a recall or food-safety issue?
- Can the producer trace the meat back to the animal it came from?
Consumers should also remember that buying locally does not eliminate basic food-safety precautions at home.
Raw beef should be refrigerated or frozen promptly, kept separate from ready-to-eat foods and cooked to safe internal temperatures.