Recalling Macaroni

Yesterday was a crazy day. I’m very glad that I ran the story on Josh Rockwood and what’s happening at his farm. Aparently, I am not the only one.

There has never been a post on the blog that was passed around by so many people in such a short period of time. No, it didn’t go viral like that blue and gold dress. But in the context of this little food blog, it certainly felt infectious.

I tried to follow the story as it played out all day, and provide the farm a bit of ground support over social media channels. It turns out there are a lot of angry people on Facebook who would like to do farmer Josh harm. The comments on the TV news stations facebook pages are kind of shocking. Mostly it’s amazing that people would write such threatening statements under their real names. Fortunately, there are also a lot of very supportive people out in the community who have Josh’s back.

The day kind of got away from me. But I have kids. And those kids have to eat. So without any food prepared, I took a deep breath, opened the pantry door, and prepared to pull down a box of “emergency dinner”.

Yep, that would be macaroni and cheese. But even this wasn’t without its drama.

Hopefully you have heard by now. Kraft has recalled over six million boxes of its original macaroni & cheese dinner. Why? Because there’s a chance that your box has small pieces of metal in it.

Yeah, that’s not good.

We have turned away from the brand in recent years, even though I’m a lifelong lover of the Kraft and accepted no substitutes for most of my days on this planet. I would love to be a Kraft lover again, but they are going to have to take the Yellow 5 out of the “original dinner” before that happens.

And the metal.

Mrs. Fussy was the one who insisted I buy the boxes of Kraft. There is something about the ones from Trader Joe’s that rubs her the wrong way. Maybe it’s the dullness of its natural color, or the deliciousness of its cheese powder.

Anyhow, since I’ve been away from home more in the evenings thanks to the new job, I went along with her wishes. Thankfully, these boxes went untouched, because they are totally included in the recall.

I think that means we get a do-over. I can bring these boxes of junk back to the store for a full refund, and then buy something else with that buck fifty. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise.

Here’s the crazy thing. Kraft can recall a staggering volume of product and still be okay. It’s millions of dollars of lost revenue we’re talking about here. And it’s a cost that will just be absorbed by the bottom line. I wonder if it will even make a line item in the profits and loss ledger.

Will anyone be fired? Will anyone face criminal prosecution? It’s unlikely. Big business seems to be immune to the pressures smaller providers face. It really does seem like the game is rigged, or maybe it’s just me.