Food Reconditioning 411
Food companies are in the business to make money. They don’t like to waste food. So when the food they produce isn’t perfect or is mislabeled, or even contaminated, they try to transform it so they can sell it. This practice is called reconditioning.
This process is legal. And in many cases, not objectionable. If a pasta company makes alphabet pasta and the letters aren’t perfectly shaped, they’re allowed to grind up the pasta and sell it as semolina flour, or use that flour to make more pasta. Agricultural products contain insect parts or dead bugs. That type of product is usually sifted after heat-treating to remove the undesirable objects, then repackaged.
But sometimes food reconditioning can be dangerous. Case in point: In November 2011, Snokist Growers treated moldy applesauce with a thermal process that they claim kills the toxin in mold. That treated applesauce was repackaged and sold to consumers.
So what’s the problem? Not all toxins produced by bacteria and toxins produced by mold (called mycotoxins) are destroyed by heat. The FDA stated that Snokist Grower’s tests for mycotoxins in the reconditioned applesauce were not adequate. The final reconditioned food must be free of contamination. And that applesauce was not.
There is no “zero tolerance” policy for food contamination or non-food particles in food, because it’s literally impossible and economically impractical to produce a completely clean product on a mass scale. The FDA has set limits for contaminants, such as 4.5 rodent hairs allowed in eight ounces of pasta, less than 15% mold in cranberry sauce, and 75 insect fragments in 50 grams of flour. If a product is at or above these limits, the product is considered “adulterated” and the FDA will take action. Most manufacturers create products with much lower levels than these limits.
Unfortunately, some companies try to mix products that have higher contamination levels with a batch of the product with much lower levels. While that may make sense mathematically, that practice is illegal. The practice of reconditioning is untracked by the FDA.
So can you protect yourself and your family and avoid reconditioned food? It’s not really possible to avoid these foods if you buy and eat canned, jarred, and other processed foods. Be sure to cook all canned foods thoroughly; bring soups, sauces, and canned vegetables to the boiling point for at least 90 seconds. Try to avoid eating processed foods, or at least minimize your intake by eating more whole foods such as fresh produce. Always discard any product that has developed mold. And inform the grocery store manager if you see mold on any product for sale in the store.
